Lately, I’ve noticed a number of people generously spreading kindness and support by liking certain posts. I must say, I admire these lovely humans. I sometimes wonder what inspires their enthusiasm. Is it the content, the person behind the post, a secret friendship pact, or perhaps an extraordinary commitment to keeping the like button working? Whatever their reasons, I salute them! Their likes are not just clicks; they are food for thought, fuel for curiosity, and can be a fascinating subject for sociological research. May their thumbs never grow weary and their generosity of likes know no bounds!

Here's an excerpt from Readers’ Review: “Dr. Rolade Brizuela Berthier has a real gift for plucking humor from human behavior in Curious, Mysterious, Hilarious. Berthier's outlook offered a welcome reprieve on a day that I needed it by turning little exchanges into something unexpectedly funny. Berthier's conversational style of storytelling is comfortable enough for newcomers to sociology, and still has plenty to give more seasoned readers some food for thought. Adults who appreciate humorous nonfiction about human behavior are in for a treat. Very highly recommended.” Life is already complicated enough. We might as well have a good laugh about being human! Wishing you plenty of laughter, curiosity, and enjoyable moments as we move closer to the end of 2026.

The greatest truth is that time is the one thing we can never get back. Once it’s gone, not even money, connections, or wisdom can bring it back. The greatest lie? — That we are all equal. In theory, yes; in reality, the world has VIP lounges, preferential treatment, and different rules for different people. Humans lie because: They’re afraid of getting into trouble or losing someone they love. They’ve something to conceal and hope nobody finds out because it’s shameful or it could get them into trouble. They want people to think they are better, richer, smarter, or more successful than they really are. They believe a lie will spare someone’s feelings. They do it to gain money, attention, power, or an advantage. They struggle to admit their mistakes because facing the truth feels uncomfortable. Some people lie so often that dishonesty becomes their automatic response, even when the truth is relatively easier, and every lie requires three more lies to support it. Not every lie comes from evil intentions, and not every truth is told with good intentions. Sometimes people lie because they don’t know the truth. Sometimes they lie because the truth demands a level of courage, honesty, or accountability they don’t have or aren’t ready to show. Lies walk, but truths run! No matter how fast a lie runs, the truth eventually catches up. So, whether we’re giving work-related feedback or a personal compliment, the truth holds. It takes a long time to build honesty (truth), but it takes only seconds to destroy it with a lie. Which do you prefer to hear: The truth that hurts or a lie that makes you feel better? Which do you prefer to tell: The truth that hurts or a lie that makes you feel better? www.roladesocietalblog.com

We just had our first coffee Hour Meetup and some fantastic ideas have been spun out of them. The idea I want to work on is this? I would like to start having regional Virtual Coffee Hour Meetups so that the Authors in certain regions of the country can come together and become friends. Every time a new author joins us we can direct them to the regional meetups so they can start building relationships with authors near them. Also regional meetup events can be done by Big Book Love Regional Leaders. The second idea is to start having Virtual Coffee Hour Meetups for Genres that authors write in so that you guys can mastermind together with authors writing what you are writing. Before we can start this, there is some information that we need to get from you guys. 1. What genre is your main genre you write in? 2. Would you be interested in these localized virtual meetups and genre specific meetups? 3. What days and times are best for you to get online for these meetups? 4. Would you be interested in becoming a Virtual Coffee Hour Regional Leader? Regional Leaders would be made into moderators for the community and you would have the ability to host these meetups right here in our live call zoom room. I would train each Regional Leader so that you understand how the software works. Just throwing this idea out there to gauge interest. Comment below your answers so we can begin to figure how to make this work for the most amount of people.+ Paul Roberson Community Executive Director https://www.bigbooklove.com/paul-l-roberson/

Hi all, my publisher just sent me this news. I was very excited so I wanted to share. 😊