Spiritus Mundi

Trigger Warning I usually try not to let myself read too many spoilers for a book before I get to read it for myself. I wish I’d done the opposite for Educated . I thought that, as a former educator, I would be able to enjoy and appreciate this book. After reading it, though I can certainly appreciate Tara Westover’s life story, I’m not sure that “enjoying” it is possible. Here are the things I wish I’d known before picking up this book. This is not a “nice” book about learning to love school. The narrator and author barely gets any education at all until she turns 17. When she does find her way into school, she almost leaves again because she lacks the fundamentals that so many children get in grade school. Tara’s lack of education is not because it’s hard for her to get to a school; it’s because her parents are afraid of their children being brainwashed by the government. The Westover family’s conspiracy-filled life should not in any way be considered amusing; it’s t

The Case for Audiobooks  My husband “doesn’t read books.” I knew that long before we got married, yet I’m still regularly shocked that I, a former English teacher and lover of language, married a man who doesn’t read. It’s not that he can’t read – he reads his grad school textbooks cover to cover. But he never chooses to read. He finds no joy in the notion of snuggling up with a good book to get lost in the story. The only time I’ve ever seen him read fiction was when I asked him to read with me for my birthday last year. Even then, he never finished the book. All of this was true until I suggested that we listen to an audiobook together in November. We would be driving back and forth across state lines for Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations all winter, so why not spend that extensive time in the car together with a book? My husband begrudgingly agreed, so I downloaded The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Even with all the multi-hour car rides, it still took a long time to

Before we go any further...What is Whole30? Essentially, it's an elimination diet that only allows you to eat "real" food: fruit, veggies, meat, and a few other odds and ends. You can have things like salt and oil to cook with, which helps a lot, too. The point is that you're avoiding added sugar, carbs and dairy (and, yes, alcohol too), completely getting them out of your system.  It's called Whole30 because you eliminate all of those "fake foods" for 30 days, but it's really like Whole50 if you do it right. That's because after the first 30 days, you're supposed to gradually add back in the foods you've been avoiding. If you really want to see how your body reacts to sugar (does it make you tired? overly emotional?), dairy (are there digestive problems? does your skin change?), and carbs (do you feel bloated? are you more or less full through the day?), you have to add them back in one at a time. For instance, you add dairy back

Reviews Without Spoilers is a series in which I review the books I've read without giving away any more than the inside cover plot summary would. I think we all enjoy reading stories that show the strength of the human spirit, despite terrible circumstances. That's probably why war stories are so popular. Personally, I've read dozens of wartime novels and even taken a graduate class on the poetry of World War I. Despite all of that, I wasn't a fan of The Summer Before the War . For some historical background, the summer of 1914, right before World War I began, was supposedly perfect. The weather was wonderful, and there was somehow an infectious air of simple joy in England. Maybe that's just the way that summer of innocence was remembered after the fact, but the notion that such beauty can preface such tragedy gives me chills. I had expected this novel to center on that summer and its beauty, but, in reality, the summer only lasted for the first 100 pages

https://www.eloquii.com/customerservice-help?subViewFolderId=about_us&subViewId=about_us_main Photo from eloquii.com You should never feel forced to wear clothes that are baggy, ugly or too tight. Your wardrobe should encourage you to express yourself to the fullest extent of who you are and all that you want to be. In the last Self Love series post , I talked about Average Emily and her quest to find clothes that fit the body of the average American woman…and that fit her style, too. With the help of Whitney McGruder of  witandtravesty.com , I’ve put together a list of some of the most size-inclusive stores you can shop at. It’s easy enough to search the web for the best plus size stores, but what do those listicles really tell you? I don’t know about you, but seeing one cute shirt isn’t quite enough for me. Instead of that, I’ll be going in depth to see what these stores have to say about their sizing and purpose. I’ll do a price comparison of basic items and see just

Reviews Without Spoilers is a series in which I review the books I've read without giving away any more than the inside cover plot summary would. I've read three novels by Markus Zusak. My first was The Book Thief (2005) , the world-renowned bestseller about a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany. It quickly became one of my favorite books of all time because I'm intrigued by historical stories, moved by the characters, and inspired by the writing style. Because I liked it so much, I went back and read one of Zusak's older books, I Am the Messenger  (2002) - it was thoroughly disappointing. I guess, somehow in the three years between novels, Zusak found what it takes to tell a compelling, realistic story. I'm glad he did! I discovered The Book Thief  in 2013, so I was a bit behind the times, but I adored it nonetheless. In 2016, I went to see Zusak speak near my hometown, and it was just wonderful. He was insightful, purposeful and honest. He seemed to real