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This week's What to Read Wednesday was inspired by the recent picture of a black hole's shadow. It is such a cool scientific feat. It got me thinking about other scientific discoveries and their backstories. It reminded me of a book I listened to called amzn.to/2Di6CURThe Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean. 

The full title is The Disappearing Spoon: And other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the Periodic Table of Elements. The New York Times Bestseller does just that. It's a smart book that reveals the stories that filled in the periodic table of elements. It's not just for science minded people either. No, you don't need to have a degree in chemistry to enjoy this book. Anything science related you need to know is explained in the book, but it's really more of a study of the people behind the discovery or use of the elements. 

I wholeheartedly recommend The Disappearing Spoon to anyone who asks for non-fiction book recs. Everyone who read it has told me they loved it and I've seen them in turn recommend it to their friends and family. Now there's a Young Readers Edition of the book, for your aspiring scientists. 

And if you're looking for a book that is great to listen to on your commute this is one for you. That's how I read The Disappearing Spoon and I was looking for excuses to get in the car and drive, so I could keep listening to the book. One of my favorite stories was that of the disappearing spoon. Gallium is a metal that melts at a low temperature. So as a prank chemists would serve each other tea with a spoon made of gallium. When the drinker would use their spoon to stir their tea it would melt away in the hot liquid. 

So will you be reading The Disappearing Spoon? Let us know in the comments below!

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Hey, Alicia back again with another What to Read Wednesdays post for you. I was basically on vacation for the last month or sick so my mom stepped in for me. (Thanks Mom!)

This month I have a book that we featured on our podcast awhile back but I want to recommend again: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. 

This novel is a fun and exciting look into the lives of people with so much money they could probably use it as toilet paper (they don't).

It takes place in Singapore and follows a few rich families and Rachel Chu an ABC (American Born Chinese) as the book puts it, who is dating Nick Young, son in one of the richest families in Singapore. Rachel is thrust into Nick's world when he decides to bring her home for the wedding of his best friend, but doesn't warn Rachel beforehand about the amount of wealth his family has.

Hilarity and drama ensue as the gossip around Rachel spreads and Nick's mom, Eleanor tries to convince Nick he can't marry someone so below his station. 

While Rachel and Nick are the main focus of the story, one thing I really like about the book is that the story is told from different character's perspectives. In addition to Nick and Rachel, we also see things from Eleanor, Astrid (Nick's cousin), and Eddie (Nick's other cousin). It's interesting to see how the wealth plays into each of their lives and affects their choices. While some are trying to keep up appearances, others try to hide their privilege. The character development in the story is excellent our main characters are pretty well fleshed out and suck you into the story.

Another thing I love is the language and slang thrown into the story, and translated in footnotes. It's only translated once so you've got to remember what the words mean. They are from various languages including Malay, Hokkien, & Cantonese.

Crazy Rich Asians is one of those books that when you finish it you immediately want more. As soon as I finished, I went on Amazon and bought the other two books in the series. And with a sequel to the movie in the works, you might want to do the same. The books are a fun look into a different world and culture. They're also a fast read perfect for an airplane ride or reading before bed.

Kevin Kwan is actually from Singapore and many of the scenes and characters are based on people he knew growing up. The idea for the novel came when he was reminiscing with his father about their days in Singapore (they moved to the states when he was about 11). He says his intention was to "introduce a contemporary Asia to a North American audience." <via> It's a brilliant novel that you've probably heard about, maybe even seen the movie, but now I'm telling you to go read it. Crazy Rich Asians is fantastic.

So have you read it? Or will you be reading it soon? Let us know in the comments below!

We thought that for today, April Fool's Day, we would share this great post from Alicia again! Enjoy! 

Raise your hand if you hate how quickly your laundry piles up and your dishes. Or how even though you just cleaned the shower it needs another cleaning. It's not that I hate cleaning, I hate how little time I get to spend enjoying the fruits of my labor. That's why I've got these easy, almost no-effort tips to help you keep your abode looking pristine.

Isn't it the worst to have dirty dishes in your sink and on your counters? I have two options for you here:

• Disposable everything. Not exactly environmentally friendly, but it is friendly to your sanity. Foil pans for the oven, crock-pot bags, paper plates, plastic silverware; all disposable. Meaning the most cleaning you'll have to do after a meal is take out the trash. If you want to take it a step further, only buy microwavable meals!
• If you want to be more earth friendly, invite yourself over to eat at friends houses and or send your kids to friends houses to play at dinner time. For this to be extra effective rotate through your many friends so they don't catch on to what's happening. That way at the end of the night you are left with a shiny kitchen and your friend got to enjoy your company, and will happily wash the extra dishes your family provided.

You know how there are no fly zones? Keep your freshly cleaned rooms of your house clean by banning people from entering them.

• Set them up like a museum with ropes in the hallways to keep out unwanted dirt and put little gates in the doorways to discouraging anyone from entering. This way, your family can look in and remember the fun times they used to have in that room that made it messy.
  
• Take this a step further by only allowing your family in 4 rooms of your house: the living room, bathroom (an unfortunate necessity we'll get to soon), the kitchen (on rare and thoroughly planned occasions), and their bedroom (for sleeping and changing only).
  

...And your tubs! Soap scum is the devil and it sneaks up on you if you aren't careful, but it won't be a problem if the soap never touches the surface to make scum on...

• Use Press N Seal wrap to line the walls of your shower and tub. This will prevent the water and soap from building up on the clean surfaces of your bathroom. Change it daily or weekly, whatever you guys are comfortable with.
• Limit showers and baths to one per week per person. This way you can save water, and the cleanliness of your bathroom. Give each member of your family baby wipes to use in between showers. And dry shampoo (lucky for you we did a tutorial on how to make dry shampoo) and braids are a life saver for those with long hair.
  
• Eliminate showers from your home all together by using the showers at the gym or at school. An outdoor shower for your camping supplies, pool, or hot tub won't need any cleaning since it's outside, so use that to your hearts content!

There you have it, three no effort tips to help you keep your house sparkling clean!

Let me know how these work for you and I hope you all have an amazing April Fool's Day.