What if you read for a year instead of looking at screens?

Nampa, Idaho - December 31, 2025 - What does one do when TV, radio, news, sports, and social media are no longer attractive? They read, of course! I, for one, have had enough of incessant commercial advertisements and algorithms that claim to understand me. That was three years ago; since then, I’ve read 94 books—44 in 2025 alone. Here are the most notable books from this year:

BEST:

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen ***

The Stranger by Albert Camus ***

Rust: A Memoir of Steel and Grit by Eliese Colette Goldbach ***

HONORABLE MENTION:

 

Source Code: My Beginnings by Bill Gates **

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury ***

The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel ***

 

WORST:

 

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Melania by Melania Trump

To see the whole list of 94 books, click here.

All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

TRUNKS ART writes book reviews, too. Here's my latest on Melania Trump's autobiography...

 Nampa, Idaho - December 23, 2025 - If writing for a large audience has taught me anything, it’s that relatability and entertainment are paramount for keeping readers engaged. Apparently, the ghostwriters of Melania Trump’s self-titled autobiography (2024) never learned these lessons. Despite wanting to tap out before the end of the first chapter, I continued to the bitter end, repeatedly asking myself, “At what point does she become a mere mortal?”

 I picked up the First Lady’s book earlier this month because I wanted to find out who the real woman is behind the couture, the fancy hats, flawless makeup, and perfectly styled hair. But after spending two evenings giving her the benefit of the doubt, I’m back to where I started—clueless. If you’re the type who enjoys reading self-aggrandizing LinkedIn posts, perusing nauseating Christmas letters, or watching reruns of Robin Leach’s Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, then you’re going to love Melania—a lobotomized, tone-deaf book that is both static and bloodless.

 I’m certainly not the only one who feels this way. Melania has been universally panned across the board, leaving reviewers to shake their heads and suspiciously wonder if her whitewashed autobiography is just another piece of propaganda to toe the company line. My advice to the First Lady: Get rid of the ghostwriters, turn off the AI content generator, and let America see the real you. 

All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

Book Total for TRUNKS ART Stands at Eight (with more to come)!

 

Nampa, Idaho - December 16, 2025 - What can I say? I have a lot to talk about. 😊 

All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

Just finished another terrific book so I had to write to the author!

 

Nampa, Idaho - December 9, 2025 - I realize that it’s unlikely I’ll hear back from an author, but I write to them anyway, especially after I've been thoroughly entertained by their wonderful book. 

Here’s what I wrote:

Dear Ms. Koppel,

I love nonfiction books about the 50s and 60s; yet, I’ll admit I kept avoiding The Astronaut Wives Club every time I saw it on a shelf and when it’d pop up as a suggestion on my phone. I think it was because the cover features seven June Cleaver types arranged around the Mercury capsule. “Here we go. Another girlie book pushing the feminine agenda.” 

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Not only was the AWC a thoroughly entertaining book that matched the storytelling of best-selling author Bill O'Reilly, but it also served as an undisputed microcosm of everything that was happening in America during that turbulent time. Not only did you capture the all-important human elements behind the launches and splashdowns of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, but you also addressed the monumental geopolitical, social, and cultural changes during those early NASA years.

Thank you for writing this wonderful book. It’s one of my all-time favorites.

 

Sincerely,

 

Chuck Trunks

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All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

Sometimes Authors DO Write Back!

 

Nampa, Idaho - November 18, 2025 - I realize that it’s unlikely I’ll hear back from an author, but I write to them anyway. However, sometimes I get lucky—as I did with Elizabeth Greenwood.

Here’s what transpired:

Dear Ms. Greenwood,

I just finished reading your captivating book, Love Lockdown: Dating, Sex, and Marriage in America’s Prisons. You’re receiving this letter of gratitude through your website—rather than an Amazon review (five stars, by the way)—because I found your book at my local library. I want you to know that I feel so much smarter and more informed about a facet of our society that so many of us disregard or relegate to titillating soundbites on shows like A&E’s Lock Up.

By showcasing the various couples throughout the book, you put real faces and emotions into stories that all of us can relate to. Of course, most of us aren’t having to navigate the conundrum that is the prison system of the United States to see our loved ones, but we can all relate to what you wrote on page 357: “But all relationships, in their very essence, are acts of delusion.”

Thank you for all the work you put into this wonderful book, Ms. Greenwood, and thank you for opening my eyes (and my heart) to those courageous wives who are willing to sacrifice so much for the chance of finding true love.

Sincerely,

Chuck Trunks

- - - -

Chuck, you have made my day, week, month, year!!! Thank you so much for reaching out to let me know your experience of reading the book. It really means the world to me. Thanks again!
xo liz

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All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

Spot Me: A Gym Memoir is available on Amazon! Only excellent reviews so far!

 Nampa, Idaho - October 29, 2025 - An excerpt from Chapter 5:

“After finding out that Phillip had only been training for a month, giving him a measly eight months to prepare for a 26.2-mile marathon, I didn’t have the heart to tell him that if he completes it, he’ll earn a finisher’s medal along with two extra parting gifts: at least one lifelong injury and a burning hatred for running. Over the following four weeks—prior to going silent—I shared my first marathon experience with Phillip, even going as far as offering training tips I had learned from veteran coaches in my former running clubs. To his credit, he never hit me up for a donation to support his efforts for the Leukemia Society.”

Back Cover:

If you’re struggling with having to pay monthly fees to a gym or wondering why you even have a gym membership in the first place—you’re not alone. More than five years ago, I reached my breaking point and added the commercial gym experience to my ever-growing list of things I used to do. Now it’s right up there with voting, air travel, concerts, movie theaters, and most restaurants.

If the corporatization of gyms didn’t turn them into soul-crushing places like Crunch Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, and Planet Fitness, then the phone-laden, headphone-wearing members did. Besides their homes and work, Americans used to have a third space to go to—like gyms, coffee shops, parks, and recreation centers—to find community and forge friendships.

Spot Me: A Gym Memoir is my eighth book, and like the seven that came before, it’s comprised of a handful of true stories that serve as gym-related testimonials, each supporting my expressed opinions about the country we live in.

All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

TRUNKS ART still believes in giving credit where credit is due.

 

Nampa, Idaho  - October 23, 2025 - Although I realize that I most likely won't hear back from this author, I still believe in giving credit where credit is due. Terrific read.

All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).