MY READER'S BLOCK: GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Pareidolia

SCAM artist alert

Apparently there is someone calling themself "Luigi Calloway" out there who is claiming to be associated with the Mount TBR Reading Challenge. He is contacting authors and telling them if they pay him, then their books will be used for the challenge. It's possible he's also telling people they must pay to participate in any way. Please know that there is absolutely no charge associated in any way with this reading challenge and that this person does NOT represent me or anything associated with my blog. I DO NOT endorse anything that he claims.There will NEVER be a reason for anyone to have to pay for participation in any way for any of my challenges. If only people who exert this much time and effort on scamming people would put it into something worthwhile....like reading their own books! A message to Luigi: Please cease and desist contacting authors (or anyone) in my name or claiming to represent this reading challenge. You absolutely DO NOT.

Monday, March 30, 2026

GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Pareidolia

My new bookish meme for 2026: the Golden Age of Detection (GAD) Mystery Word of the Day. Whenever I find a word that I'm unfamiliar with--or shall we say not absolutely confident I know the exact meaning of, I'm going to actually take time to look it up and share it with mystery-lovers everywhere. 😊

Today's GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Pareidolia (noun): the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern.

This is a first-class case of pareidolia. You're trying to pick out patterns where there aren't any, like those fools who look for faces in clouds. (from the GAD-style mystery The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead)