The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

The Screwtape Letters by Clive Staples Lewis

Do you ever find yourself tempted to do something bad? Do you ever know it's bad, but then you do it anyway? It's probably Wormwood's fault. And yours, of course--it's always your fault--but it's also Wormwood's. In today's book (as Holly and Rebecca return from hiatus to record another podcast), C. S. Lewis lays out all the best advice a senior devil (Screwtape) has for teaching his nephew Wormwood to tempt those pesky humans away from God and safely into Hell. It's about as insightful and disturbing as it is entertaining--in short, just what you'd expect from Lewis. And the episode is about what you'd expect from Holly and Rebecca too: extensive favorite quotes, reflections on humility, and praise for humanity's greatest heroes (such as Genghis Khan...the Emperor Nero...you know, heroic people). Thanks for listening! Subscribe, share, whatever. Definitely read this book; it's a good one. And make sure to take the Goldilocks approach with thinking about devils: not too much, not too little, but juuuuust the right amount.

The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien (ft. special guest Samantha!)

So do you really need to read The Silmarillion? Will Aragorn's reign of capturing every woman's heart ever end? Are the films or books better? "Are we even asking that question?" asks Rebecca. "Yes," says Holly. Since returning from our hiatus (we will neither confirm nor deny whether we were recruited by Gandalf for an adventure during this time), we have successfully conned a genuine non-relative guest, Samantha, into joining us as we relive the final lap of an unforgettable journey. Return of the King both moved us and made us laugh in ways only Tolkien could determine. In today's episode, Sam critically analyses the character of Eowyn, Rebecca protests how the movies did Denethor dirty, and Holly won't stop seizing every opportunity to extol Peter Jackson's genius. Join us as we delve into this third part of a very long masterpiece--discovering the last leg of suffering and sacrifice required to rescue Middle Earth, and the happiness that follows.    We have the perfect candidate for reading material as you sit over your daily second breakfast! Our guest, who is among the ranks of Tolkien's impressively extensive and crazy dedicated fanbase, has a blog you can find at: https://samsbookshire.blogspot.com/ [https://samsbookshire.blogspot.com/] This episode is available on Youtube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. We'd love to read your thoughts when you email them to tworetiredhomeschoolers@gmail.com [tworetiredhomeschoolers@gmail.com]. Follow us on Instagram @tworetiredhomeschoolers.

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

Is it octopuses or octopi? Do these strange sea creatures really have a unique color of blood and number of hearts? Is Sy Montgomery really all she's cracked up to be as an author? For once, you can listen to your co-hosts agree on how much they liked a book, along with some writing tips, cool octopus facts, and a recap on what a year’s worth of content has done for the podcast. Thanks so much for your support these past 21 episodes! We’ll see you (hopefully) in three months. Email: tworetiredhomeschoolers@gmail.com [tworetiredhomeschoolers@gmail.com] Instagram: @tworetiredhomeschoolers Music Credit: “March of the Pods” by Howling Mad H

The Two Towers by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (ft. special guest Itzhak Vogel)

Once upon a time, three nerds got together to talk about Lord of the Rings. The way to Mordor was long and fraught with technical difficulties, but at last they emerged from the depths of Fangorn to bring you this episode, wherein Holly ponders dark things, Itzhak is Treebeard, and I guess Rebecca must be Gandalf (she's pretty testy in this episode). Mostly it's just three nerds rambling about all the stuff they liked, though. Thanks for listening! You can find our episodes (past and future) on Spotify, Youtube, and Apple Podcasts, follow our Instagram @tworetiredhomeschoolers, and email us with comments or book suggestions at tworetiredhomeschoolers@gmail.com. Link to our guest's blog: Echoes of the Republic https://itzhakbenelkabbed.wixsite.com/echoesoftherepublic

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Between Rebecca's habit of sinking cars and Holly's obsession with the Plateau of Latent Potential, this episode sure made for an interesting conversation. This week, your hosts toil away to explain and summarize all the charts, graphs, laws, and systems that make up this book, including: how to not let your happiness become dependent on accomplishing your goals, why motivation is overrated, and prioritizing maintaining a habit over progress. Return in three weeks when we review The Two Towers with who would have been our very first guest whom neither of us is related to.  Were you inspired to start some new good habits, but don't know where to begin in your personal life? Say no more! You can start with these: Habit #1- Always like and comment on our videos Habit #2- Email us your thoughts or book suggestions at tworetiredhomeschoolers@gmail.com [tworetiredhomeschoolers@gmail.com] Habit #3- Check out our cool Instagram account @tworetiredhomeschoolers Bonus: If you wanna go the extra mile, we suggest you break the bad habit of not sharing this podcast with your friends and family.  Music Credit: "March of the Pods" by Howling Mad H