Why Write A Book Review?

Until I became an author and was faced with actually trying to drum up book sales once my book was published, I never new how big Amazon.com was. I never knew about book reviews. I had never written a book review and found out that most of my friends and the people I know didn't either. The only "book reviews" I ever did were book reports in school.

1. It encourages others to read the book so you're helping the author. One of the first tips that my publisher told me to do was to actually ask people I know to review my book on Amazon after reading it. Having reviews helps to get others interested in buying the book if they see others liked it and especially see a lot of people giving it 5 stars (the highest rating on Amazon). I never even went on Amazon until I got My Funny Dad, Harry published.

2. It's a nice thing to do that makes the author feel good. I always get a thrill when I see a good review of my book and am encouraged by that, especially if it's someone I don't know personally. A good review makes my day when I see people actually reading my book and liking it! At first, I would check every day to see if there were any more but now, after 1 1/2 years, I check only now and then. At first, it was people I knew who were willing to do me a favor and help me out, with my husband being first, then my cousin Roger and Jan, one of my co-workers. The first one I got from someone I didn't know personally was J. Kaye Oldham who gave it only 3 stars (liked it) but wrote a very good review. I knew people who knew me would be kind but was nervous about what strangers would think of it--still am!

3. It helps you to remember what you thought of books you read. This is helpful for recommending books to others. Sometimes I'll be reading a blog post and something will remind me of a book I read but I can't always remember the author or the specifics. sometimes I'll come across a discussion thread on a forum about reading or a book and I'll want to look up something quick about it. Then I just go to my "books" document on my computer and look it up. I list all the books I read by author. I can also be blunt here if I didn't like the book and didn't post a review on Amazon or write it here and spell check it and then copy and paste it into Amazon. It's also helpful when discussing books in an online-forum because I can look books up quickly to make sure I get the title right and the author.

Coming up in this series:
How To Write a Book Review
How To Post a Customer Review on Amazon

A Sad Fourth Of July--Striper Was So Much Fun!

On the 4th of July I always remember and think of Striper, one of my dad's stray cats that he brought inside his house. Striper was a great climber and loved to climb on both me and my dad. He would like to go on my dad's back and up by his neck. One day my dad danced with Striper on his back in front of the mirror. Too bad I didn't have my camera with me that day! Striper didn't mind all the junk in the basement and liked climbing on the desk down there. The basement was Striper's territory while Blackie and Timi owned the main floor and Softie, Sweet Thing and Sylvester ruled the upstairs.

I nicknamed Striper "The Entertainer" because that cat would do the funniest things. He loved catnip so much that even when Harry put it in the high kitchen cupboard, Striper managed to climb up there, open the door and get it out! I brought him upstairs now and then when I went over to play with him. He didn't mind being held like the other cats. He tried to avoid the other cats and for the most part, he did.

Poor striper had some kind of blood problem and grew very week very quickly. He climbed up in the drop ceiling of the basement one day and would not come down for days! When cats don't feel well and are about to die, they go off looking for a quiet spot away from people and that's exactly what Striper was doing. Harry could hear some mowing and finally found Striper up there. He set up a ladder and we tried coaxing the cat down using tuna, cat treats but nothing worked.

Finally, on one 4th of July, Striper came down on his own and was extremely weak. Dad called me early that morning to let me know. I was supposed to be in a parade to hand out fliers for our Vacation Bible School but I told Gerard to go without me because I wanted to help dad take Striper to the vet. It being a holiday, we had to go to an emergency care place. When we got there, the vet said the cat was very, very sick and should just be put down. Dad and I said our last good-bye to poor Striper that day but brought him back home and Gerard helped dad bury the cat in his backyard.

Read about all of dad's cats and more about Striper in My Funny Dad, Harry. click here to order (available at Amazon.com or bn.com). Bookstores can also order it for you or contact me for a copy at myfunnydadharry@sbcglobal.net.

Comment Showcase For June

Here are some of the most interesting or funny comments I got on my posts during June that I'd like to share since sometimes people don't bother looking at the comments:

On Why Wash Your Car

Joel said:
This is really refreshing. Like your father, I have never voluntarily washed my car, inside or out. It has at times in my life been a point of contention with my parents, my bosses and my significant others. I have at times been forced to concede to it being washed, but always under protest. Its nice to know that there's someone else as adamant as I about not washing their car.

On What A Great Lawn Mower--

Homesteadh mama said:

That's the kind of lawn mower I need--complete with the little box for rocks! :-)

I swear, your and my Dad's minds worked alike!

Ratty said:

The box on the mower is a great idea. I assumed it came with it because it looked so logical being there. After you said it I realized I had never seen one with a box like that.

Beaded Tail Liked "My Funny Dad, Harry"

"My Funny Dad, Harry" is a wonderful tribute to Karen's dad. She tells endearing stories about her dad in such a way that you feel the emotions ranging from happiness to sadness and everything in between. Harry's love for his cats shines through as does his love for woodworking and fixing things. Harry may have had his own quirks and his own way of doing things but yet I know people that do so many similar things that I could relate to what Karen was going through and feel her frustrations at times. This is such a heart warming book and the stories are written so you feel like you are witnessing them firsthand. I came away with an understanding of aging that I didn't have before and certainly have an appreciation for how everyone has their own unique way of doing things - such as turning junkmail into scratch paper or using orange juice cartons for storage! This book is a wonderful read so be sure to go to order a copy or two!

Posted by permission of Beaded Tail at http://beadedtail.blogspot.com. Thanks for taking time to write this review! I made me feel good to see you liked the book.

Why Wash Your Car?

Harry never washed his cars. I remember when I was a kid, we used to write things with our finger in the dirt on the car sometimes. He didn't care. For one Father's Day, my husband offered to wash my dad's car for him and he didn't even want Gerard to do it. He just said, "I don't need to wash it, I just wait for the rain to wash it off." He didn't want Gerard "wasting" his time washing it either. I really cannot recall one time when my dad washed his own car or even went to a car wash. Although I only remember washing my car once myself, I did go to the car wash now and then. My husband loves a clean car and likes to wash it himself every week. In the winter though, he'll run it through a car wash. He does mine for me too.

What A Great Lawn Mower--The Neuton!

Dad loved gadgets and tools and never hesitated to buy something that he thought would make his life easier. When I was clearing out his garage after he died, I found two hand push lawn mowers and one old gas mower that he had converted to start with a key instead of the pull thing. But his best lawn mower, the Neuton wasn't kept in the garage because he thought someone might break in and steal it so he kept it locked on his enclosed back porch, keeping the curtains closed so people couldn't see it.

Dad had a pretty big yard so he would cut it in parts. The front yard was very small, but the back he would do half one day and the other half another day. His grass was always pretty long too because the conditions had to be just right. The heat never bothered my dad but the medication he took said not to be out in the sun. He was very careful to read all the warnings and follow all the directions to the best of his ability so he'd wait for a dry, cloudy day.

I really don't blame him for being extra cautious because it is a wonderful mower. It's electric but has no cord to worry about. It runs on batteries that are rechargeable. It has no cord to pull, just a key to insert and then press the handle and vrroom, off it goes! My dad liked it too because it was very light weight, easy to push and did a good job of cutting the grass. It was very quiet too so he could even get up early to cut his grass without disturbing the neighbors.

Of course, Harry always looked for ways of improving things. See that little box hanging on the lawn mower? That's dad's creation. He made it special just for that so he could collect the stones and sticks as he went along. I found it very handy.

The Neuton has an attachment for trimming as well, but that part doesn't seem to work so well. Either that, or I just didn't know how to use it. An instruction manual and even a video came with it. My husband uses it now and loves it! We did have a gas mower which we got rid of after using this Neuton one for a year.

(Not a paid post)

Comment Showcase

Since I know I don't usually check comments on posts unless I leave one, I thought it might be nice to pick out some special comments I got during the week and showcase them. I may choose ones that make me laugh, that give interesting information, or that made me feel good.

Judy (Sew and So) and Mountain Woman (Red Pine Mountain) commented on Book Review Of My Funny Dad Harry by Lucky Lady. Both these comments made my day:

Judy said: Oh! I WANT this book! Where can I get it???

Also...I love the header on your blog. If ANYONE and I mean ANYONE messes with my desk, they catch the dickens from me. I know exactly where everything is and know the minute it's moved! LOL

Mountain Woman said: All I can say is if you haven't read the book, you are missing out and you are missing out on giving a fantastic gift idea as well. There's so many people who would love to have a copy of this book.

All the comments on To Sell Or Not To Sell were very supportive but I especially liked this one because she asked about the cats:

Day Photo said: We have had, and still do rental property. Rentals are HARD very hard. People really do not respect rental property and it is hard to get them to leave even after they haven't paid rent FOR A YEAR. So selling is wise, unless you are like my husband and can fix things. (And have me for a wife who can be firm and strong when the rent isn't paid).

But I am curious what happened to all the cats?

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

These are the top comments that made me feel good on Father's Day Contest--Who Knows Harry Best

Mountain Woman said...
Karen, I would feel terrible about entering because I have the book. Not only do I have the book but I gave it as gifts to my Mother and my Aunt as well for Christmas. Both of them who are in their 80s adored the book and then shared it with their friends who also loved it.

This book, however, is for anyone of any age. It's just a special tribute to a wonderful man. You'll laugh, you'll cry and above all, you'll see how much you loved your Dad.

Mrs. 4444 said:
I'm sorry; but as a newcomer here, it would take a lot of time (that I can't afford these days) to find more answers than Lucky Lady! :) I think she deserves it for her efforts :) I'm curious; did your dad know you were going to write the book?

LUCKYLADY said:
I wish I knew all the answers because I would love to win your book your dad sounds like the greatest,my dad left when I was 3 months old and my mom the southern baptist she was never remarried so if I could have a dad like harry I would have been very happy, you were very luck

I appreciate everyone who visits my blog and enjoy reading all the comments. I believe the comments on a blog makes it even more interesting and so I thought by highlighting some like this, it may encourage others to comment as well and give a little recognition to those to take the extra time to leave a comment. I'll plan to do a weekly post on here for at least the month of June and see how it goes. What do you think of it? The last thing I want to do is hurt someone's feelings.