To teach a reader means you have to be a reader.

As a teacher, it is essential to share your reading life with your students. It's important to lead by example, showing students that reading is fun and an important aspect of daily life. It's about creating a reading culture in the classroom that extends beyond the four walls. And, it's crucial that students learn that reading is a social activity too.

I wish I could eat, breathe, and smell books all day long. I seem to know a few friends who enjoy this lifestyle. But how in the world can a busy mom/teacher keep up with the latest and greatest books? And what about keeping track of all the books I read or the books I can't wait to read?

Social networking sites are taking over the Internet and I will admit, I spend the majority of my online time checking Twitter, Pinterest, and educator blogs. Several times a day, I also visit Goodreads: the next best thing to chatting with your friends about the latest book that you read and you're dying to share!

A Reading Community

Goodreads is a social networking site that allows you, the reader, the opportunity to:

1. Follow reading friends and see what books they are reading
2. Keep track of the books you have read by creating virtual bookshelves
3. Share the books you are currently reading
4. Keep track of the books in your To-Be-Read (TBR) pile
5. Set personal reading goals for the year
   
   Figure 1: Reading Accountability—I need to pick up the reading pace!

    

6. Rate a book, write a review, and comment on books
   
   Figure 2: "Edit My Review"

    

7. Look for recommendations based on the books you have read
   
    
   
   Figure 3: Recommendations by Shelf, Genre, and Friends

    

8. Compare your reading lists with other readers
9. Follow authors' reviews and blogs
10. Enter giveaways
11. Create book discussion groups
12. And so much more! (For more information, see "How It Works.")

Classroom Connections

I realize that most of us already spend way too much time with our eyes glued to screens. And I'm sure you're wondering, "With so many social media options available, why should I add another site to my rotation?" I get it. (No, really. I completely understand.)

But, I also understand the power of Goodreads in my classroom. Goodreads is the cornerstone of my reading community. I can easily walk into my local library and select books off a shelf that I think I might enjoy and want to share with students. But there are so many books from which to choose! Now I can find out what other great teachers are reading and sharing in their classrooms just by following the update feed. That way, I learn about books that I may never have picked up—and all because my reading friends are talking about them on Goodreads.

As a teacher creating a reading community in my classroom, I want to be able to share all kinds of books to meet the needs, interests, and curiosities of my students. And guess what? Once you start talking books, the students start talking books. Now more students are reading more books, new authors, different genres, and series of books. The conversation around books becomes a daily ritual. Talking about books increases the appreciation of books, and students also develop a deeper understanding of what they read.

So, what are you waiting for?

Signing Up

As with any social networking site, you need to sign up. Create a free account with your name, email, and a password.

Find the search catalog located in the top center of the webpage and start searching for books that you have read, books that you want to read, or books that you are currently reading.

Organizing Your Books

A book can be added to your current default bookshelves by hovering over the "add to my books" button. The default bookshelves will pop up: read, currently-reading, and to-read. If you would like to create another bookshelf to tag or label a book to help with the organization of all your books, click on the "add to my books" button and a pop-up window will be displayed. Now you have the opportunity to select an additional bookshelf or add a new bookshelf/tag. This pop up window allows you to rate a book, write a review, and more. (See Figure #2.) Share your title on the Goodreads update feed and on Twitter.

I love creating bookshelves to organize all the books I read. I have created basic bookshelves, including: picture books, middle grade (MG) books, young adult (YA) books. In addition, I have an abandoned bookshelf with titles I started reading, but did not finish; an audio bookshelf; a mentor text bookshelf; and a professional development bookshelf. You can also shelve (or tag) your books on multiple bookshelves.

Reading Friends

Next up, you need to find some reading friends to swap and share and gush over books together. This is the ultimate reason to be a part of the Goodreads reading community.

There are so many awesome and resourceful teachers, librarians, and authors who are all readers sharing great titles, new books, and classics from picture books to middle grades to young adult and professional reads. (As a reminder, all of the following reading friends are also on Twitter and blog about reading and books.) Goodreads is just another way to grow your professional learning network (PLN) exponentially!

A few reading friends you may consider following to get you started:

• Alyson Beecher—A principal, reader and reviewer of children's, middle grade and young adult books at Kid Lit Frenzy. Her passion is encouraging her students to get excited about books and reading.
• Laura Given—K-8 Library Media Specialist who is an avid reader and leader of the Nerdcott Challenge. Her goal is to read every Caldecott Medal winner and honor book this year.
• Donalyn Miller—A reader, teacher, and author of THE BOOK WHISPERER: AWAKENING THE INNER READER IN EVERY CHILD. She is a proud member and co-founder of the Nerdy Book Club (not to mention an avid Tweeter!).
• John Schumacher—Need a book suggestion? Ask Mr. Schu! He uses book trailers to help put the right book in every reader's hand. He's a K-5 teacher-librarian who reads every book in sight. Seriously, he has logged over 6,000 books on Goodreads.
• Colby Sharp—A fourth grade teacher and fervent reader who is crazy wild about books! (Check out this video for proof!) He's also a co-founder of the Nerdy Book Club blog.
• Katherine Sokolowski—A fifth grade teacher that is passionate about reading and has been known to provide book suggestions anywhere, even at her local pool that is located in the same town she teaches.
• Jen Vincent and Kellee Moye—Both are teachers and enthusiastic readers who blog about books to promote literacy @ Teach Mentor Texts.

What's Next?

Your next step is to read. Be the reader to inspire your students. Be the reader to share a book with a student because "I thought of you when I read this book." Be the reader who can't wait to read this book aloud to your class. Be the reader who creates a community of readers who talk about books because reading is social.

Maybe you are participating on Twitter in the summer #bookaday challenge created by Donalyn Miller, or following the notorious #titletalk chats (last Sunday of the month at 8 PM EST) with Donalyn and Colby Sharp. If so, you will want NEED Goodreads to keep track of all the great title recommendations shared!

Teachers can create a class account on Goodreads to keep a log of the books read together over the course of a year. It's amazing to see your booklists grow, not to mention showing your students the true power of the reading community you created! You can also add a widget to your class blog to share the books you're reading with families and other classrooms.

Another little secret: I keep two tabs open in my browser, Goodreads and my public library. If a book is recommended via Twitter or Goodreads, I click over to my public library's page and reserve it for pick up immediately. Sometimes the book is too new and not yet published or available at my library, but I still mark it on my Goodreads account "to read." I will continually check back with my library, until finally, the book is "in processing." If I'm lucky enough, I'm usually the first patron to check out newly published books.

Ahhh…to crack open a new book—the binding still stiff, the pages still crisp, the words waiting to be read. And then shared with others!

Happy reading this summer! I hope to talk book titles with you on Goodreads!

Michelle Nero is a reading specialist at a K-5 elementary school in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. She has been teaching for 12 years and has been a member of the IRA for just as many. As she continues to engage in learning, she professionally tweets (@litlearningzone) and writes about teaching and practicing her craft on her blog (Literacy Learning Zone). Michelle is reading, writing, and reflecting to be the best she can be in the classroom, all the while balancing life at home with a supportive husband and two year old twin daughters. As she says, "Balancing is oh-so-difficult and oh-so-important!"