The Stuff We Keep
Shortly after our parents passed away and we went through the process of disposing of their belongings, my husband and I watched many of our friends go through the experience. We’re at That Age. It’s never easy to sift through someone else’s lifetime collection of Stuff and decide what’s worth keeping, what should be trashed, and what someone else might find useful or interesting.
It didn’t take long to realize that most of our Stuff will have little or no meaning to our children. The expensive china and crystal place settings that every bride in my generation carefully chose? Not much use in this casual day and age. The piano we forced our kids to learn to play? Too heavy, takes up too much room, and who needs it in this era of digital music at the touch of a finger? The photos of grandparents and other relatives? Maybe…if they’re scanned and kept in a digital file, though it’s tough to write names on the back of a digital photo. And without names, the photos mean nothing.
The whole process inspired the idea for my WIP (work-in-progress) and has made me more aware of how much Stuff I keep…and buy. Will this be something my kids end up throwing away?
Three Kinds of Keepers
It has also made me think about what gives value or worth to the things we hold onto. Sometimes we keep something “just in case we might need it.” (Like the cardboardboxes in my utility room.) Other things we keep in the belief we’ll take the time to enjoy them when life settles down. (All those piano music books.) Still other things are kept forthe memories they hold.
I admit I’m a little of all , but primarily a memory keeper. The yellow pitcher that held Kool-Aid on hot summer days when I was growing up, even though it’s now cracked and useless.
The stuffed dog I received for my fifth birthday that comforted me throughout my youth.
The treadle sewing stand that belonged to my grandmother, even though it’s missing the sewing machine.
How about you? Are you a practical just-in-case keeper? A hopeful “maybe later” keeper? Or a sentimental memory keeper?
Leave a comment and let me know what gives worth to the things you keep.
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Earlier this month, my husband and I made a reservation for a lake house based on a single positive review. Unfortunately, that review was misleading and we were forced to cancel and request a full refund.
It seems everyone wants a review these days. Online purchases, restaurants, the garage that changes your car’s oil, the post office, the doctor, the dentist, and even the vet all ask you to review your interaction with them. Even authors ask you to leave a review of their book. It’s so annoying!
So how Important Are Reviews?
When you buy a book online, do you check the star rating? Do you look at how many reviews it has? Do you read the reviews before you decide whether to purchase the book?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you have some idea of the importance of those reviews to readers. Now, let me tell you what those reviews do for the authors. (It’s not just because we like compliments on our work, although that’s nice, too!)
A review lets the author know what readers liked about their book. That way, they can continue writing what readers want to read. Even negative comments, if given without malice, can help an author when writing subsequent books.
If you’re deciding between a book that has eight 5-star reviews and another that has 63 reviews with an average of 4.7 stars, you’re probably going to buy the one that has more reviews. This is called social proof. The more reviews a book has, the greater the likelihood that more readers will buy it.
In addition, the more reviews a book has, the more likely Amazon will promote the book among similar titles. And the easier it is for the author to land other advertising promotions, which will hopefully result in more sales so more readers can enjoy the book and the author can afford to keep writing books that readers love.
Many of us would leave a review if only we knew what to say. A simple “I enjoyed this book” is fine. But if you’d like to say more,I’ve included some ideas below that might help. You don’t need to answer all of these. One per review is fine. The important thing is to leave a review.
- What I like most about this book is…(the characters, plot, setting, action, themes, it challenges my thinking, kept my attention, pulled me in from the start, etc.)
- My favorite character is…
- My favorite scene is….
- I have (or hope to) read more books by this author.
OR
- I didn’t much care for the book because…
- I didn’t find some of the scenes believable, such as….
- I couldn’t identify (or couldn’t sympathize) with the main character.
- The writing style didn’t appeal to me.
Of course, I can’t finish without asking if you’ve read any of my books, would you please leave a review? I will be eternally grateful!
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