It's #Fridayreads. Grab a Good Book!

Perhaps you’ve seen the tweets, book titles followed by a hashtag and the word Fridayreads (#fridayreads). Perhaps you’ve seen avid readers tapping on a smart phone, or simply turning pages eagerly each Friday commute. In any case, what you’ve seen in action is Fridayreads.

#Fridayreads is the brainchild of The Book Maven (aka Bethanne Patrick: @thebookmaven). Each week, she hits Twitter and simply asks people to note what they’re reading. She does giveaways and also runs a Facebook page, but the heart of the enterprise is simply sharing good books with others who love to read

Indeed, for those who read quickly and need a next book, The Book Maven posts lists of “Best Read” on the site. She calculates the tweet totals and notes what are the books most often mentioned.

There is no cost, no sign-up sheet, no mass emails.  To participate, get yourself a Twitter account. On Friday, post a tweet that says what you’re reading. At the end of your post, add #fridayreads. If you’re not on Twitter, there is a Facebook page where you can participate. You can find it at http://www.facebook.com/FridayReads.

The Fridayreads website notes, “The more people who share what they’re reading, the more people get excited about reading. And when people get excited about reading all sorts of incredible things happen…we get smarter; we think more; we’re entertained; we learn things…the list is endless.”

In the spirit of sharing our favorite "reads," Lake Saint Louis Patch will start listing the favorite books of our readers and residents of our community every Friday. Consider it the Lake Saint Louis version of #Fridayreads:

• Larry DeGroot (newly appointed Ward 1 alderman) suggests Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, The Speech by Senator Bernie Sanders and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
• Eric Sterman, assistant city administrator, mentioned that he had just finished reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.
• John Pellerito, Ward 3 alderman, suggested Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.
• Karen Vennard, Ward 2 alderman, recommended Jonathan Kellerman's Mystery. "I have a big pile of books I want to read," Vennard said.
• Lake Saint Louis Patch editor Tamara Duncan's latest read was The Light Bringer by Lake Saint Louis Police Chief Mike Force and Assistant Chief Chris Digiuseppi. It's a thought-provoking novel—check it out.

So get reading (and tweeting) with #Fridayreads and Lake Saint Louis Patch.