March is Reading Month! In preparation for it, I've had reading on my mind for quite some time, especially since my 4 year old (who will be 5 in mid-March) is an emerging reader who is now reading Bob books books on her own. Because of her recent transition into the literate world, (yes, this momma is so proud) Reading Month at our house has got to be BIG! As a kickoff I've been planning what to do for Dr. Seuss's Birthday, which is Wednesday, March 2nd, and I have decided that I will make Green Eggs and Ham for dinner and we will model our new Seuss hats that we will make as an afternoon craft project. So excited!
As an educator, I know that one of the basic tenets of literacy development is that we need to model it for our children, so my own reading habits have come to the forefront of my mind as of late. Or should I say my lack of reading habits? Due to my ongoing illness for the past two years, it has been very difficult for me to read for various reasons...lack of oxygen to the brain, fatigue, and dizziness to name of few. In fact, up until last week, I hadn't read more than various magazine articles in two years. This has been hard to swallow for someone with two Master's Degrees. However, I am proud to say that I have now completed my first book since the onset of my illness: When God Winks: How the Power of Coincidence Guides Your Life by Squire Rushnell.
This accomplishment goes to the credit of my own ambition to be a positive role model for my daughter, the completion of two courses of cognitive retraining therapy with a speech pathologist, and my friend Kim S. who is an inspiration to me by her love and knowledge of books and who introduced me to the website Goodreads.com.
Goodreads is a wonderful website and community that allows you to track books that you own, have read, are currently reading, wish to read, and any other label you wish to give them. Some of my labels are bibliotherapy (of course, I am a counselor), professional, favorite from my own childhood, shared with my students, and shared with my daughter--just to name a few. Additionally, the site allows you to rate and review books, connect with friends, follow people, join online book clubs, swap books, download ebooks (many of which are FREE---wahoo!), enter contests to win books (I won Miles from Ordinary) interact with authors, get advice on reading and writing, post writings, and ask general questions about any book related topic you can possibly fathom. I have not seen a more comprehensive book website out there.
One of my most favorite features of the website is the ability to track the progress of books that you are currently reading and make notes to yourself (or to your status should you choose to post to it). These are two very important tools for someone like me who needs all the help she can get to get the book read. On the progress tracker, you enter the page you are currently on and it transforms that to a percentage of the book completed and displays it as a bar graph. For example, I am on page 34 of the book I am currently reading out of 168, so it displays a bar graph that is 20% complete. This is MOTIVATION for me when I see this everyday on my profile page. Twenty percent is one-fifth of the book...it's not just 34 pages...it's ONE-FIFTH. Only four-fifths to go. Sounds so much better that way, doesn't it? Not only is it motivation, it's a REMINDER...it screams out to me...hey, don't put me down for long...remember, you're reading me!!! DON'T ABANDON ME! Additionally, I use the notes section to record little reminders like "remember to look up the website that was referenced" or to simply summarize the last thing I read so I can easily pick up where I left off (this was an important cognitive strategy presented to me in therapy).
I have only been using Goodreads.com for a little over two weeks, but I have loaded and sorted 228 books on my virtual shelves...and I'm still loading. As I reflect on my books that are there, I've come to the realization that just like we are what we eat, we are what we read, too...or so it seems. Remember, I am a parent, counselor, and educator by profession. On my shelves I have 67 books I've shared with my daughter, 44 books I've shared with my students, 19 in the bibliotherapy category, 15 professional books, 14 spiritual books, and 9 parenting books. The rest fit into miscellaneous categories not really worthy of mention here, but I think my point is clear...the majority of books I have read define me as a parent, counselor, and educator...which is exactly what I am! I don't know why, but this revelation brought me a great sense of peace...to realize that I'm still on track. Yeah, there was a two-year layover, or derailment perhaps, but the wheels are turning and the train is once again on the move!
Wherever you are on your literacy journey, I encourage you to check out Goodreads.com and start using it, whether you use it to track your own reading progress or to track your children's reading progress. Try it as a March is Reading Month project and then decide for yourself whether it's useful. Chances are that you will find that it is.
Recall that I said that my first recent book that I finished was about the power of coincidence working in your life. My friend Kim S., my book-lover friend whom I also mentioned above, let me borrow that book. God has winked! I don't think it was a coincidence at all. And perhaps its more than coincidence that you're reading this blog!
Happy reading...and I hope to see you on Goodreads. Look me up at www.goodreads.com/snowdensupport
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