We need to discuss the Roman Empire

Lets chat about books - from Astrophysics to Fourth Wing

This year has reignited my love of getting lost in literature. As we approach the last few months of 2023 I wanted to reflect on a goal I made for myself this year - the goal to read 12 books. I have doubled my goal by October and with my listeners who love reading in mind I wanted to take this episode to reflect on the books I have read thus far. This is the final episode of season 3 but before taking a brief break, I hope you are able to find a new book to read from my list and to get you to your 2023 reading goal :)  Fiction Books: Book Lovers | Emily Henry *Every Summer After | Carley Fortune *Fourth Wing | Rebecca Yarros In 5 years | Rebecca Serle The Love Hypothesis | Ali Hazelwood Never Vacation with your Ex | Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka Out of Love | Hazel Hayes Picking up the pieces | Amanda Prowse *Someone Else's Secret | Julia Spiro That Summer By. Jennifer Weiner The Beach House | Jane Green The Club | Ellery Lloyd The Hotel Nantucket | Elin Hilderbrand The Last Guest: A Novel | Tess Little *The Last Housewife: A Novel | Ashley Winstead The Midnight Library | Matt Haig The Things They Carried | Tim O'Brien Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow | Gabrielle Zevin Wednesday Walks & Wags | Melissa Storm Welcome to the Neighborhood | Lisa Roe   Short-Stories: Where the Sakura Bloom | Devin Farmer   Non-Fiction Books: Addiction: A disorder of choice | Gene Heyman *Astrophysics for People in a Hurry | Neil DeGrasse Tyson Beyond the Pill | Dr. Jolene Brighten Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism | Amanda Montell The Psychology of Addiction | Jenny Svanberg   *My personal favorite book recommendations

We need to discuss the Roman Empire

There has been a trend going around the internet lately where men are coming out and disclosing that they think about the Roman Empire daily if not multiple times a day which led me to think about my own version of the Roman Empire. While I can confidently say I haven’t given the Roman Empire much thought since passing global history in 9th grade, I can say that I spend much of my time thinking about the radium girls. The radium girls have led me to become suspicious of jumping right into modern-day trends and that's what today's convo is all about! While we get a bit historical today, I hope you walk away from this episode learning a bit more about the radium girls and become a bit more skeptical of what is often quick to be marketed as the “next best thing”

Attending the VMAs

Have you ever watched an award show on TV and thought to yourself, “Wow I wish I could be there”? Well, that has always been me with the VMAs and I had the opportunity this past Tuesday to actually attend this year's show! While I think I am still processing the night and all that I experienced, I wanted to debrief a bit on the pod and talk about what really went down. From getting there to dancing the night away, this episode is all about how you can get to the VMAs, what to expect, and what actually happened this year. I hope you enjoy :)

Hidden vacation stressors

After two stressful years obtaining a master's degree, I finally went on vacation and was able to relax, but not without dealing with some hidden stressors first. While I think we all agree that vacations should be stress-free there are some things that we just can’t control that may arise before we even get our foot out the door. There are also other things that may just make it more challenging to just up and leave for a trip, such as having to find care for pets. This episode is all about the hidden stressors I recently encountered and how to manage them so that you can still have a stress-free vacation :)

Reigniting passions

When someone has a passion or is passionate about something it means that they have a strong interest or it elicits strong emotions from them. While passions are important to have in life as they contribute to our identity, provide an escape from other life stressors, and are something to be enjoyed, they often may be ignored when there are other things going on. I have realized the repercussions of ignoring my passions and have been working to reignite mine by joining new groups, going out and trying new things, and just mindfully taking the time to reflect on what I am missing in my life. This episode is all about reigniting passions, my own journey with doing so, and how I hope to help motivate you to do the same!