Tag Archives: Non-Fiction

Textkit

Textkit

Update: March 2025 — Unfortunately, the site won’t load.

When you hit the home page at Textkit.com it looks pretty sad. The site is obviously broken, the image and CSS files having been stored and linked from a rackspacecloud.com account which seems to have expired. The Facebook page is also pretty much dead. But if you go to the forums you’ll see that the community is still thriving. It also seems that the files themselves are still available.

A forum thread addresses the recent absence of the site’s founder, Jeff Tirey, and the need for additional moderators to manage the forums.

As of this writing, the domain registration expires in 2019, so the site may disappear into the InterWebs black hole after that. Though the Internet Archive Wayback Machine frequently saves the site, as usually happens, the downloads aren’t archived. So if you think you might need them in the future, you should probably snag them at your earliest opportunity.

The Alternative: Your Family’s Guide to Wellness by Elena Upton, Ph.D.

This review was written for LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers. I received a copy of this book from the publisher to review.

“The Alternative: Your Family’s Guide to Wellness” by Elena Upton
Fifth Element Press (2019) 2nd Edition
3.5 / 5

“The Alternative: Your Family’s Guide to Wellness” is a book by Elena Upton, Ph.D., a classically trained Homeopath. It contains the usual disclaimers for health-related books. The type-face that’s been used seems particularly small and at times was difficult to read, but there is plenty of white-space, so that does help.

The first few chapters of the book focus on the history and implementation of natural medicine and some of its different disciplines. Of particular interest is “How Did We Get Here?” which deals with the 1908 report by Abraham Flexner, commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation to study medical schools in the United States. It’s alleged that, within a few years of its publication, the recommendations of the report were responsible for the demise of not only most of the medical schools in the U.S. (those that weren’t affiliated with a University), but also most of the alternative medicine options. Also mentioned is the “Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973” which made health care in this country a for-profit enterprise.

While the book centers on homeopathy, there is some introductory information about Chinese medicine and acupuncture, naturopathy, and chiropractic and osteopathic processes. Most of the book is dedicated to setting forth the causes and symptoms of common maladies and injuries and the homeopathic remedies for them, but some of the entries include other types of treatment possibilities.

This is a great book for Inquiring Minds that Want to Know more about natural medicine, why it isn’t currently at the forefront of medical care in the U.S. like it is in the rest of the world, and some examples of how to implement it. But this book will also work for someone who already has an interest in homeopathy or other healing arts. There are actual remedy dosages listed in this book. I’ve read a lot of herbals and other books of natural and alternative medicine, and it’s refreshing to find this information actually put forth. It has to do with the nature of homeopathic remedies themselves — there’s pretty much no way you can hurt yourself with them and that’s the crux of the controversy.

I don’t know that homeopathy will every be my go-to medical route, but there’s a lot of information in this book that’s still useful and relatable. I’m very happy to have this book in my library.

It’s Alive! It’s Alive!

What a great week! First, I heard from Professor Grote. And today, Jim Tirey, the brains behind Textkit!!

You always hope when you find that things have not changed for the better that there’s a happy reason. What a relief to know that’s true in this case. Not only that, but Jim was able to find the time to update the site and it looks great!

Yay!

An Incomplete Education by Judy Jones and William Wilson

An Incomplete Education

I wish I could remember where I picked this up. Might have been Hastings, but I get rid of their stickers as soon as possible because they put them in the most inconvenient places.

Anyway, I haven’t finished the book yet, but I probably never will. It will be a nightstand/end table fixture from now on.

This is the kind of book you just pick up on occasion and read random bits and pieces here and there. It really is packed with information and the writing style is mostly fun. I really enjoy the authors’ take on subjects I’m familiar with, but unfortunately that’s not too helpful if you’re trying to get a good grasp on things that continue to elude you. I took Economics in college three times and dropped out every time. It didn’t make sense then, and even after reading that section in this book several times, it doesn’t make sense now. But if you’ve a mind to explore in more detail, there are great clues here.

I like this book and would recommend it. In most cases, it makes light, easy reading of some interesting subjects.

A Comprehensive Guide to Wheelock’s Latin by Dale A. Grote

A Comprehensive Guide to Wheelock’s Latin by Dale A. Grote

I have recently had the most wonderful email conversation with Professor Grote. He’s been so informative, friendly and approachable — which I guess you have to be if you’re going to be teaching Latin these days! He even answered my first email over the weekend! That’s impressive. 🙂

He told me some of the history of his Study Guide to Wheelock’s Latin which comes and goes in different places on the InterWebs. He reminded me that the notes were meant to accompany Wheelock’s 4th edition. Since Wheelock’s is now in its 7th edition, you can see how there would be huge differences, not the least of which being that the last chapters in the current Wheelock’s book aren’t included in the notes at all.

Fortunately, as a direct result of the original notes, A Comprehensive Guide to Wheelock’s Latin, designed to accompany the latest edition of Wheelock’s, was published by Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc and is still available.

The trick to language study isn’t just memorizing the words — that part is relatively easy. The catch is the grammar, etc., and if you’re studying Latin for the first time, or again after many years, this resource will be invaluable.

How to Study Wheelock’s Latin

Wheelock's Latin, 7th EditionWhy study Latin — or any language for that matter? For one, I’m lately finding several things I would like to read but have not been translated into English. Further, I’m becoming more cynical about translations in general — you really are at the mercy of the translator when it comes to interpretation. And language study in general is brain training.

As for Latin specifically: If you have even a basic knowledge of Latin, you will most likely be able to decipher the meaning of almost any word in any language, with a few exceptions.

Want to study Latin, but don’t know where to start? One of THE Latin texts is Wheelock’s Latin, in its seventh edition as of this writing. Just reading the text and doing the exercises is not, as you will soon discover, sufficient. This list is compiled from several sources, including the Wheelock’s FAQ from the Latin Study list and the discussion there.

  1. Read the chapter in Wheelock’s Latin.
  2. If you need to brush up on some of the grammar, do the appropriate lessons in English Grammar for Students of Latin (EGSL) by Norma W. Goldman.
  3. Practice the vocabulary. If you want to use flashcards, you can make up your own or you can buy them (Vocabulary Cards and Grammatical Forms Summary for Wheelock’s Latin by Richard A. LaFleur).
  4. Practice the pronunciations.
  5. Read the chapter in A Comprehensive Guide to Wheelock’s Latin (CGWL) by Dale A. Grote and do the exercises.
  6. Do the Self-Tutorial exercises in the back of Wheelock’s Latin.
  7. Do the Exercitationes (EX) exercises in Wheelock’s Latin.
  8. Do the Sententiae Antiquae (SA) in Wheelock’s Latin.
  9. Do the translations (TR) in Wheelock’s Latin.
  10. Do the chapter in 38 Latin Stories by Anne H. Groton and James M. May (G&M) OR
  11. Do the chapter in Scribblers, Sculptors, and Scribes by Richard A. LaFleur (SSS).
  12. Do the exercises in the Workbook for Wheelock’s Latin.

Study Guide to Wheelock’s Latin by Dale A. Grote

Digging around for my old Latin resources, I was relieved to find that the Study Guide to Wheelock’s Latin by Dale A. Grote was still freely available online. As we all know, however, when it comes to the InterWebs, too often “One day you’re in and the next day you’re OUT!” Well, Professor Grote already thought of that:

“I call the guides ‘Study Guide to Wheelock,’ and have made them available for free use to anyone who’d like use them. […] So far as I’m concerned they can be copied and sent anywhere.”

Taking this literally, I downloaded the HTML files and have uploaded them here. I did do some editing to update the pages in the original .ZIP file: The URL for Professor Grote’s page at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte had changed, as well as his email address.

It’s always best to go to the original page. But just in case that ever disappears, we’ve got a backup.

Update 19 February 2017: I’ve found another page for Professor Grote’s notes on Wheelock which includes an update from him.

How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler

A version of How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler is available in PDF format from the Everglades High School website. Though not the same one I have in my library — this one is geared towards reading the Great Books — it still contains a lot of information that would be useful to high school students, or to anyone who loves to read but feels they might be missing something in the approach.

The 1972 edition of this book is currently available from the Internet Archive.

What I love about this book is that it discusses how to read books on different subjects. Of course you don’t read a science book in the same way you read a novel, but what exactly is the difference? Well, now you know. Not only is it illuminating, it’s also a relief. It took almost no time at all for me to realize why I had such trouble making heads or tails of such works. I look forward to diving into them now!

Though I really suggest you part with the ten bucks or so for the actual print book, this PDF version will give you a great idea of what to look forward to.

Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery by Eric Ives

Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor MysteryWhile I liked the book, it was not an easy read. I think it could have benefited *greatly* from an editor. Keep in mind, too, that I am an American reading a book on English history. A Brit might not have so much trouble with it?

This is the first Ives book I’ve read — I have a few more in the TBR pile, though — and I probably should have picked a different one for the first time out. I’ll find out soon enough when I start the next one.

If you aren’t seriously up-to-speed on 16th century English history, geography and naming conventions, you’re going to struggle here. You need to already know what he’s talking about to know what he’s talking about. The first few chapters, especially, are very confusing and seem to assume that “everyone already knows this stuff.” At this point, I considered not finishing the book. I’m glad I stuck with it, though, because it was easier to follow after the first section or two, but it never gets easy.

It was tough enough keeping up with the various Dudleys, Greys, Howards, etc. — not just parents and siblings, but also in-laws, nieces, nephews and distant cousins. But then he refers to them sometimes by their titles, sometimes by their given names, and does this while writing about several people from several families all in the same paragraph — sometimes in the same sentence.

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