Review: History Stinks!: Wee, Snot and Slime Through Time by Suzie Edge

Throughout June and July I was finally tackling The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and needed a light audiobook to listen to in my downtime. History Stinks! Wee, Snot and Slime Through Time by Suzie Edge is the second in the History Stinks! series - the first being History Stinks! Poo Through the Ages - and is recommended for readers aged 7 years and over.

Published in April 2025, doctor and historian Suzie Edge turns back time to teach young readers about the history of urine, snot, pus, earwax, vomit, blood, sweat, tears and saliva. Tapping into the fact that kids of a certain age find bodily excretions gross and funny, the author combines her medical knowledge with her love of history to educate us further on this gooey subject matter.

We learn how urine was used by doctors to diagnose patients. 2,500 years ago the physician Hippocrates tasted a patient's urine in order to diagnose their condition. Now considered the father of medicine, Hippocrates was able to utilise this technique to spot conditions like diabetes if the urine was too sweet. He also tasted a patient's earwax; if it was bitter the patient was well, but if it was sweet, the patient was sick.

The chapter on earwax was enlightening as the author tells us medieval monks used earwax to help stick gold leaf to their illuminated manuscripts and to alter the consistency of their ink. Wow!

"Amazingly, earwax can tell us a lot about a person. Archaeologists who find bodies when they are digging in the ground sometimes find them with earwax still there. You can tell what someone liked to eat, the environment that they lived in and what pollutants they were exposed to." Chapter 5, Ewww! Earwax!

Presented in an easily digestible and accessible writing style, the content features regular jokes and info that will no doubt keep kids engaged.

History Stinks! Wee, Snot and Slime Through Time is perfect to listen to in the car with kids who want to know more about gross human bodily excretions and how our knowledge about them has changed over time.

Other books by Suzie Edge include:
Vital Organs - A History of the World's Most Famous Body Parts
Mortal Monarchs - 1,000 Years of Royal Deaths

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Hidden Potential by Adam Grant

In the mood again to tackle another self help book, I recently listened to the audiobook of Hidden Potential - The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant. With an endorsement from tennis champion Serena Williams, I was confident Hidden Potential would provide a number of pearls of wisdom to add to my growing collection.

The author includes achievements by an array of inspiring individuals from all walks of life which was mildly interesting but this book is a better launching pad for those with low self esteem who feel underrated and overlooked. I guess I should be thankful that's not me.

Throughout the audiobook, there were snippets read by other contributors that distracted from the overall flow of the content. If they were longer they may have had value but I just found them irritating and a distraction.

I did enjoy this tidbit about the difference between asking for feedback and asking for advice.

"Instead of seeking feedback, you're better off asking for advice. Feedback tends to focus on how well you did last time. Advice shifts attention to how you can do better next time. In experiments, that simple shift is enough to elicit more specific suggestions and more constructive input. Rather than dwelling on what you did wrong, advice guides you toward what you can do right." Chapter 2, Human Sponges - Building the Capacity to Absorb and Adapt

I can understand how this book has helped readers overcome psychological barriers and inspired them to chase after their dreams, but for a reader who has read many self help books I didn't find a previously untapped reservoir of hidden potential to draw from.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The Lies We Tell Ourselves Winners Announced

Thanks to everyone who entered my recent giveaway to win 1 of 2 signed copies of The Lies We Tell Ourselves by Maura Pierlot. Thanks to Big Ideas Press for providing the prizes and to Romi from Books On Tour PR & Marketing for the collaboration.

All entrants correctly identified Harley as the main character and entries closed at midnight Sunday 20 July 2025. The winners were drawn today, and congratulations go to... (drum roll):

SHARKS & MADDIE

Congratulations! You've each won a signed copy of The Lies We Tell Ourselves by Maura Pierlot. You'll receive an email from me shortly to organise your inscription and postage details. Congrats and I hope you enjoy this Australian young adult story.

WIN 1 of 2 signed copies of The Lies We Tell Ourselves by Maura Pierlot

* Giveaway courtesy of Big Ideas Press *

Intro

It's time for another giveaway and I've teamed up with Romi from Books On Tour PR & Marketing to bring you a young adult story set in Australia. The Lies We Tell Ourselves by Maura Pierlot is suitable for readers aged 12+ and contains themes of friendship, self-esteem, body image, family dynamics, first romance and mental health.

Maura Pierlot is an Australian writer and international award-winning children's book author. She holds a PhD in philosophy, specialising in ethics and is also a qualified art therapist. 

Blurb

The biggest lies are the ones you tell yourself.

When gorgeous new student, Carter, struts into class, Harley knows it's time to reinvent herself. Before long, she's shedding not only her weight but her friends, her family and the person she used to be. Betrayed by someone close to her, Harley abandons her only ally, drawn into a dangerous game of self-deception with no rules. Or winner. Spiralling deeper into a world where nothing is as it seems, Harley is desperate to find her way back. But first, she must figure out why her dead grandmother is messaging her. Why her father's never home. Why the voice keeps making her do things she doesn't want to do. Why everyone she loves is out of reach. Why everything she wishes for is vanishing before her eyes ... or is she the one disappearing?

Giveaway

This international giveaway for 1 of 2 signed copies of The Lies We Tell Ourselves by Maura Pierlot has now closed. Thanks to Big Ideas Press for providing these prizes valued at $22.99AUD each, entries closed at midnight AEST Sunday 20 July 2025. Good luck!

Guest Speaker for The Society of Women Writers Victoria this week

Exciting news! This week I'm honoured to be a guest speaker for The Society of Women Writers Victoria where I'll be talking about "The Wonderful World of Book Blogging."

If you’re passionate about writing or curious about book blogging, here are the event details:

Date: Thursday 10 July 2025
Time: 7.30PM
Price: $15.00
Tickets: on sale here

For those who might be interested, here's the event description:

"Tracey Allen is the Melbourne based booklover behind Carpe Librum. Reviewing books for 20 years and regularly engaging with authors, agents, publicists and publishers, Tracey has interviewed some interesting authors over the years and has a never-ending pile of books waiting for her to read. In this session, Tracey is going to talk about the wonderful world of book blogging so bring your burning questions, nothing is off limits. You can visit her blog at www.carpelibrum.net."

I can't wait to connect with fellow writers and readers to discuss my favourite topic of books, book reviews and book blogging and hope some of you will join me there.

Carpe Librum!

Winner of the 20 Year Celebration Giveaway Announced

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway to celebrate 20 years of blogging at Carpe Librum.

Entrants were invited to share their favourite Carpe Librum post from the last 20 years as well as any additional comments and I received so many messages of warmth, I'd like to share a few of my favourites here before we draw the winner.

Share your favourite post from the last 20 years:
"I have a memory like a sieve so had a little look at your top fives for each year and realised you had introduced me to Jack Heath's books so I love you for that! And Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor which is one of my all time favourite novels."

"I won (and then read) your book giveaway for The Winter Dress and it was around the time I started liking the history genre and have loved reading your email! You are one of the few I open and read the whole way through!"

"So many good ones! The Life of Birds (love birds), The Dictionary of Lost Words (one of my most fave books ever) and The Woman in the Library (another great)."

"Can't remember the specific post but I early on realised I enjoyed seeing the new post notification pop up in my inbox. Always found myself nodding along with the reviews, we often have very similar opinions!"

"Carpe Librum has become a motto for me to treasure as long as I am able to do so. ANCORA IMPARO!!!"

I love that last comment of Ancora imparo! It's a quote by Michelangelo and it's an Italian phrase that means 'I am still learning'. I couldn't agree more!

Entrants were also able to leave feedback or the book/s they planned to buy if they won the giveaway:
"I'd just like to say I look forward to reading your reviews even if I decide many of them are not for me. You are so thorough and because of this I get a good idea what the book is all about and can make my decision, to read or not to read, from there. Thank you."

"Congratulations Tracey - I don’t visit your blog as often as I should, but I do always read your emails, and get a little thrill when I see them in my inbox."

"Keep reading, keep writing, keep blogging - don’t conform to books you don’t like (we’ll be able to tell in your reviews!). But overall, you are doing a great job and I enjoy seeing your emails pop up in my inbox. Truth be told if I win this book giveaway I will be unashamedly searching for romantasy haha."

"Congratulations on 20 years, Tracey! An amazing achievement. I always enjoy seeing your reviews pop into my inbox. Yours remains the only blog I subscribe to and I look forward to reading many more great reviews in the years to come!"

See what I mean? Entrants left such touching and thoughtful comments, many of whom have been subscribers for more than 10 years, which is amazing in itself. And I love the cheeky comment that one of the entrants will be using the voucher to be purchase some romantasy if they win, hilarious!

Well, the time has come to the announce the winner. There were 73 entries in total and congratulations go to:

Rachel

Congratulations Rachel! You've won a $50AUD gift card from Dymocks. If you don't have access to a Dymocks store and prefer not to order from them online, I'll happily organise a gift card of the same value from your preferred bookseller to be emailed to you. Enjoy and Carpe Librum!