With lots of time on my hands, I’ve discovered lots of wonderful things on the Internet – including the GoodReads website. So how do you use it? (This is what I did…)

To begin:

1. After a simple signup, I selected some the genres of books I like reading.

2. Then, I added some of the books I have read, both recently and in the past – a reminder of what I have enjoyed reading.

3. I also added some of the books I am currently reading to another list.

4. From this, I have been given recommendations for other books similar to these – which I might like or already have (and I tagged them appropriately).
Then I compiled an ever-increasing ‘to-read’ list, which is good to remind me of the the piles (both physical and virtual) of books I am yet to read.

5. Finally, I sent invites to friends to let them know about GoodReads because it also has a social element to it, in that you can invite other readers you know to create their lists, and share their love of reading too. Just send email invites to friends and colleagues, or simply choose them from your FaceBook or Twitter contacts, and get them started. Of course, it helps if you have something to show them on your lists, so that they get the idea of how thngs work from your example.

This will sit quite well next to LibraryThing, which we already use for new additions to our school library – with the added benefit of a personalised network of people with whom you can share great books.

You can see in the side bar, a list of books I intend to read, or view my GoodReads here.

Why not try compiling your own lists, invite your friends along also – you may be surprised at how much you have read – and how much more is out there!