The Book Of Joe, by Jeff Wilser

I'm not ordinarily a fan of books about political figures.  In fact, up until The Book of Joe, I don't think I'd ever read one.  But what little I did know about Joe Biden interested me, and I liked the tagline: "The life, wit, and (sometimes accidental) wisdom of Joe Biden.

As it turns out, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.  It did, of course, discuss his political trajectory, but it spent just as much time - if not more - talking about Joe the person, which is what I found fascinating. From a young boy with a painful stuttering problem, to a confident (but never OVER-confident) young man, to a husband and father who endured the greatest of tragedies.  He was, and is, a man of great integrity and principles, and the boy next door who just wants to enjoy his ice cream cone, and this author described it all so very well.

Joe Biden carried, and continues to carry, wisdom from his mother, most notably the admonishment she gave him when he was just a boy:  "No one is better than you.  And you're not better than anyone else." These are words that Biden absolutely took to heart, as he remains by all accounts, a real, humble, relatable man.

Excellent, touching, and at times very funny account of a great man.  A good read even if you're not particularly interested in his politics.


"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

How To Fix A Broken Record, by Amena Brown

How To Fix a Broken Record is one woman's journey of learning to let go of past wounds, to love, to be herself, to say yes to a life that served her, and no to the things that did not. Woven through the deeper themes in the book was a delightful recounting of bad dates, hair snafus, nerdy clothes, social media, music, and stories from The Waffle House.

I enjoyed this book so very much.  While the author and I led different lives, there were so many parallel similarities that I often found myself tearing up at her ability to so deeply "get it."  This is a book that I think anyone could relate to, particularly those who struggled to fit in, to find ourselves, and to get rid of the old negative voices from our past.

Her writing style is warm, casual, and conversational.  I didn't feel like I was reading a book; I felt like I was having coffee and danish with a girlfriend... talking about big things, small things, and everything in between.  And laughing.  There would definitely be laughing.

Finally, while her faith so clearly guides her, the book never once felt preachy or heavy-handed. Instead, it was honest and sincere.  She writes about Jesus in a similar way to the way she writes about her husband... in a way that lets the reader know that she takes the relationship seriously, but not without injecting her natural lightheartedness and humor.  One of my favorite lines: "I'm also pretty sure that Jesus would never invite anyone to play Candy Crush Saga."

Lovely, funny, and touching book.  Two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

*I received this book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.*