I spent time yesterday cleaning up my eBooks. Yes, I have two – an older Nook given to me by my husband the year we gave one another identical gifts, neither of which were asked for, and a newer version that became the tablet my granddaughters learned about technology from.

I have a lot of eBooks. Most of them cost me less than $3 apiece. But, the eBooks can only hold so many. Of course, I use Calibre to manage my books, so removing them from the books doesn’t wipe them out of existence. I can retrieve them whenever I want to.

Each book that I removed, however, I have to consider. Did I open it? Have I read it? Will I read it if I haven’t already? Why did I, didn’t I, will I, or won’t I? Since I’m writing a book, these questions matter to me.

I had an Aha! moment. Well, actually, two of them.

The first one was: if I didn’t read the book, or I didn’t finish the book, why not?

The second was: why did I buy it in the first place?

I realized that most of my books come from recommendations from people or businesses I don’t personally know. Businesses? I subscribe to BookBub and their business is to recommend books when those books are free or on sale. People? I read blogs, I talk to fellow writers, I subscribe to classes, podcasts, and advice. These are all avenues to book titles.

Not all free or sale books are my cup of tea. Not all books on someone’s recommended list are books I will like. So, I have to research them. Generally, that means going to my favorite eBook-seller and reading a sample chapter or going to a preferred reviewer and reading what others say.

You might call this doing research. I call it building bridges.

Each bridge is specific and personal. It can be a rope bridge across a wide chasm – like the one I built between me and Stephen King. I loved The Green Mile, but very little else. It can be a brick and mortar edifice across strong, silent river – like the one I built between me and Rex Stout. I’ve read everything he’s written.

Whatever type of bridge, it spans a divide; one I label Trust. Wherever I get the recommendation, can I trust it? Can I trust the writer, the reviewer, the critic, or the bookseller? Can I trust the friend or family member? Can I trust it always, sometimes depending on the genre, or rarely?

Is it easy to step out on that bridge and cross the divide? Do you approach the bridge with confidence? Do you believe in a smooth crossing? When you achieve the other side, are you glad you made the trip?

Writers don’t hit every book out of the ballpark for every reader, including their most faithful fans. When you read something that doesn’t hit the mark, does the bridge still stand as built or has it changed?

We build bridges to everyone in our lives. Our experiences measure the divide between us, determine if we want to cross it, and shape the bridge we build to do so. So, too, do we build bridges to books and the authors who write them.

I hope you’re building a bridge to me and my stories.

See you.