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.

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/

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. Follow us on Instagram @tworetiredhomeschoolers.

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

Instagram: @tworetiredhomeschoolers

Music Credit: “March of the Pods” by Howling Mad H