Scams, Dragons, and Puppet Poetry: From the Editor’s Desk September 2024
Welcome back to this regular-ish peek over my shoulder at the bookish media that’s been tickling my fancy. Today is a mixed bag of stuff I’m really quite jazzed about, things that have kept me grounded in what felt like a whirlwind of an August and early September. There are scams, there are dragons, there are puppets, and even some witches! I hope these podcasts, shows, books, and more bring you a slice of joy this week.
We Are Scamily
So much of true crime these days feels voyeuristic, misogynistic, and unethical, and it’s harder than you’d think to suss out which shows and books are produced responsibly with the support of the victims and their families. That’s where the podcast Scam Goddess comes in, as recommended to me by Emily Martin. Actor and comedian Laci Mosley hosts this weekly show where she and a guest host or two discuss (per the catchy-ass theme song) scams, cons, robbery, and fraud. Laci is one of the funniest people on the planet, and hearing her real-time takes on generally nonviolent and scammy crime is the antidote to the true crime ick.
Mosley has also written a book that’s part memoir, part scam deep dive called Scam Goddess: Lessons from a Life of Cons, Grifts, and Schemes and it’s out next week! The audiobook is read by Mosley and it’s just perfection. I spent most of the book laughing and then she sneak attacked me with some deep stuff at the end that had me blinking away tears. Add this to your TBR and join the CONgregation.
Did You Just Call Me a Bookworm?!
In another instance of “how did I never once stop to ponder this as a book reader,” I was today year’s old when I learned the origin of the term “bookworm.” According to this piece in Mental Floss, it used to be an insult, tantamount to calling someone useless. I am positively tickled by this description of a bookworm from a1907 Baltimore Sun column: “There is the lady bookworm known to you by sight. She is the lady of the inquisitive nose and eager eye, whose arm is usually encircling books and whose mind runs to books, not to men.” Got me there, bud!
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It Begins with A Discovery Of Witches
I love the All Souls books by Deborah Harkness so much, y’all. They’re kind of a soapy romp and I love them unabashedly. The series is a vampire + witch romance adventure about an alchemical manuscript set in places like Oxford and the French countryside that opens at the Bodleian Library and at one point time travels to Elizabethan England because the main vampire guy was part of the School of Night??! It’s like mad libs for my interests.
The books have been adapted into a series that I paid for an AMC subscription to watch last year, but it’s now streaming on Netflix! Starring the beautiful Teresa Palmer and one of my favorite long-faced Englishman, Matthew Goode, it’s just the sort of thing to watch as fall draws near.
Side notes: Deborah Harkness’ own great grandmother (x10) was hung after being convicted of witchcraft in the Salem trials, and her doctoral degree is in the history of magic and science in Europe. These books are a labor of love! She is also a historian and professor at my alma mater USC, which I must mention as a proud and obnoxious Trojan. Fight on, Deborah.
A Secret Garden of Shame
A recent episode of You Are Good, a feels-based movie podcast hosted by Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed, tackled the 1993 film adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. I walked away with a burning need to watch this and The Little Princess again, and a deep shame at how easily we all just accepted ableism and colonialism in our media!
There Be Dragons
I have read nary a page of anything in the extended Game of Thrones universe but devoured GOT in 2018 when I got swine flu. I only a few weeks for that eighth season, so I was salty but not I-waited-two-years-for-this-mess salty.
So now I’m hooked on House of the Dragon (Matt Smith is another one of my favorite long-faced Englishman). Recent GRRM tea aside (he did indeed release the blog post and them promptly deleted it, for reasons I assume have to do with HBO, a contract, and a check), I like the pacing I see folks taking a lot of issue with! That’s medieval war, yo. That shit takes time.
If you’re a fan of the show and aren’t already listening to the official House of the Dragon podcast, it’s pretty great. Hosted by Jason Concepcion (X-Ray Vision) and Greta Johnsen (WBEZ’s Nerdette), it’s a weekly recap of the show plus additional bonus episodes with interviews from the wonderful cast and crew. The Season 2 In Review episode with with Fabien Frankel and the Dragonseed Deep Dive featuring the actors Clinton Liberty, Kieran Bew, and Tom Bennett had me laughing out loud in public. I cannot believe Tom Bennett ate that many guinea fowl for that dinner scene!
Get Involved!
Carmen of Tomes and Textiles on TikTok recently posted a video about attending a library board meeting. This feels like as good a time as any to remind you that this is one way to make a huge impact in your community, especially in this era of unprecedented book banning and censorship.
Want more ways to fight back and get involved? Well looky here, a toolkit.
Puppet Poetry is Good for the Soul
If you aren’t following @poeticpuppets on Instagram, do yourself a favor and change that. You may not think a short, poignant chunk of a poem paired with an image of Kermit or Bert & Ernie is what you need in your life, but it is.
Some of my favorites:
“Entanglement” by Carmen Giménez + Statler and Waldorf in a rare moment of tenderness
“The Endlessness” by Ada Limón + my girl Miss Piggy tryna break out of prison
“Don’t Hesitate” by Mary Oliver + Cookie Monster, because joy isn’t made to be a crumb!
What bookish media is bringing you joy right now? Let us know in the comments!
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