If you’ve followed KEEPER BOOKSHELF through various social media you will have noticed that things around here have really slowed down in the past month.

There is a reason for that and I’d like to take a moment to explain.  (I know I don’t have to but I value every single visitor and you should know why I’ve been more quiet lately.)

1.  Cataracts – yeah need the left eye’s cataract removed so I can actually see again.
2.  Moving – we had the sudden opportunity to move from our apartment into a house and grabbed it with both hands – but that meant moving in under 4 weeks  Yikes!
3.  And the final nail yesterday – Knee Replacement Surgery in early March.  *sigh*

It seems that 2016 is hitting hard on the “needs to be taken care of NOW” kinda things in life.  Oh, I’m not complaining really – my life could be far, far worse so I’m grateful for the blessings I have – and the intervention on all of these things that will make it “all good” in time.  Time, there’s that word again.

So, we move in 6 1/2 days now  *gulp* and of course I’m not ready.  Wait for the internet connections shouldn’t be more than a day (fingers crossed) so hopefully I can get back on track and plan ahead for March/April within a week.

If you don’t see my reviews or these little comment rants of mine – don’t worry, I’ve not left the building, just stepped out of the room for a short break.  I keep telling myself that by Summer things will be so much better – it’s the getting there that’s the scary part.

I just finished reading a really good article for Indie writers on how to handle receiving bad reviews.  And it made me think that perhaps the Three Stars review has gotten kind of a bad rap lately.

Now I totally understand why every author wants to see Five Stars – I do, honestly.

But please, don’t look down on the Three Stars review as if that person didn’t like or worse, hated your baby.  It doesn’t mean that – to me, for certain – nor to most other reviewers either.

I can only speak for myself – but to me those Three Stars mean that your book was good, entertaining and I’d recommend it to a friend.  I see nothing wrong with that description.  I didn’t hate it.  I didn’t love it to pieces either.  But I liked it, I enjoyed my time in your world and I can honestly say to my best friend –  you gotta pick up this XYZ book ‘cos it’s really good.  There is no hate involved there, at all.  I “get” that to an author it’s always going to be somewhat personal because this is your creation.  But those lovely Three Stars simply mean that I liked it.

I doesn’t mean that those who review for the big news agencies or magazines and get paid for giving their opinion – or the new book blogger who is sitting at their home computer late in the night after the kids are in bed are that much different in their valued opinions either.  Any review is that particular person’s reaction to an author’s words.

(I’ll make an exception here for the obvious Trolls who wouldn’t know a good book if it hit them upside the head… they don’t count and never will.)

While I take the rating system of Goodreads or Amazon into consideration when deciding how many stars any book gets – ultimately what it comes down to is whether I’d tell my friend about your book.  Would I rave?  Would I say it’s great?  Would I tell them to run out and buy it ‘cos my copy is sacred now and cannot have a broken spine?  Is it a good fast read for those times you only have an hour or so of quiet time?  Is it something that will stick in your head long after the final word is read?  These are the things that tell me how many “stars” to award any book.  And, yeah, I’ve given my favorite author of all times a Three Stars review, because that particular novel deserved it… In My Opinion.

Authors, writers – please I beg you — think like Michael in The Godfather,  “It’s business, it’s not personal.”  My thoughts in a review of your precious baby are just that – my personal opinion.  I’m never “reviewing the author” – I’m talking about your book… and how I reacted to it.  Someone else may have a completely different reaction – and that is perfectly fine.  ‘Cos last time I checked we’re not robots just yet – and we all get to put in our two cents worth on what we think.  But it’s not the end of the world or a writer’s career.  It’s just my opinion and a Three Stars review is saying I liked what you did there, good job.

Have you ever had those moments when you read something and then just sat back and went.. what the______?

Yeah, me too – just now.  And I’m tired and annoyed enough to toss caution to the wind and say something about it.

I was putting up an Amazon review for a book I just finished and scheduled for later next month, and while there I looked over some of the other reviews (something I’ll do after I’ve gotten mine done and ready to drop – okay, so I’m nosy).

There was a glowing review for this story (and it is an amazing, fun, sexy and entertaining story) – but I’ll be damned if I believe we read the same story because some serious facts were, let’s say scrambled up a bit.

The review states that our hero, a bear shifter, walks into town and finds out that his secret of being a bear shifter has been discovered.  Ahmm… no.  He’s a sheriff who in the very first few pages of the book makes clear that this is a shifter friendly town, heck he even humorously wonders if the towns folk voted for him specifically because of the old “bear shifters are lucky to have around” legend.  So… no, no big shifter secret discovery.  The review goes on to note that our heroine looks up when the sheriff walks into the diner where she works and is excited to see him because she’s been attracted to him for some time now.  Ah, no.  She’s been framed, is on the run and when she sees the sheriff (for the very first time ever) enter through the door she is panicked and ready to run out the back but she holds it together on the off chance that he doesn’t know that she’s a fugitive.   *sigh*

Look, I know that often times we are reading three books in three different formats, and at times details get messed up.  All human here, we make mistakes.  I just… feel bad for the author when I run across that type of review.  Because the story this person talks about on Amazon isn’t the story that someone is going to read after they’ve purchased it based on this review.  And that is not going to reflect back on the reviewer, more than likely it’s going to point right back to the author.  And that’s not fair.

So, yeah – sometimes I wonder if I’ve read the same book as other people.  And it’s not just this one example but this one kind of broke the seal on my annoyance this morning.  Am I going to regret posting this?  Hmmm… no.  It’s my opinion and my blog so nope not regretting it one bit.  I simply wish that if a reader is going to take the time and effort to put up their thoughts on Amazon or Barnes & Noble or anywhere retail – that they actually tell the general facts of the story they’re talking about… not start writing a whole new book.  If I’m reading reviews before I plop down my hard earned money for something to read, I want to know about the actual book and not be disappointed when it doesn’t match up with the basic facts in a review.

We have a family move coming up in the next few weeks.  Finally leaving apartment living and going to the house.  I cannot wait!

It’s the getting to the finally unpacked and home part that’s the major pain in the butt.

This opportunity came up suddenly – but it was impossible to pass up.. so I’ve a lot of packing to do, changing address forms to fill out and sleepless nights ahead.  But I’m telling myself I can sleep in the new house with no neighbors loud music or fire alarm bells ringing (usually false but still) – I may sleep for a week but it’s gonna be So Worth It.

So, why this post?  Well, I’m going to be offline a lot in the next few weeks.  I’ve some scheduled posts up and coming – plus I’ll try to hop on for an hour or so during coffee breaks when I can.

I will apologize from my heart for any inconvenience this sudden move will make on my reviewing commitments.  But frankly – this was something I simply could not say no to… so I’ll be around just not as much until some time in February.

…now where did I leave that masking tape and marker?

We’re on the final countdown.  Hours to go.

How did yet another year get away from us?

Here at Keeper Bookshelf I’m ending the year with a good feeling.  While I may not have accomplished all of my goals – I’ve made a darned good start, and I’m content with that.

On a completely personal note, I got some disturbing news recently.  Seems that the blurry and fuzzy words on my monitor and Kindle cannot be fixed with a new glasses prescription.  Instead, next week I’ll begin to find out how bad and what can be done with a cataract on my left eye.  Funny, I always thought I’d be able to see one of those suckers on my eyes – but apparently not always.  For someone who loves to read as much as I do – aside from having several bookish blogs that need daily attention… this kinda hit me hard emotionally.  Oh, I know it can be fixed.  It’s just something that happened to my grandmother – not me.  *sigh*  How silly we are at times, right?

Anyway, because of the strain I’m putting on my eyes right now (current glasses don’t work and cannot get new ones because they wouldn’t work either)… I’m probably going to slow down just a bit on my reviews.  I don’t want to – but I think until this is resolved, I need to.  I imagine I’ll still be posting at least once a day – and I have tons of posts and reviews that are scheduled, so you may not actually see very much difference.  But I’ll know what’s happening in the background so I need to effectively deal with that mentally and emotionally.

2016 will offer up challenges for us all – that’s not anything new..  My wish for you is to have a safe New Year Eve’s celebration — and then enjoy the rest of the year doing what makes you happy.  Big – small – it doesn’t matter, but doing what you love is a gift we give to ourselves every single day.  I wish that gift for you.

May 2016 bring you every happiness you ever dreamed of – and may you go through it with your sense of humor, faith and love intact.  Can’t wish for much more than that, really.

Well, look at that.  We made it through, well almost through, 2015.  Five more days to put the finishing touches on the plans for 2016.  And then we’re gonna start all over again.  Gotta love dedicated readers like us, right?  🙂

And I’m just abut a week away from having Keeper Bookshelf up and running on a daily basis for its first complete year.  Not bad at all.  This is an accomplishment I certainly am proud of.

I learned a lot.  Certainly embarrassed myself at times.  Met some amazing book people.  And talked to authors for the very first time.

And I guess most importantly – I didn’t give up on the dream, the plan – the crazy idea to take what I love doing, reading, and create something about that personal joy of mine.  I’ve got a long way to go, but I kept at it for this first year.  Day after day, even when I was certain no one even knew this place existed.  But I did – and that’s all that mattered then.

So here I am, late in the evening letting my mind wander to all the things I want to do this coming year.  And wondering just how the heck I’m going to manage it.  I’ve got this notebook that I’ve jotted stuff down in all of 2015 – you too?.  So now comes the time to take the ideas and make them reality.  That is the scary part, but also the adrenaline pumping part too.

I simply wanted to say to all of us who sit and read, find that extra moment to get lost in another world for a bit – to those of us who call ourselves review bloggers or book bloggers… Good Job.  Take a bow, we’ve earned it.  Okay – now back to work.  The new year is about to start and it’s time for us to jump in to the reading frenzy for another round of the stuff that we consider fun.  Yeah, maybe a bit crazy but someone’s gotta do it.

Thank you for a fantastic 2015 — and here’s to an amazing 2016.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock recently you might have heard of a pretty big movie release – a little film called Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  Yeah, pretty big deal for us Star Wars fans.

I was lucky enough to see it this past Thursday, December 17th thanks to my son staying online for about 4 hours to get tickets to the day before release viewings.

The Force Awakens is, in my opinion pretty amazing.  The new adventures, the chance to catch up with old friends.  It met my every hope and then some.

I will be the last person to talk publicly about the film.  Yes, I absolutely loved it.  Would recommend it to fans and new to the franchise movie goers who want to see what all the fuss has been about all these years..  But I won’t talk about it.  For one main reason.

Why would I (or anyone) want to spoil this movie for those that haven’t seen it yet?  I do not understand that concept.  Especially when there are parts of this film that even Disney managed to keep under wraps right up until release.  Why would I mess that experience up for anyone?

Yet there are already headlines and Twitter comments, Facebook posts, blog posts, television reports and media of every sort out there ready to spoil the experience for any person who happens to run into those comments.  I have friends who have shut themselves off from social media in order to try to not hear tidbits about the film before they get to the theater themselves this weekend.

So what does Star Wars have to do with book reviews you ask… well, everything.  I feel about books the same way I feel about people blasting the entire plot of a movie I haven’t seen yet.  I don’t want to know.  I want to experience it for myself – not have someone, a reviewer (be it movie or book reviewer) tell me the entire story in minute detail.  That SPOILS IT FOR ME.

Come back in say… a year, and we can discuss plot twists until we’ve exhausted every tidbit of the movie or book.  But right now – on launch day, on release day… let me experience it myself.  Please.

I don’t know about you – but I love getting gifts.  So, yeah Christmas is a really explosive fun time around my house.

There is a fun, and gift filled giveaway going on over at  Indie Romance Authors Christmas Kindle Giveaway.  A Paperwhite Kindle and lots of ebooks to start off stuffing your brand new Kindle.

Fill out the form, answer the questions and someone is going to be picked to win big time.  So, if you like giveaways, contests and just plain fun head on over and check it out – maybe it’s something you’d like to take part in.

I learned about it from author Caroline Mickelson whose stories I always enjoy – right now on Keeper Bookshelf I’ve got a bunch of her Christmas stories up for the Christmas Daily Feature.

So excuse me – I gotta go put on my thinking cap and enter a contest.  Happy Christmas everyone!

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”  ~ George Eliot

 

This Reading Challenge is simply for pure fun — and adventuring out beyond my own comfort zone in the genres that I don’t normally read.

I honestly don’t intend to get caught up in Challenge madness this year.  The three Challenges that I’ve posted about this morning will probably be the only ones that I do this year.  I have a better idea of my time limits going into this second year of book review blogging.  I’m not super blogger by any means *grin*  I wish.

The New To You Reading Challenge is simply reading an author that you’ve just discovered, or trying out a far different genre than you usually read.  It’s simple, uncomplicated and just about anyone could do it.

So head over to the sign up page at The Herd Presents and check out the rules and suggestions.  I’m going for Level 4 of 50 books.  I believe I can master that, after all I’ve got an entire year.  🙂