GoodReads with Kids

I love GoodReads.  There are so many ways to use it!

I, mostly, use it to track my current reading and write reviews.  You can catalog your library. You can keep your TBR list.  It can be used very socially …. I do like seeing what others are reading.  You can win free books (I have yet to win any, but have only tried for a few). It has a handy-dandy way to embed your reviews on your blog.  I like that.

A while ago, I noticed that a couple of internet-friends of mine kept GoodReads accounts for their children.  I’m pretty sure one of those friends maintains the account on her own while the other helps her children to maintain their own book list.  I decided to go with the second way.

To sign-up, one must have a Facebook account or email address.  I don’t have my account linked to my Facebook at all.  Obviously, our kids have neither.  Gmail, which we use for email, has a little trick where a ‘+’ after your address before the @gmail.com sends to the main owner of the address.  For example, M-girl can have an email address of ‘ladydusk^+(her blog name)^ @^ gmail^ .^ com’ (remove the ^s).  We’ve used these addresses for NitroType, for Headventureland, and for GoodReads.  It works beautifully.  All the email comes directly to my inbox.

We’ve had these accounts for a while and updated them spottily, trying to recall what books have been read since the last time we updated.  M-girl, in particular, goes through a lot of books, and I don’t always know what she’s reading, especially with the Kindle.

So, this year, I hope to have them update their accounts on Friday during our Weekly Meeting.  They’re supposed to write completed titles on the back of their Assignment Sheet (don’t think that has happened this week) and a star rating, so when we go to add it to GoodReads, there’s something to jog the memory.

I have them write a sentence or two about why they liked (or didn’t like) the book.  We work on avoiding spoilers, but don’t always succeed.

I have allowed them to have some friends.  Grammy and Grampa,  the children and parents of the bloggers who inspired my plan, an Uncle and Aunt, a friend or two from church.  The kids don’t usually see much, although they might get to see updates more often once we’re on the site more regularly.

M-girl and N-boy learned to type last summer, so they do most of their own typing of reviews.  R-girl has not yet begun typing, maybe this summer, so she tells me what she wants to write.  We hit save, and it’s done.

Here’s to a 2014 of good reading!