The Power of Goodreads

It started when I read that Goodreads has about 8 million users. I might have that number wrong, but tonight it doesn't matter.

What matters is that I have two Goodreads members sitting in my living room, rating books, writing reviews, and starting book clubs.

That's right. I told my kids they should join Goodreads. (If you want to tell your kids to do this, and you feel nervous about how to do it safely, read these Guidelines for Setting Students up on Goodreads).

Honestly though? I didn't read the guidelines. Because my kids and I are always discussing Internet etiquette and safety, as a matter of course.

So far, the features that have wowed my "non-reader" (she's only rated 56 books, while her sister is topping 150...um, since last night :)... anyway, so far the features that have wowed are:

- rating books (for a student, it's fun being the one to give out the gold stars)

- friending "real-life" friends, especially the ones who live at a distance

- recommending books to those same friends (because when you are together you forget about books and are always making funny videos)

- taking and making literature quizzes (one quiz is called the "never-ending quiz," because people keep adding to it)

- being able to give your mom's own poetry book 5 stars (no, I didn't pay my Littlest off; she just did it)

- marking books to save for later, by clicking "want to read"

- keeping track of what page you have read up to on a book you're currently reading, and seeing a little thermometer-thing rise (and translate your progress into a percentage)

- getting your mom to happily teach you how to write a review—she did this by making you read a bunch and decide why you liked them (or not)

- writing the review and having your mom be astonished (yeah, my Littlest's Clementine review simply tickled me)

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Join me on Goodreads?