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Get Lost in a Book Reviews » 🌐 2026-07-10
@virginia-gruver.com@virginia-gruver.com

Bamboozled by Barbara Barrett

This is the second in the Mah Jongg Mystery series. Barbara is a friend and local author. I read the first book Craks in a Marriage a few years ago, but I became interested in reading more of this series after I recently took a Mah Jong class. (If you’re wondering why I have it spelled two different ways, it’s because I am not sure of the proper way to spell Mah Jong because the author spells it with two g’s but the class I took was one g. Maybe both are correct?) Now that I have taken the class, the terms used in the books now make sense. I am hoping to become part of a regular Mah Jong group soon.

This book is about Sydney and Trip Bonner, a husband and wife. Sydney is part of a Mah Jongg group in Florida. Her husband golfs with some of the other husbands. After the first book, Trip asked Syd not to get involved in investigating any more murders. He became involved with this one, thinking he could protect her. Of course he doesn’t do a very good job of it.

When Dorcus Wiley is found murdered, Cathy, one of Syd’s Mah Jongg friends is accused of murder. Her and her husband ask Syd and Marianne, another Mah Jongg player to help them prove her innocence. In the last book Syd and Marianne were the main sleuths.

Cathy had been working for the victim to help sell essential oils. It sounded like a pyramid scheme that went bad. All the people who worked along with Cathy for Dorcas became suspects.

While investigating the murder, they are also dealing with Kat, another Mah Jongg buddy who is dealing with breast cancer.

Syd and Trip follow the clues in hopes of finding Cathy innocent. They meet some questionable characters. We also find out that Kat has a police Sheriff who is romantically interested in her. He finds out about her illness and while concerned for Kat he also must keep warning Syd and Trip to leave the investigation to the police.

This is an interesting cozy mystery. There were enough suspects to keep me guessing until the end. I liked the human aspect of this story with Kat’s illness and how the friends supported her while trying to help Cathy.

I enjoyed the scenes that included information about Mah Jongg. I do believe that readers who understand Mah Jongg may get more out of this series. I know it made more sense to me after I had taken the classes.

I like the characters and the setting and do plan to read more in this series. I did mention the books to my Mah Jongg class and know that at least one person had already started reading the first book.

I do enjoy reading all my friend’s books. I often catch myself hearing their voice as I read. I also like the cover art it reflects the humor.

My one problem with this book was the number of characters. Sometimes I had to go back to make sure I knew who – was who. I also thought Cathy and Kat’s names were too similar. I got them mixed up at first. I do understand why there might be so many characters because of the number of players in Mah Jongg. I will read more to see if this becomes less confusing for me in future books.

If you like a good cozy mystery and are curious about Mah Jongg, I recommend this series. I would suggest starting with the first book in the series, Craks in a Marriage.

First published April 3, 2018

I include links to purchase. As an associate, I earn from qualified purchases. Thanks to all my readers who have supported me in the past.

A few books in this series by Barbara Barrett:

Bamboozled

Craks in a Marriage

Flower Power

Beware of the East Wind

Off the Rack

Connect the Dots

What I am currently reading:

Erie Ending by Christy J. Kendall

Last Night was Killer by Mary Pauline Lowry

I am discovering lots of new authors this year, thanks to NetGalley and recommendations from friends. If you have read a book, you think I should read, please leave a comment. I have found some of my favorite books from friends.

Happy Reading!

If you like a bargain. Check out my online bookshop at Pango Books.https://pangobooks.com/bookstore/virginia468417

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#BookReview #Books #Fiction #Florida #MahJongg #Mystery #reading

Author Krishna Prasanth Guttikonda » 🌐 2026-07-10
@krishna-author.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy

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Follow: @krishna-author.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy

Books collection amzn.to/4mHoT11

Celebrity » 🌐 2026-07-10
@celebrity@mas.to

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 https://www.magmoe.com/3088028/entertainment-news/2026-07-10/

Ken Lussey » 🌐 2026-07-10
@KenLussey@mastodon.scot

How far would you go to right a wrong? ‘The House With 46 Chimneys’ is a spooky adventure story for younger readers involving a two-century-old family mystery and the haunting of Dunmore Park, a ruined house in central Scotland.

The sheer size of Dunmore Park is clear from the main cellar corridor in the south range. The cellars have a key role as the story develops, both as the ruins seen here and back when the house was complete.

Find out more:
https://www.kenlussey.com/h46c/index.html

#Books #Bookstodon

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The image shows the view along the main cellar corridor running the length of the south range of the house. Tall stone walls rise on both sides, linked by overhead arches. There are dark doorways on both sides. The front cover of ‘The House With 46 Chimneys’ is shown in the top right corner.

Asamblea de palabras » 🌐 2026-07-10
@asambleadepalabras@mastodon.social

LEE Y COMPARTE EL #PoemaDelDía

"El olvido", de Nato Ingorokva (Georgia, 1969) https://franciscocenamor.blogspot.com/2026/06/poema-del-dia-el-olvido-de-nato.html

#Poesía georgiana contemporánea (@HuergayFierro editores, Madrid, 2023, ed. y trad. de Lana Kalandia y Rodolfo Häsler).

#poetry #poem #books #libros

jaimedavid327 » 🌐 2026-07-09 / 2026-07-09
@jaimedavid327@jaimedavid.blog

When Literary Titan Put My Book on Their Podcast

There are certain moments in an author's journey that stand out forever. Publishing a book is already a surreal experience. For years, a story exists only in your imagination. It lives inside your head. Then, eventually, you take that idea and turn it into something physical. You write the words, edit the manuscript, format the pages, create the cover, and finally release it into the world. But once a book is released, something else happens. You have to let go. The story that was once […] [SENSITIVE CONTENT]

There are certain moments in an author’s journey that stand out forever.

Publishing a book is already a surreal experience. For years, a story exists only in your imagination. It lives inside your head. Then, eventually, you take that idea and turn it into something physical. You write the words, edit the manuscript, format the pages, create the cover, and finally release it into the world.

But once a book is released, something else happens.

You have to let go.

The story that was once completely yours now belongs to readers. It belongs to reviewers. It belongs to anyone who decides to pick it up and experience it for themselves.

As an independent author, those moments can feel especially meaningful because every milestone represents something you built yourself.

Recently, I experienced another one of those moments.

My debut novel, Wonderment Within Weirdness, was featured on the Literary Titan podcast, and that podcast episode was recently uploaded to YouTube.

Seeing that happen was incredibly exciting because Literary Titan was already an important milestone in my journey as an author.

They were one of the first major literary organizations to recognize my work.

They reviewed my book.

They awarded it the Literary Titan Silver Book Award.

And now, their discussion of my novel has reached an even wider audience through YouTube.

For an indie author, moments like this are incredibly meaningful.

When I first published Wonderment Within Weirdness, I knew I was creating something unusual.

I knew it was not a typical science fiction story.

I knew it was not going to fit neatly into one category.

The book was a combination of science fiction, fantasy, satire, adventure, cosmic speculation, and my own personal ideas about life, existence, morality, and the universe.

It was a story that I wanted to be big.

I wanted it to feel like an epic journey.

I wanted it to explore massive ideas while still being driven by personal emotions.

And when Literary Titan reviewed it, they recognized many of those elements.

Their podcast discussion focused on exactly what makes Wonderment Within Weirdness the type of story it is.

The review begins with the basic premise.

The story follows Matthew Tiberius, who dies and awakens in a strange and unexpected version of heaven.

Instead of finding a simple, peaceful afterlife, Matthew discovers a bizarre world filled with politics, conflicts, strange systems, and mysteries.

The heaven of Wonderment Within Weirdness is not just a place of eternal peace.

It is a fully developed world.

It has neighborhoods.

It has organizations.

It has conflicts.

It has power struggles.

It has systems that reflect many of the issues found in human society.

That was one of the things Literary Titan highlighted.

The idea of taking something traditionally viewed as perfect and exploring what happens when that environment becomes complicated.

Because one of the biggest themes behind Wonderment Within Weirdness is questioning systems.

Questioning authority.

Questioning judgment.

Questioning whether even supposedly perfect worlds can contain flaws.

The podcast also highlighted the scale of the story.

One thing I always wanted with this series was to create something massive.

The first book is not just about one character discovering a strange afterlife.

It expands into larger conflicts involving cosmic forces, different realities, and multiverse-level stakes.

The goal was to create a feeling of exploration.

A feeling that the universe was much bigger than the characters initially understood.

That sense of wonder is something that has always attracted me to science fiction and fantasy.

The idea that there are endless possibilities beyond what we know.

The idea that existence itself can be questioned and explored.

Literary Titan also discussed the tone of the novel.

And this was something I found especially interesting.

They described the writing style as bold, loud, messy, and intentionally excessive.

And honestly, that description fits.

Wonderment Within Weirdness was never meant to be a quiet story.

It was never meant to be a small, simple adventure.

The title itself says a lot.

There is wonder.

There is weirdness.

There is imagination.

There is chaos.

The story embraces being unconventional.

And that is something I have always valued as a creator.

Not every story has to follow the same formula.

Not every book has to feel like everything else already published.

Sometimes the most interesting stories are the ones that take risks.

Of course, a bold style is not going to appeal to every reader.

Every creative choice has people who love it and people who do not connect with it.

But as an author, I would rather create something that has a strong identity than something that feels like it was designed to be completely safe.

Literary Titan also discussed the world-building.

One of the biggest ideas behind the novel was imagining heaven as an actual functioning society.

What would happen if the afterlife had infrastructure?

What would happen if it had communities?

What would happen if beings with immense power still had disagreements, conflicts, and different interpretations of existence?

Those questions helped shape the world of Wonderment Within Weirdness.

The afterlife in the story is not simply a destination.

It is a place with history.

A place with politics.

A place with mysteries.

A place where characters still have to confront questions about morality, identity, and purpose.

Another major point from the review was the exploration of themes.

At its core, Wonderment Within Weirdness is not just about action and adventure.

It is also about bigger questions.

What does it mean to be judged?

Who gets to decide what is right and wrong?

What happens when systems designed to create order become complicated?

How do individuals find meaning in a universe that is larger than themselves?

These are questions that have fascinated humanity for centuries.

Science fiction and fantasy have always been powerful genres because they allow creators to explore those ideas through impossible scenarios.

A spaceship.

A magical world.

An alternate reality.

A strange version of heaven.

The setting may be fictional, but the questions are often very real.

That is what I have always loved about speculative fiction.

It allows us to explore reality by imagining something beyond reality.

The Literary Titan podcast also emphasized who might enjoy this type of story.

They highlighted readers who enjoy unconventional indie science fiction and fantasy.

Readers who enjoy mythological reinterpretations.

Readers who enjoy stories that are not afraid to experiment.

Readers who enjoy big ideas and unusual concepts.

And that means a lot to me because that is exactly the audience I hoped would connect with the book.

I never wanted Wonderment Within Weirdness to simply be another generic science fiction story.

I wanted it to feel like something that could only come from my imagination.

Something unique.

Something strange.

Something different.

The fact that Literary Titan recognized those qualities is incredibly meaningful.

Especially because independent authors often face a unique challenge.

When you publish traditionally, there is usually an established system behind you.

Editors.

Publishers.

Marketing teams.

Distribution networks.

When you publish independently, you are responsible for much more.

You are the writer.

You are the editor.

You are the marketer.

You are the person trying to convince the world that your story is worth discovering.

So when an organization like Literary Titan recognizes your work, it feels like validation that all those hours mattered.

Receiving the Literary Titan Silver Book Award was already an incredible honor.

Having them discuss the book on their podcast was another amazing step.

And now seeing that discussion uploaded to YouTube creates another opportunity.

It means more people can discover the story.

More people can learn what Wonderment Within Weirdness is about.

More people can see what kind of journey I created.

Looking back, it is still amazing to think about how far this book has traveled.

It started as an idea.

Then it became a manuscript.

Then a published novel.

Then an award-winning book.

Then a podcast discussion.

Then a YouTube video.

Every step represents another person encountering something that began in my imagination.

That is one of the most rewarding parts of being an author.

Stories have a life beyond their creators.

Once they are released, they can travel places the author never expected.

They can reach people the author never meets.

They can create conversations.

They can inspire thoughts.

They can become part of someone else’s experience.

That is the dream every writer has.

Not necessarily fame.

Not necessarily becoming the biggest author in the world.

But simply knowing that something you created reached another person.

For me, Literary Titan’s recognition of Wonderment Within Weirdness represents exactly that.

It represents someone else seeing the creativity, ambition, and imagination that went into the book.

It represents a reminder that taking a chance on yourself can lead to unexpected opportunities.

And it represents another chapter in my journey as Jaime David.

When I first wrote Wonderment Within Weirdness, I did not know where it would go.

I just knew I had a story I wanted to tell.

Now, years later, that story has been recognized, reviewed, awarded, and discussed by others.

And that is something I will always appreciate.

Because every book has a journey.

Every author has a journey.

And this has been one of the most incredible parts of mine.

Also on:

website

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young adult reading a book outdoors in khulna

Book dedications bot » 🤖 🌐 2026-07-10
@dedication_bot@stefanbohacek.online

Looking Out for Number One: How to Get from Where You Are Now to Where You Want to Be in Life by Robert J. Ringer #books #literature #dedication

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Dedicated to the hope that somwhere in our universe there exists a civilization whose inhabitants possess sole dominion over their own lives, where every individual has the ability to regognize and the courage to acknowledge reality, and where governments as we know them do not exist.

Fictograma.com » 🌐 2026-07-10
@fictograma@mastodon.social

El Rincón Verde: Bajo la lluvia, entre flores que susurran y plantas que abren portales, Ágata atiende clientes con peticiones imposibles: sueños, muertos… y secretos. ¿Quieres una Grosella Argonia o prefieres la Susurradora?
https://fictograma.com/d/3450-el-rincon-verde

Search results for tag #books

Bamboozled by Barbara Barrett

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When Literary Titan Put My Book on Their Podcast

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN Novelization Makes Major Changes To A Fan Favorite Character