Her Royal Momness and I were cruising literary headlines the other day. Several asked stuff like:

• What’s the most emotional book you ever read?”
• What’s the funniest book you ever read?
• What’s the saddest book you ever read?”

The beat goes on: The most beautiful book? (Kimber: No idea what that means. Mom: Me neither.) The toughest? The longest? The most challenging? The most surprising? Inspiring? The most memorable? The best non-fiction book? Lots more.

Then there’s the one that gets us every time: What’s the best book you ever read?

So irritating. Because, of the zillions of books we’ve read since the earth’s crust cooled (Hi, Mom), how in the Sam Hill are we supposed to choose one? As in, “the” best book ever?

Kimber: Isn’t that like asking a mom which kid she likes best?

Mom: Pretty much.

So irritating again.

Oh, sure. We have our favorites. Titles and authors we return to over and over. Timeless classics. Well-worn covers. Lassie and little houses. Tales of Two Cities. A lioness born free. A little boy and a chocolate factory. Peter and Wendy. Dorothy Gale and buds. Roald Dahl. C.W. Anderson. John Eldredge and Elisabeth Elliot. Max Lucado. Virginia Lee Burton and Robert McCloskey. Charles Swindoll. Gary Paulsen and John Grisham. Scott O’Dell, Cornelia Funke, Jan Karon and Richard Paul Evans.

So many more.

So the question of “the ….” (fill in the blank) is one we routinely ignore. Mostly because it’s not something we can answer in a nano-second. Or while sleep-scrolling at 0234.

It requires careful thought. Evaluation. Reflection.

How do we mentally sort thru a Mount Everest tower of titles in a heartbeat, especially when we have another Himalayan haul of books waiting? One of us just doesn’t have that kind of energy (Hi again, Mom).

So when the question of “the best…” comes up, it generates a two-field response: 1) Whaddya mean by “best”?, and 2) How much time do you have?

Better:

• What book(s) have you recently read and thoroughly enjoyed? (The Forbidden River – Lila Cyr-Robillard; Nomadland – Jessica Bruder; Saved By Her Enemy – Don Teague and Rafraf Barrak; The Wrong Stuff: How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned – John Strausbaugh)
• What author’s book would you stand in line to buy? (John Eldredge, Max Lucado, Raena Rood, Cathay O. Reta.)
• Name a book you’d purchase as a gift and tell us why. (Falling Into Magic – Elizabeth Pantley. Snappy, sparkly and sassy! Tuesdays With Morrie – Mitch Albom. Contemplative, reflective. Walking With God – John Eldredge. Insightful, practical, beautifully written!)
• What book never gets old? (The Bible.)
• Name a book that was a childhood favorite. (Where The Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak. The Silver Brumby – Elyne Mitchell. Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds – Joy Adamson.)

Kimber: See any “the…” questions here, Sweet Stuff? Nah…

What would you add?