Book Reviews Archives - Junkyard Wisdom

Favorite Books of the Year

I read a lot of books. This year the total will probably be 75-80. Once a year I share my favorites, and no it’s not always one of my books (though you should read Junkyard Wisdom Advent….just sayin’).

This list is not really the best of the year because, obviously, I didn’t read all the books available. So I call this my favorite books of the year.

A key factor in determining the winner is simply how often I find myself telling others about the book. If I’ve bored someone over lunch telling them about a book, or texted …

Book Launch!

Want to be part of a book launch? I’m making a list of people who will help get the word out about my upcoming book of Advent devotions. Let me know if you’d like to help!

Hopefully the book will be available for preorder soon, and it should be ready for shipping on October 1. It’s coming fast!

Somewhere I read, “According to my chocolate Advent calendar, there are two days left before Christmas.” That’s a bit how I feel these days as the weeks fly by.

If you are curious, the book is based on the Advent devotions written …

The Brave In-Between

Amy Low has written an astonishingly vulnerable book titled The Brave In-Between: Notes from the Last Room. Her story begins when her life has it all. She is successful, smart, married to the man of her dreams, has two wonderful kids … life is looking great.

Then, sadly, the marriage falls apart. Tough decisions have to be made. Then another blow when, in her late-40’s, she’s diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.

This is not my typical read. Amy is rightfully in anguish throughout much of the book, and I was sometimes ready to put the book down. The …

Empowered to Repair

Does it seem to you that the world is falling apart? I’m not actually a big believer in such defeatism, but you hear people talking about it all the time. Wars abound, democracy is threatened, climate change is unsolvable, and the systems that hold our society together are fraying at the edges.

There is obviously a great deal of good happening too. It is often hidden by a flurry of bad news being blasted at us through a megaphone of media platforms, but good things are happening.

The problems might not be as bad as we think, but we all …

Annual Book Recommendations

Thanks to all of you who tell me how much you look forward to these recommendations. Writing this post is one of the few consistencies in this blog!

As of now I’ve read 70 books this year, and I’ll read a few more this December. The recommendations below come from the 70, but narrowing it down was difficult. My first list was 16 books! From there I got it down to eight, and I’ll call the other eight honorable mentions. So here goes.

My favorite work of fiction was The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. A brilliant …

Summer Reading

Lots of people know me as the junkyard guy. Or the Belize guy. Or the devotions guy. Or even, though increasingly less common, the real estate guy.

But here’s a surprise. I’m also the book guy. I read a lot of books. For a long time I averaged about 100 a year, but that’s lower lately. Lots of reasons why — though falling asleep faster when I go to bed is probably the main reason!

Now here we are at the halfway point of the year and I’ve read about 40 books. On the list you’ll find some fun …

Five Books That Changed My Life

A few years ago, when I published my second book, I was asked to write a short article about the five books that changed my life (and the Bible was assumed so they asked me not to include it). I recently came across the article and thought you might find it interesting. Or not.

Full disclosure, a lot more than five books have changed my life. But when I had to cut it down to just five it made me reach across various literary genres and styles. That was fun, but it created an eclectic list.

So here goes …

Ten Best Books of 2022

Okay, it’s actually the ten best books I read in 2022. Does that count? I think it does. It’s my list, so it reflects my interests. All of them would make good gifts to the right people. Or not, I don’t know. I just loved them.

So here goes:

My favorite book of the year is The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman. This is the third installment of the Thursday Murder Club series, and all of them are a blast. Great contemporary British mysteries that make you chuckle, keep you engaged, and won’t make you roll your eyes …