“Kimber, what do you think is better? Book or movie?”
Depends, says I, Kimber the Magnificent. Usually on whether we’re reading or watching before or after dinner. Lemme backtrack for a min and explain-ish.
Book Memories
Her Momness has been skipping down Memory Lane via books for much of the summer. She’s re-visited a ton and a half of old favorites. See: The Dog Days and Children’s Classics.
Poppins?
The other day Mom re-read Mary Poppins, by P.L. Travers. Just a few days after watching the Disney movie with Julie Andres and Dick Van Dyke. Having read and watched both versions within a few days of each other, Her Momness was somewhat astonished. At how far apart they are.
Granted, there are things you can and can’t do on the silver screen that you can do in a book. Some book scenes just don’t translate well onto film. But in the case of Mary Poppins The Book vs. Mary Poppins the Movie, the two are almost oceans apart. (We loved Saving Mr. Banks, thank you very much.)
Kimber here. With a question: Where do your best friends live?
The Book Place
Some of our BFFs live at The Book Place. Where they have row after row of books! All lined up on shelves, just waiting to be checked out and read Also…. Oh. Wait. Mom is butting in again. So I’ll let her tell you more and give you some additional background:
Mom: There’s something inspirational about a library. Being in the massed presence of so many authors is like snuggling under a cozy quilt on a snowy day. It’s like Christmas, Independence Day and the First Day of Summer all rolled into one.
Can we talk? Like, about book reviews? Cuz Mom and I are getting flooded with requests for book reviews. We love it! But we also want to be efficient. So we decided to set and clarify some basic ground rules. As in, what to avoid. Or Don’t Be This Author. With this kind of book.
So, here’s how to get a negative review in three easy steps (Examples taken from actual events. Names and places sort of changed to protect the not-so-innocent.):
Her Crankiness is at it again. That scrunchy face eye roll thing.
“Good grief!” Mom flounces. “Not again!” (“Flounces.” Isn’t that a great word? No idea what it means. But Mom likes it. So I do too.)
Now what? says I, Kimber the Magnificent. You know. The level-headed one. All even-keeled and imperturbable. (No idea what that means either. But it sounds good, huh? Can I eat it?)
Well. Gonna cut to the chase here. Save you some time. As in:
IF YOU’RE AN AUTHOR OR AN AUTHOR WANNABE REQUESTING A REVIEW, DO NOT DO THIS!! EVER!!
Can you hear us in the back?
Here’s what we mean. On the Sure Loser List. DO NOT do any of the following. Starting with review requests that send us to third parties. Like:
Dude. Dudette. Listen up. We’re busy. If you can’t be bothered to provide the relevant info we ask for in our Rating System and Submission Guidelines or Sample Review Request, then don’t expect us to bother with your book. We’re just funny that way.
Variation on a theme #2:
Generic much?
We get something like this on our In Box and it tells us:
This author couldn’t be bothered to spend 5 minutes on the blog finding out who we are, what we review, or what our bookish interests are. Also, we could care less about your Goodreads on Amazon page. Cuz newsflash, Cupcake: We’re neither. Hello?
This kind of request also tells us the author is too lazy to provide a decent synopsis of their work in the body of the request email. They expect us to click external links instead. Good luck with that.
#3: Other newsflash, Sweetness: This kind of generic request tells us you not only haven’t read our Submission Guidelines, but you’re also on a fishing expedition. Haven’t even bothered to check if your title is a good fit for this blog or not. Ergo, you’re wasting our time. Not. Cool. So off to the Big Kitty Litter Box In The Sky with you!
These kinds of review requests get dumped. Cuz guess what else, Cookie? We don’t have time to waste on authors who can’t or won’t follow simple instructions. There are plenty of other authors who can. And do. They’re way more likely to get our attention. Savvy?
Isn’t that a great word? Learned it from Mom the other day. As in, the 149th annual Run for the Roses is today! So debates about who was the Greatest Thoroughbred of All Time are… inevitable.
Or so I’m told.
A few other things I learned:
The “Run for the Roses” is also known as The Kentucky Derby. The Derby is always run on the first Saturday in May. It’s the first jewel in the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred horse racing.
Why do I, Kimber the Magnificent, care about Thoroughbred racing? Well, I don’t. Not really. But Mom does!
She’s been reading a Walter Farley book about one of the greatest champions to ever set hooves on a race track: Man O’War. Along with legendary Triple Crown winner Secretariat, Man O’War is a top contender for Greatest Thoroughbred of All Time honors.
Kimber here. With a newsflash: We’ve read over 200 books thus far this year. Some were Pawsome. Some were Stinkers. Most were somewhere in between.
Is this place great, or what?
Go Ahead, Guess!
So guess which books have been the best? Most engaging and enjoyable? Most fun. Inspiring. Entertaining and informative.
Go ahead! Guess!
Never mind. I’ll tell ya:
The Most Pawsome books we’ve read thus far this year are by indie authors. Not best-selling authors. Not “over a million copies sold.” Not “soon to be made into a major motion picture.” Nopers. None of that jazz here. Because frankly, that “bestselling author” stuff is so over-rated. We’ve seen wilted brussel sprouts with more flavor than some of those “best-selling” titles.
So here’s our 100% unscientific, totally subjective version of Best Books We’ve Recently Read in 2025 So Far. All are by indie authors. In no particular order:
Yeah. You. Can ya spare a cake the size of New York? Cuz today’s Mom’s birthday. And that’s how big the cake’s gotta be in order to accommodate all them thar candle thingies.
I was gonna tell ya how old Her Momness is today. But let’s just say she was an eye witness to the parting of the Red Sea and leave it at that, okay?
Anywho. In honor of this auspicious occasion, Mom came up with a list of 40 Things I’ve Learned Since the Earth’s Crust Cooled. We’re calling it The Birthday List. The short version. In no particular order. It goes like this:
Kristin Hannah is a “#1 New York Times Bestselling Author.” She’s “Superb at delving into the character’s psyches and delineating nuances of feeling.” Her books are “full of honest emotion.”
Yawn.
So. Not. Impressed. Truth is, kids, Kristin Hannah novels are a mixed bag. Yeppers, she’s a prodigious talent. Greatly skilled at weaving masterful, suspenseful tales packed with emotion and dripping with drama. Her stories are compelling and usually read-it-in-a-day kind of quick.
But they often leave us feeling like we oughtta wash our eyes out with soap. Or take a shower inside our head.
Hold on to your bacon, friends! Cuz Her Royal Momness has come up with a Royal Doozie this time! Yes sirree, Lassie!
You know how the more you read, the more you begin to get favorite authors? Realize that no matter what they publish, the way they write and structure their work is going to pull you in every time? Like that nice, juicy burger left unattended on the backyard barbecue, so when no one was lookin’…
What?
Oh, right. Favorite authors of all time.
This is harder than you may think. And think. And think. And think again. But some hoomans asked about our fave authors the other day. So we’re up to the task. Or the Royal Doozie, as the case may be.
Pages & Paws 