User:Mudpuppy555

Author and columnist for Wassup Local magazine. Book is titled Life Seemed Good, But.... A collection of short quirky stories. Some of the proceeds go to cancer research.

Selected Reviews from Amazon and Goodreads:

The cover says it is "a collection of quirky short stories." That is like calling the Great Wall of China a garden gate. Really, these stories take the concept of "quirky" to a whole new dimension. These stories are original (understatement), weird, hilarious, mind-blowing...you get the idea. Enter the Mystee Forest and see what wonders you will encounter...

A group of short stories, somewhat in the style of an anthology, Life Seemed Good But ... by Richard Bell is a funny and compelling compilation of stories sure to get you laughing. Reading the first few stories, I was not sure what I thought but as I continued on my journey, I began to see the ties that seemed to connect this set of stories and make it into hilarious continuing work of comedy.

Rolling on the floor, laughing my ass off funny!!! I loved this book. It seriously cracked me up. I actually loved some of these stories so much that I took it to work and read a few out loud. My co-workers, in turn, were laughing their asses off!

“Life Seemed Good, But. . .” was a pleasure to read, and I understood the author’s sense of quirky humor. I found nothing off-putting, nor questionable. The dark and quirky humor is right up my alley. I found it best to read this a little at a time. There is a lot to digest and think about, too.

I absolutely loved this book and can’t recommend it enough. It’s witty, amusing and darn right bizarre, but it has a charismatic charm that hooks you on each page.

It's hard to make me laugh, but in the security of my own home I allowed myself to laugh out loud at this book. It's cute, it's sweet and it's shockingly amazing. There are some weirder stories, and some with a little bit more "adult content" or hints towards it. There are also many references to popular culture that you can pick up on (almost like a little game).

This book was very hard to put down, each story in the book was interesting and funny. Some stories were very surreal, like "Grilled Cheese" which was closer to Dark Comedy, which I really enjoy. Some stories, like “Movie Theater” had been very relatable in a comedic way. Overall though, I honestly enjoyed each and every story in this book and the small continuity that some stories shared really gave the stories an interesting spin as you see stories being affected by stories earlier in the book.

One of the most outstanding things about this book is that it's so down-to-earth. It's not just a bunch of ramblings, nor is it pretentious. It's like a swimming pool with a good PH - it has just the right balance of wit, sarcasm and good-natured fun, the perfect amount of joy and darkness, and even in the stories that don't end so well for the characters, there's always an uplifting moral or little joke or quote to keep things going. I really loved this book and I would definitely recommend it to any reader.

Life Seemed Good, But is a collection of short stories that all take place in the same setting. Each story is somewhat interrelated; unlike other short story collections, it is imperative that this one be read in chronological order to truly grasp it. Although each story is only about a page or two, I can’t stress enough how important it is to take your time with it.