The ABA Book Club Reviews – The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna

At the ABA Book Club, each month we review and recommend a great book for you to practice reading in English.

Today, the ABA Book Club will be reviewing comedian Elle Luna’s book The Crossroads of Should and Must. It’s a beautifully illustrated, incredibly inspiring manual to pursue your passion and live your truth. 

Elle Luna is an app-designer turned artist and writer.

Reading Level	Upper Intermediate
Genre	Self-help
Length (pages)	176
Original Date of Publishing	2015

Who hasn’t asked the question “How can I find and follow my true calling?” Elle Luna frames this moment as “standing at the crossroads of Should and Must.” “Should” is what we feel we ought to be doing, or what is expected of us. “Must” is the thing we dream of doing, our heart’s desire. And it was her own personal journey that inspired Elle Luna to write a brief online manifesto that, in a few short months, has touched hundreds of thousands of people who’ve read it or heard Elle speak on the topic.

Here’s a short excerpt from the book:

 

“And if, for some awful reason, you forget that money is a game, a make-believe concept that some people invented, you could be led back into the complex layered world of Should. And here, the loss isn’t a financial one. You are the cost. Is it worth it?”

This book is beautiful on every single level and we highly recommend it.

Vocabulary

True – real or genuine.

Calling – a strong desire to spend your life doing a certain kind of work (such as religious work).

Frames – to express (a question, answer, etc.) in words.

Ought – The phrase ought to has the same meaning as shouldand is used in the same ways, but it is less common and somewhat more formal. The negative forms ought not andoughtn’t are often used without a following to.

Desire – to want or wish for (something) : to feel desire for (something).

Brief – using only a few words.

Outline – a written list or description of only the most important parts of an essay, speech, plan, etc.

Manifesto – a written statement that describes the policies, goals, and opinions of a person or group.

Touched – having emotional feelings because you are grateful or pleased by what someone has done or said.

Excerpt – a small part of a longer written work.

Loss – the experience of having something taken from you or destroyed — usually + of.

The Crossroads of Should and Must Book

To read more reviews and find out where to buy this book, if you think you’d enjoy reading it, visit Goodreads.

Do you have a special book you would recommend to your friends? Let us know!