A Word for Wednesday

"God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. 

A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. 

Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. 

He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, 

or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. 

There is no other. 

That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way 

without bothering about religion. 

God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. 

There is no such thing."

~from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis~

Casual Fridays

Y'all. I ate a salad as a whole meal this week. For those of you who have never met me in real life: this is major. I've been a salad hater all my life and if offered a salad on any given day my quick response is something along the lines of, "Salad is what real food eats" or "Bring me that chicken and gnocchi soup instead" or even just a basic, "Ew, yuck." But my husband is a huge fan of Zaxby's Cobb salads and every time he gets one, I always think it actually looks good. And this week, I got one for myself. Granted, I dumped salsa all over it because I have yet to find a salad dressing (outside of The Melting Pot's secret house dressing) that doesn't make me gag (which, come to think of it, is probably why I've never been a huge salad fan—who wants to eat dry lettuce??), but I actually really enjoyed it and would eat one again. It was super yummy. 10/10 would recommend to a friend.

I discovered this song by Florida Georgia Line this week, and it's been playing on repeat ever since. Don't ignore the fact that I put the actual video in this post: hit that play button. You need this feel good jam in your life. Also, if you can write lyrics that make me think of my husband, you will get my money every time. Insert some hearts and other appropriate emojis here.

Cody and I started a new puzzle, and it might actually be the death of us. We may never finish it. If you want to come over and take a stab at it, be my guest. I've been tempted to just put it back in the box, but after all the agony we went through to get even this far, I can't bring myself to do it. 

So after my last post mentioning my home pedi struggles, my best sisterfriend Lyndsey (who is my personal hair/makeup/fashion guru) texted me that I needed to get this brand for a smudge free experience, and, as always, she was so right. Loving this brand and loving this color. (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Re-teal Therapy)

Speaking of feminine hygienic practices, I have two more things to relate. 1) I bought another Chapstick. Because I will never have enough and this Peaches-n-Cream one is my current obsession (along with that Florida Georgia Line song—have you listened to it yet?!). And 2) I gave up on the Native deodorant, y'all. It irritated my skin too much, and I finally realized there was no special way to apply it to avoid the irritation. If you don't have sensitive skin, I'd still recommend it. Their Coconut & Vanilla scent is the bomb.

Changing the subject, let's talk about something this blog is actually about: BOOKS. First of all, look at those pretty, pretty Penguin clothbound Jane Austen beauties. Personally, I would always rather buy 10 books secondhand than 1 quality new one, but I was telling my husband a few weeks ago that I'd eventually like to invest in a good set of Jane Austen's complete works, because currently my Jane Austen novels are all bound together in one paperback volume which is a little cumbersome to travel with (not that that's ever stopped me), and a few days after our conversation, this box set showed up at our door. Am I spoiled or what? I love that man for keeping me in pretty books. 

But since I just confessed that I'm a used book junkie, here's what I've found at The Book Shelter lately. And alert the media: last Saturday when I went, I walked out with just one book. My husband was so proud of me. Have you read any of these? I highly recommend Unbroken. It's one of the best biographies I've ever read. 

Let's catch up on some Link Love and call it a day.

100 Books to Read Before You Die : I love reading other people's book lists and lists of the greatest books of all time and just bookish stuff in general so I found this guy's process of creating this ultimate book list interesting, and I loved all the included links to the lists he used to help him create his own. 

Why? : This is heartbreaking. Every child should get a family. Politics are the worst, and the State Department sucks.

The Greatest Showman Medley : This is insanely good, and I can forgive him for not including my favorite song from the movie (Tightrope) because undertaking this at all is ambitious and he did it with impressive results. Mad props to this guy. 

Don't Be Yourself : The trend he addresses in this post has been bothering me for some time now, and I had been thinking about writing a post on this very topic myself, especially after reading Mere Christianity. But then I read this and thought, "He did it better. We'll just share this one." 

What have you been up to lately? What are you reading right now? 

And are you hooked on that S-I-M-P-L-E song yet??

Let's Bust a Recap : The Phantom Tollbooth

The Phantom Tollbooth is characterized as a children's fantasy adventure novel and was published in 1961. Norton Juster wrote it, Jules Feiffer illustrated it, and it is just charming. I can't believe I escaped my childhood without ever reading this delightful book. Critics have compared its appeal to that of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and while I still haven't read about Alice (mental note to put Carroll on my 2019 book list), I did read The Wizard of Oz this year, and I would definitely agree with the critics: I loved The Phantom Tollbooth. 

In this story we meet Milo, a little boy who is just too bored with everything. One day after school, he receives a mysterious tollbooth with a map. He, of course, has nothing better to do, so he hops in his toy car and is on his way to Dictionopolis. He soon finds himself on an adventure with Tock the literal Watchdog and the Humbug to rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason so they can restore the Kingdom of Wisdom to its former glory. 

Y'all. This book is smart as a whip and an absolute pleasure to read. The puns and wordplay throughout the story will keep you grinning. (For example, Milo unexpectedly finds himself on the island of Conclusions when he accidentally jumps there. Come on now.) On top of that, the biggest theme of this book is one of a love for learning. It encourages curiosity and imagination and an appreciation for the world around us. Sign me up.

If you've never read this book, you should. And if you have kids coming along, this book definitely needs to be on your radar. It is both fun and smart and that's the best kind of book. 

Have you read The Phantom Tollbooth? What were the books that first made you fall in love with reading? What books from your childhood are still on your list of favorites today?

A Word for Wednesday

"If you do not take the distinction between good and bad very seriously, 

then it is easy to say that anything you find in this world is a part of God. 

But, of course, if you think some things really bad, and God really good, 

then you cannot talk like that. You must believe that God is separate from the world 

and that some of the things we see in it are contrary to His will. 

Confronted with a cancer or a slum the Pantheist can say, 

'If you could only see it from the divine point of view, you would realize that this also is God.' 

The Christian replies, 

'Don't talk damned nonsense.'"

~from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis~

A Tuesday Confession

Meet my dishwashing buddies.

This is an entire collection of McDonald's Happy Meal toys.

My confession is not that my standing McDonald's order is a 6-pc chicken nugget Happy Meal with buffalo sauce and chocolate milk.

Nor is it that I eat enough McDonald's to collect an entire set of the Happy Meal toys in a 6 week period.

It's not even that I traded toys with my 2 and 3 year old nieces so I could collect all ten.

My confession is that I used my husband's facebook account to go onto a group page of Happy Meal toy collectors and I traded toys with perfect strangers on the internet to complete my collection.

The little arctic fox flew here from a sweet family in Nebraska.

The sea turtle made its way from a darling nurse practitioner in Alabama.

And the manta ray traveled all the way from a college kid in California.

Yes, they all sit on my kitchen window sill.

No, I never let any of the myriad kids who are constantly in and out of this house ever touch them. There are plenty of other toys to play with here.

Don't you dare judge me, Lizzie.

A Word for Wednesday

"I don't care much for people—never have, never will. I got my reasons. 

I never met a man half so true as a dog. Treat a dog right and he'll treat you right—

he'll keep you company, be your friend, never ask you no questions."

~from The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows~

Let's Bust a Recap : Othello

Ohhhhhhhh-thello. I'm not sure I have the comedic wherewithal to create a humorous post for the play Othello. I just don't think I can do it, y'all. It's been a few weeks since I read it, and every time I sit down to write this post, I end up watching youtube videos for half an hour and then I give up and eat an ice cream sandwich.

Let's give it the old college try anyway and move on with our lives, okay?

Othello is the darkest play I've read by Shakespeare thus far. My friend Jen always says she thinks Iago is one of the most evil villains ever written, and you know what, Jen? I get where you're coming from. Iago is one bad mama jama.

So Othello starts out with some guy named Roderigo blubbering to Iago about Othello's secret marriage to Desdemona. Iago basically tells Roderigo that he hates Othello's guts for giving young Cassio the job that Iago wanted to have and sends Roderigo off to go tattletale on Othello and Desdemona to Desdemona's dad. (Because that's what adults do.) Iago then goes to warn Othello that his new father-in-law is coming to kill him. (Because that is the natural reaction of all fathers when they learn their daughter just ran off with some loser.)

Brabantio (Desdemona's dad) and Othello both end up in a meeting with a bunch of senators who hear their case out and decide that Desdemona can make up her own mind about who she wants to marry and Brabantio is just going to have to put on his big boy pants and get over it. Brabantio obviously isn't happy about this and tells Othello that Desdemona is a two-bit liar who will stab him in the back as soon as she gets a chance because that's what she did to dear old dad. (I personally think that was just the rage talking, but whatever.)

In Act II, everybody arrives in Cyprus (where they had all been sent to fight off a fleet of enemy Turks) to find that the bad guys all drowned in a storm so instead of doing the job they'd been sent there to do, they can all party and Othello and Desdemona can go consummate their ill-fated marriage. Iago gets Cassio drunk, and then proceeds to convince Roderigo to fight Cassio which is all part of some elaborate scheme for Roderigo to get some sheet time with Desdemona. (However, we, the readers, know that Iago doesn't give two flying rips about whether or not Roderigo wins Desdemona. He's just using him for his own ends. As he uses every single person in the play including his own wife.)

So Cassio and Roderigo end up fighting, people get hurt, Othello comes out to see what all the noise is about and ends up stripping Cassio of his rank. Because everything is obviously Cassio's fault. (Perfect example of why getting drunk is never a good idea.) Cassio's all heartbroken over it, and Iago persuades him to go ask Desdemona to get her husband to give Cassio his job back.

They're all just playing right into Iago's hands.

In Act III, Iago plants the seed in Othello's mind that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair. Of course, Iago never comes right out and accuses anyone of anything. He would never dream of speaking poorly or thinking the worst of anyone, but he has noticed some things and Othello should draw his own conclusions about them. (Oh give me a break, can no one see through this guy?!)

Desdemona ends up dropping a handkerchief which Emilia (Iago's wife and Desdemona's BFF) picks up and gives to her husband because he had mentioned he wanted it. Emilia doesn't find this fishy at all and has no idea what he plans to do with it. And apparently, this handkerchief is magic and worth a world of gold to Othello so when Iago plants it in Cassio's chambers and then spins an innocent conversation between Cassio and his mistress into an incriminating trap, Othello thinks he's found the smoking gun and vows to kill his wife and commissions Iago to murder Cassio.

Like taking candy from a baby, y'all. I mean, this is too easy for Iago.

At this point, Othello becomes publicly abusive to Desdemona, and Iago somehow manages to convince Roderigo to kill Cassio during a conversation in which Roderigo is complaining to Iago that his whole plan to get Desdemona for Roderigo isn't working. (What?!)

We've come to Act V and what do you think happens? Roderigo fights Cassio, but Cassio ends up wounding Roderigo. Iago secretly stabs Cassio, but then joins two other guys coming on to the scene like he has no idea what's going on. When Cassio identifies Roderigo as one of his attackers, Iago manages to secretly stab Roderigo (in front of everyone??) to keep him from outing Iago as the instigator of this whole mess and then, Iago accuses Cassio's mistress of the conspiracy to kill him.

Meanwhile, Othello is strangling his wife in her bed because he thinks she's a dirty, Cassio-loving cheater even though she's been nothing but faithful and true and even defends her husband (while he's strangling her—Stockholm syndrome anyone?) when Emilia happens upon them. Emilia is like, "Somebody get in here and help, STAT" and Othello's all, "She gave the magic handkerchief of love to Cassio. She deserves to die."

At this point, Emilia finally gets her head on straight and puts the pieces together and realizes her husband is a low-down, treacherous snake and outs him to the crowd that has gathered. So he kills her, naturally. Othello figures out that he has been duped in the worst possible way and stabs Iago, but not enough to kill him which is fine with Othello because he would rather Iago live the rest of his life in excruciating pain than die too quickly because death would be too good for him.

Lodovico takes Iago and Othello into custody for murdering like, everyone, but Othello kills himself. Iago shuts his mouth so fast and gives no defense for himself. And Lodovico puts Cassio in charge of the world and tells him to punish Iago as he sees fit.

The end.

Really?? This play was crazy. Iago is such a bad villain because he somehow has everyone's complete trust and even love right down to the minute before he kills them. Insane. But also, not unbelievable. Is there anyone out there who hasn't loved someone who was talking behind your back when you thought they were your friend? That's Iago. And that's why this play was really a tragedy. I personally thought Macbeth and Hamlet were both very humorous, but I was not laughing during Othello. Mainly I was reading with very wide eyes and incredulously shaking my head through the whole story. Why couldn't anyone see through Iago?! Definitely compelling, and definitely worth a read sometime.

Who's the most despicable villain of all time, literary or cinematic? Which Shakespearean tragedy should go on my list next year? And what are your thoughts on quick marriages?

A Word for Wednesday

"Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books."

~from The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows~

Let's Bust a Recap : The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The day has come. The title of this blog post could not fit on one line. Oh sad, sad day. But this book is worth it.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was not on my radar, but I picked it up one day as I was browsing through The Book Shelter simply because I couldn't pass up a title like that. I mean, look at it. My husband has dubbed it "The Governor's Luncheon and Pecan Pie Club" because he can't ever remember the actual full name of it. (Though how he consistently remembers "The Governor's Luncheon and Pecan Pie Club" I'll leave you to puzzle out. He's silly.) When I realized it was a historical novel on the German occupation of the island of Guernsey during WWII, I was sold. 

I had no intention of reading this book this year, and I was completely oblivious to the fact that it was recently adapted to film and Netflix would be releasing it last month. But the very week I happened to buy this book, my new bookish bloggy friend Sabrina at Tired Mom Reading mentioned on her Instagram account that she would be re-reading it in anticipation of the movie release and would anyone like to join her? That would be a quick Yes from me and Bob's your uncle, I was reading it the first week of August like it was my full-time job. I could not put it down. 

How this book escaped my notice for 10 solid years since its original publication in 2008 is beyond me and a total tragedy because it instantly earned All Time Favorite status with me. I immediately made my mom and then my best friend and then her mom read it because it is that good, y'all. I've waited to post this recap until I could watch the film (which I waited until I could watch with my mom and sister-in-law over the Labor Day weekend) so stick around for my thoughts on it at the end of this post. 

The novel is actually set in 1946 after the war has ended and is made up entirely of letters sent between all the characters in the book, the main character being Juliet Ashton. Juliet receives a letter from a perfect stranger who lives on the Isle of Guernsey and has somehow acquired a copy of a book Juliet used to own, and from this first letter, a correspondence begins which leads Juliet to the island to meet her new friends and learn more about the German occupation they lived through during the war. 

This book is captivating. Every character is quirky and lovable (I want to adopt Isola Pribby), and the way Shaffer and Barrows managed to capture different attitudes and emotions of Guernsey's inhabitants about the war and the occupation was remarkably believable and relatable and unique to each voice portrayed. This book had me laughing and crying and sighing and grinning and shaking my head. It elicited every response a good book ought to and I loved every second of it.

As for the movie: I was disappointed. My mom and I were the only two out of our little watch group that didn't like it, and all my internet friends liked it, too, so I'm guessing I'm in the minority with my disappointment. But let me tell you what will ruin an adaptation quicker than a wink for me: when the actual plot is changed from what was written. I understand that a movie can't be developed the same way a book can and that things are going to have to be cut. But when you start changing the things that you actually do put in, that's when I'm done with it. On top of that, Lily James' portrayal of Juliet Ashton was an extreme letdown. She didn't capture her vivacity or charm at all in my opinion, and I wasn't impressed with the other female leads either. I did think that Michiel Huisman, Matthew Goode, and Glen Powell were wonderful as Dawsey, Sidney, and Markham, but that did not make up for the glaring flaws in this film. Sad.

Annnnnnd.....unpopular opinion time over. Have you read the book or seen the film? What did you think? Anyone that read the book and watched the film care to offer a defense for it?