← Book Riot - The Podcast
Book Riot - The Podcast
The Latest BookTok Conspiracy, What the Library of Congress Actually Does, and More Book News
00:53:07
Book Riot's managing editor Vanessa Diaz joins Rebecca for a conversation about the latest romantasy BookTok conspiracy, what's going on with the Trump administration firing the Librarian of Congress, the NYT's best books of the year so far, recent reading, and more
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- [00:01]
Rebecca Schinsky
This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Knowing you could be saving money for.
- [00:05]
Vanessa Diaz
The things you really want is a great feeling.
- [00:08]
Rebecca Schinsky
Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to.
- [00:11]
Vanessa Diaz
Bundle and save with the personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state.
- [00:27]
Rebecca Schinsky
This Memorial Day, turn up the heat with the Home Depot. Find the perfect grill and patio set to keep the cookouts coming all season long. Grill up a feast with the next grill 4 burner gas grill only $229 and complete your space with the stylish Glen Ridge Falls 7 piece dining set now on special buy for just $499 with free delivery. Take your Memorial Day cookout to the next level all summer long with the Home Depot. See homedepot.com delivery for more details. This is the Book Riot Podcast. I'm Rebecca Schinsky and I'm joined today by Book Riot's Managing editor Vanessa Diaz while Jeff is romping in nature. Vanessa, thanks for being here with us.
- [01:11]
Jeff
It's always a good time. I'm glad to be here and really enjoyed the visual of Jeff frolicking anywhere.
- [01:16]
Rebecca Schinsky
Romping.
- [01:17]
Jeff
Romping, yes, exactly.
- [01:20]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yeah. He might object to that particular description, but I'm going with it. Like there are hikes happening. I think there are a nighttime snorkeling situation happening. He is helping chaperone one of his kids school field trips to a cool island.
- [01:36]
Jeff
Oh that's amazing.
- [01:38]
Rebecca Schinsky
I'm extremely jealous. I know. I was like, is there such a thing as like I don't want to be your child's godparent in the sense that I don't want to inherit them if something happens to you?
- [01:48]
Jeff
However.
- [01:48]
Rebecca Schinsky
But is there like a put me in coach button for your kid wants to go kayaking but you get motion sick? Because I'm ready.
- [01:55]
Jeff
Just put me in. Like you said.
- [01:59]
Rebecca Schinsky
I'm here. I'm available. We have kind of some interesting news. We have some downer news. We have Booktok's latest conspiracy theory to talk about today, but we will take our first sponsor break and then we'll get into it. This episode is sponsored by a Garden Wedding by Rosie Lee. Stick around after the show to hear an excerpt from the audiobook edition. Troublemaker Martha Garden has finally mellowed out a bit after coupling up with eligible bachelor O.J. greenwald, but Oji's mother seems dead set against their union. Rarely caught off guard. Martha is accustomed to getting her way. But when her potential mother in law gives Martha a taste of her own medicine, will Martha reckon with her past mistakes and find a way forward? Or will her mischievous past and disapproving potential in law snatch it away? The Garden Family's annual Juneteenth cookout is a little different this year and that sends Martha Garden on a journey to redeem her past, find healing and secure a love filled future in this heartwarming family and friendship drama with romantic elements. A Garden Wedding is the second book in the Gardens of Eden series, but it can be treated as a standalone. The novel continues with the Garden family focusing on Martha's romance as she navigates a season filled with unexpected challenges. The audiobook is narrated by Bonnie Turpin, Audie Award winner and Audible Narrator of the Year. Again, stick around after the show to hear an excerpt from the audiobook edition of A Garden Wedding by Rosie Lee.
- [03:29]
Vanessa Diaz
Today's episode is brought to you by Greenleaf Book Group, Publishers of Love in a Dark Place by Jeffrey Douglas in the glittering, dangerous world of 1984 Atlantic City, Sarah is a high priced escort guarded by secrets and controlled by the mob. When dogged journalist Harry Hopper enters her life, their unexpected love sparks a bond as intense as it is impossible. Years later, Sarah's body is found in a quiet Massachusetts river and Harry, now an aging professor, is the only one questioned. Spanning decades in coasts, this story is about passionate betrayal and the kind of love that never truly lets go. It is a forbidden love story between a mob owned escort and the journalist who risks everything to save her. It explores the emotional cost of desire, secrecy and sacrifice across three turbulent decades. Make sure to check out Love in a Dark Place by Jeffrey Douglas and thanks again to Greenleaf Book Group for sponsoring this episode. Today's episode is brought to you by Bloom Books, Publishers of King of Envy by Anna Huang the fifth book in Anna Huang's New York Times bestselling King of Sin series delivers a dark, steamy romance of loyalty, obsession and forbidden desire. Bookmark Markovic is powerful, reclusive and utterly captivated by her the beauty to his beast, the woman engaged to his best friend Ayanna Kadane, a glamorous supermodel is trapped in an engagement that is strictly a business arrangement, but the enigmatic Vuk sets her heart racing. As their attraction intensifies and secrets unravel, they must decide risk it all for love or walk away forever. King of Envy Passion has never been so dangerous. So just in case you didn't know Anna Huang is a powerhouse romance author selling over 2 million books since 2022. We stan a best selling queen. Make sure to check out King of Envy by Anna Huang. And thanks again to Bloom Books for sponsoring this episode.
- [05:36]
Rebecca Schinsky
All right, let's start with Booktok stuff because we have a conspiracy theory. But before we talk about the conspiracy theory, last time you were here, Vanessa, we were talking about the, like, very supposed elaborate balls that some of the TikTok women were attending, like, Romantasy themed dances.
- [05:57]
Jeff
Yes.
- [05:58]
Rebecca Schinsky
We had a little confusion over what type of balls we were talking about.
- [06:01]
Jeff
We eventually clarified.
- [06:02]
Rebecca Schinsky
We. We did. We figured it out. And people are paying like hundreds of dollars to attend these events. There were, I think it was Vulture had profiled some of the men who work at these events as kind of like model actors playing the heroes of Romantasy. No. So that people who are attending can, like, I guess if you buy a deluxe ticket, you can have a dance with the swoony hero of your favorite book. And I learned, thanks to a listener, that maybe those events are not panning out the way that they're advertised. Maybe truth is not quite as appealing as the imagined experience would be. And when I sent it to you, you were like, oh, yes, the Fyre fest of Booktok.
- [06:47]
Jeff
I did indeed. I was well versed at that point.
- [06:50]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yeah. So let's catch up on that because I did not know that this was a thing to be well versed on. And I'm guessing some of our listeners haven't either. So what do you know about these romances?
- [06:59]
Jeff
Yeah, so I'm not going to remember, like, the names of the people, et cetera. But basically my introduction to it was that I was on TikTok. I do spend a fair amount of time on TikTok, and a woman was basically apologizing to her readers. So as an author saying, like, hey, I'm so sorry. This was, you know, this, this event ended up costing me at this point. Like, I'm so disappointed. No words, you know, more later. And I was like, oh, you know, And I'm thinking this is just like your kind of run of the mill author signing sort of situation. And then because of course I've engaged with this post, my algorithm's like, hey, we see you. Here is more. And that is when I learned that this woman, this author had showed up to this. What was supposed to be like a big. Yeah, it's not really a signing. It was kind of. I kept calling it the Fyre Festival books because that's what Other people are calling it too, but it was like supposed to be a dance, but also, you know, an interactive event. There's gonna be panels and stuff. So all these folks, including vendors and authors, showed up thinking, you know, I'm gon participate. And for those of y' all who followed the story that we reported on a while ago about the. What was it like, the Willy Wonka experience.
- [07:58]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yes. This is the same comparison that I made. Like, it's not the Willy Wonka thing. But it's not.
- [08:03]
Jeff
But it's not the Willy Wonka thing. Same general idea of like, empty, non, like not, not a nary a streamer in this very. What looked like kind of like a hotel conference room. And you see a bunch of tables set up with chairs. But it could literally have been, you know, like a librarian convention. And I don't mean that shadowy, I just mean that it didn't look like a party. And it was. There was no food. There was like none of these magical things that folks were promised as part of this convention delivered.
- [08:31]
Rebecca Schinsky
Like the lights were all the way on. It's kind of like, you know, when, like when your high school would have dances in the gym.
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Jeff
Okay, I was going to make that reference and I didn't know if this was a Catholic school thing. Thank you for bringing me back to the table.
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Rebecca Schinsky
Yeah, no. And the only mood setting was that the lights were mostly off and then they would turn the lights on at the easings to do the whole, like, right, you don't have to go home, but you can. I can't stay here. And you're like, oh, right. All of the magic that just took place, you know, in these dark hours of teenage hormone fueled dancing like that, it just evaporates by the harsh light of.
- [09:03]
Jeff
Yeah, that very particular kind of lighting.
- [09:06]
Rebecca Schinsky
Those like, industrial high school life. That's what it looked like to me.
- [09:10]
Vanessa Diaz
It did.
- [09:11]
Jeff
It did. It was really unfortunate, especially considering that apparently folks really did shell out, not just to participate as, you know, attendees, but again, folks who went there as authors and vendors and brought all of their merch, their books to sign. And we're expecting there to be, you know, a whole thing. And it just seems like it. I mean, it was. I, I just, I would love for one day to feel a quarter of this particular flavor of audacity, like in my bones, because I just, I could, like, I don't prepare for a meeting and I panic, right. Like, if I didn't read everything all the way through. And the idea that you've got all these Paying people that are expecting, you know, especially. Cause for all the, like, jokiness about the balls that we talked about, some of those other examples from the pictures that I saw in that piece were very well fleshed out. Like, it really was a fancy. It looked like a quinceanera happen.
- [09:58]
Rebecca Schinsky
You know, like the Bridgerton parties that were thrown a couple of years ago. Those were really elaborate. This didn't even look like they had gone to the trouble to do. Like, I helped set up some of the dances in high school and we had at the time, you know, pre Internet, we had like catalogs where you would order themed decor sets. Like, this year it's going to be Cinderella and they send you your, you know, your balloon arch and your fake castle and your giant pumpkin that turns into a carrot.
- [10:24]
Jeff
Like a Costco croissant pack. Like, nothing. There was just nada. Like, I. Again, that type of audacity is one that I don't know how the night before this, you're not like, everything will be fine. Surely this won't spread online.
- [10:37]
Rebecca Schinsky
The staple of parties, the Costco croissant pack. You're not wrong.
- [10:42]
Jeff
So anywho, that is the Fyre Festive book talk. It's, you know, I did see what I imagine might be one of the people, like organizers say something. Yeah, this isn't what we're known for. Like, we know more later. I was like, oh, well, I don't know how you're gonna get out of this one.
- [10:53]
Rebecca Schinsky
But, yeah, there doesn't seem to be any culpa.
- [10:56]
Jeff
Yeah, anything pretty, you know, satisfactory has been offered. So sorry to those people.
- [11:02]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yeah, well, you know, folks, if you're going to one of these, I hope you have a much better time and that you do get your money's worth, but really too bad. And also thank you listeners for understanding that I probably wouldn't have seen that sending it my way. I thought I was breaking news to Vanessa and she was just basically like, dude, this is a thing that ex. But I think I'll just continue to mostly hide from TikTok. So speaking of TikTok, the Romantasy fans have a new controversy. It's been a little while. You know, maybe the swifties are bored. Folks are looking for something to do. So last week, a big debut romantasy novel called Silver Elite by Danny Francis came out. It's getting some praise. It's doing some viral stuff on Booktok and the author, Danny Francis, chose not to put an author photo on the book. Apparently, Danny Francis's Instagram Page also does not have an author photo and doesn't give much information about Danny Francis other than the fact that whoever Danny Francis is, they love breakfast. And this has led readers to speculate wildly about a couple of different things. The primary one is readers are speculating that Danny Francis is a pen name for an established author and rumors are circulating that Danny Francis has been confirmed. Like that this news has been confirmed, but no one can actually cite a source to support it. What do you think about this leap in logic? Just as, you know, outside of the particulars, but that there's no information about a debut author, so they must be already established. What do you make of that?
- [12:53]
Jeff
Yeah, I mean, this is referenced in one of the pieces that we, we're using here, which is by Screen Rant with reporting by Amanda Mullen, which is like, if I didn't know anything, anything else, and I hadn't read the piece, but I did see the treatment that this book got as far as the marketing dollars behind it, et cetera. And then I found out that we didn't know anything about the author. I think I might have also gone to the place, cynical though it is, to be like, what does that mean? Because typically if you are just a debut and don't already have some sort of established something, I don't know that you're going to get that kind of treatment and also not get to disclose your identity. It's not typical. Typical. Anyway, you know, the. Yeah. The theories though are getting to a really interesting place that reads to me as uncomfortable because there could be a million reasons why someone doesn't want to disclose. You know, it could be a pen name just for security reasons. And people are really out here, low key kind of butting up against a doxing kind of place to get to the bottom of who it is. And of course I would probably feel differently if it revealed that that person was a terrible person. But also the principle behind that is still messed up. And I am like, ah, I don't know, but I have questions.
- [14:00]
Rebecca Schinsky
I think the way that I have been made cynical by things like this, I think is a little bit different from your reading. Because I'm thinking about the whole Argyll situation.
- [14:08]
Jeff
Oh, 100%. That was where I went next, you know.
- [14:10]
Rebecca Schinsky
Right. Like where it was. We knew it was a pen name, but we didn't know for whom. And everyone thought, everyone, some people on Booktok thought that it was either going to be a big established author or that it would be Taylor Swift, or that it would be a partnership of Taylor Swift and an established author and the marketing team, like, had some fun making hay over like, yeah, Taylor Swift once had a cat in a backp.
- [14:31]
Jeff
And so does a person use that in the imagery? Yeah, exactly.
- [14:34]
Rebecca Schinsky
In this book. And a thing that I remember saying at the time that I just. I'm going to trot right back out here is the thing that a debut author would kill to have is the marketing presence of an established author. Like, if this were by an established person, why wouldn't they put their name on it so they could capitalize.
- [14:52]
Jeff
Yeah, that's just why. That's kind of a different side of what I was essentially trying to communicate, really. Which is like, it just doesn't make sense because if you are a debut author and you want all this, you're. I would imagine that you would want people to know who you are and it doesn't make sense. Sense on the cynical publishing side that they'd be like, sure, we'll just give you all these dollars even though you're a nobody.
- [15:08]
Rebecca Schinsky
Like, and in Romantasy, especially right now, being a nobody does not seem to be a barrier to getting the, you know, foiled, deckled spread situation on your. On your book, because they're kind of all getting that. And the publishers are all just trying to make as many bets as they can to see who's going to win in the casino of Romantasy this week. But the. I just found the logic of. Of. Well, they would only be anonymous if they were established to be like, almost exactly opposite of what I think.
- [15:36]
Jeff
I get that.
- [15:38]
Rebecca Schinsky
That it should be. The next piece of speculation is maybe the book was generated by AI Yeah.
- [15:46]
Jeff
That was the one that I went like. I was like, I. I'm not. And. And I am famously cranky about AI in a lot of ways, but that was one that I was like, eh, no, moving on. Like, I just don't. I don't. That one holds a lot of water.
- [15:59]
Rebecca Schinsky
It's either so amazing that it has to be written by someone established who for secret reasons is keeping their identity hidden. Correct. Or it's AI generated drek.
- [16:10]
Jeff
It's like, okay.
- [16:11]
Rebecca Schinsky
And sometimes the same people are making both arguments. It's just kind of fascinating. Like, if I had to put money on this. And granted, maybe some of this is infused from the Argyll experience, but I'm guessing this is just like. Like this is an established author, but not in the capital E established way. Like, this is a person who's written some books or maybe they've ghostwritten some things. And the publishers are not dumb. They saw that it worked well for Argylle. So, like, let's create. Let's manufacture some mystery, like the cynical reading of this.
- [16:44]
Jeff
That's it.
- [16:44]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yeah, go ahead. Yeah.
- [16:46]
Jeff
No, I was just gonna say, because one of the other theories being floated around is that, I mean, it's sort of just also keeping in line with this. Must be an established author was like, oh, it must be an author who's, like, recently run into some, you know, problematic stuff. And, like, that's why they're putting it under this. And there's no. Marketing people are very smart and there's no way that they wouldn't know that anonymizing, you know, wasn't going to have this. This intent. What I think is an intended effect. So I don't. That would, of course, be upsetting. No one wants, like, a repeat of the Freitas Moon situation. But I also, again, they're not dumb. They know that if they put, like, this other person's name and anonymize it, it's going to get even more attention than, you know, it might have the other way.
- [17:23]
Rebecca Schinsky
And I don't know, either this author has good reasons for wanting to keep their identity secret, or the marketing team has decided that maybe the most interesting thing about this book is let's make some mystery about who the author is. And if that's the case, like, that's not a great vote of confidence for the book. I guess it's possible for both to be true at the same time. Maybe this person wants to be anonymous and marketing has decided that they'll roll along with it. But, like, I don't think we're gonna see, I'll be very surprised, let's put it that way. If we get some big expose that this is like such a mass. In secret, I was gonna say.
- [17:56]
Jeff
So I, of course, went down the rabbit hole and some of the other theories that are I just found deeply enjoyable. One was the Sarah J. Maas, and that. That's why I apologize to the readers. I'm not trying to describe, but I think it's like the fifth ACOTAR book didn't come out or something. People were like, that's why we didn't get this. And then the other Unhinged series, maybe it's George R.R.
- [18:16]
Rebecca Schinsky
Martin. Vanessa, he's gonna lie.
- [18:18]
Jeff
Somebody said, George R.R. martin. And I laughed because there's just no freaking way. And then one was that the letters in either Danny Francis or Silverly or both are an anagram. And when they Untied it. Word backwards is the name of a land from Cassandra Clare. Cassandra Clare's books. And that. That's what this means. And then I saw one that was like, Danny Francis, Pope Francis. And I just about lost it.
- [18:46]
Rebecca Schinsky
So, anyway, we are now like a hop, skip and a jump from those memes on Twitter, like 10 years ago, where everything just ended in Benghazi.
- [18:54]
Jeff
Correct. So that, yeah, I did very much enjoy. And obviously some of those things were said in Jess, but it was just funny to see everybody kind of layering on top of each other's ridiculosity.
- [19:04]
Rebecca Schinsky
Well, thank you for being our correspondent from the rabbit holes.
- [19:08]
Jeff
That's generally Where I stay.
- [19:11]
Rebecca Schinsky
A fun new official title for you. We'll have to find a way to work that into the job description.
- [19:16]
Jeff
Call me, I'm here.
- [19:18]
Rebecca Schinsky
Let's talk best books of the year so far. Before we get into our trifecta of. Of tricky news, it's a little bit early. This came out on what, May 13?
- [19:30]
Jeff
Yeah.
- [19:30]
Rebecca Schinsky
Originally published May 7. Updated on May 13. The New York Times is playing a little fast and loose with when we do best books of the year so far. But I guess technically, anytime into the year is the year so far.
- [19:43]
Jeff
I mean. Yeah, I'm just looking forward to this now being, like, the best books of the year. You will probably read January 7th. Like, every year it gets earlier. But, you know, here we are.
- [19:53]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yeah, like, we were. We used to do this in July. You did it for the first six months of the year. And then in December, you did it for the back half. And now, like, folks are edging into, like, almost quarterly. The millions is doing seasonally now instead of twice a year. Anyway, Christmas creep is real and it's impacting the best books of the year. But the New York Times folks have released their list. It's eight pieces of fiction, eight novels, and seven works of nonfiction so far this year. Interesting stuff. A couple house faves on here we do not Part by Han Kang, Stoneyard Devotional by Charlotte Wood, which I really loved. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones, Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, and then also Heartwood by Amity Gage, Flesh by David Zalay. And the new Chimamanda Negociadici gets a mention along with Isola by Allegra Goodman. Any standouts here for you?
- [20:48]
Jeff
Once again, I have managed to. I'm like, on a roll here. Not read a single one of these books. I actually.
- [20:54]
Rebecca Schinsky
There should be a booby prize.
- [20:55]
Jeff
Yeah. And I literally. I went in Here, like, no, this year I've been reading more like front list. And like, nope, not a one. Cool. I did very much want to read Izola, but I just haven't go around to it. But having not read them, of course Hong Kong, just name recognition. And from other people that I know who have read it, I figured that one might make an appearance. I wasn't surprised to see that I've heard really good things about Isola and I now kind of want to read it some more, especially since it's based on, you know, real life, 16th century person stonyard devotional. I also very much figured we would see on here. And so, yeah, it feels like I was really happy to see Stephen Graham Jones on here because I just don't know that I see as much, much horror on these lists as I would like to. And he's just a cool.
- [21:34]
Rebecca Schinsky
That's a great point.
- [21:36]
Jeff
But yeah, and then of course, you know, Sunrise on the Reaping. I just would have been surprised if I didn't see it. But it's also, I've heard like that it really legitimately is fantastic. And I've gotten that review from adults all the way down to kids, so, you know, it's nice to see it.
- [21:46]
Rebecca Schinsky
I've been hearing that as well. And I was pretty skeptical, I think in our It Books episode. The month that it came out, I was like, are we really going to do Suzanne Collins? But yes, indeed we are. I really appreciate how the Times organized this list because at the end of the year, it's usually alphabetical by title. And you know, I got trolled by all fours being first in the Alphabet last year. But this one is kind of vibes based like I. I want a haunting story by a Nobel Prize winner. Is the intro to the Hong Kong. How about a survival drama based on true events? Is Is Sola and Stonyard Devotionals is. Give me a quietly apocalyptic book with mice and nuns. Which is both correct and wildly not a good vibe. Check on Stone Devotions, My memoir, it has those things. I don't know if I would call it quietly apocalyptic. Um, and probably, you know, the one for Buffalo Hunter. Hunter. I'd like a book that mashes up horror and history is the most succinct way to capture Stephen Graham Jones.
- [22:44]
Jeff
Yeah, that is a very safe way of categorizing him. Like he's covering every single one of your jugulars.
- [22:51]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yeah, like you're gonna be a little surprised when you pick that up if you have not read Stephen Graham Jones before. But I like the variety here. Also some variety in the nonfiction side. There's the Containment by Michelle Adams, Raising Hair H A R E by Chloe Dalton about bunnies. Careless People by Sarah Wynne Williams, which this kind of this is a vibe check that I've been waiting for because Careless People had a big moment in the news, but the reviews were kind of mixed and like some of. Yeah. And just some of the responses from like folks in tech and folks in politics. So to see it make a Times Best of the Year so far list I think is an interesting note for what we might see happen with this book in terms of critical acclaim at the end of the year. Yoko Ono by David Sheff, There Is no Place for Us by Brian Goldstone and I Seek a Kind Person by Julia Berger. Oh, and the Fate of the Day by Rick Atkinson are the other nonfiction picks. I have only read Careless People among these nonfiction picks.
- [23:52]
Jeff
Yeah, I'm over here batting, you know, zero once again. But do own There is no Place for Us because I definitely wanted to read that one since it is about the, like, basically unhoused, like, housing crisis. It felt very akin to like Matthew Desmond's kind of work of body of work, but I just wasn't in the headspace at the time to do it. But yeah, that's an interesting list.
- [24:15]
Rebecca Schinsky
It is tough right now, I think, or in these times, it is tough in a Trump administration to find the mental space to engage with the serious nonfiction that I think we want to be reading and that we know is important. Just one of the challenges. Let's take a quick sponsor break and then we'll come back and we'll talk more about this administration's latest behavior.
- [24:42]
Vanessa Diaz
Today's episode is brought to you by sourcebooks Fire, publishers of His Face Is the Sun by Michelle Habez Gobora. This book, I'm so excited, y' all. It's giving Game of Thrones. It's giving the Mummy. It's the start of an epic, lush trilogy. It's also for YA readers. So it's like it's got a little bit of everything. It's. If you like Leigh Bardugo, tap in. Listen up. The kingdom of Katara is a jewel of the desert, but there's a crisis on the horizon. Rebellion's growing secrets are flourishing, and an ancient evil has awakened. Then there are four strangers, a princess, a young priestess, a rebel, and a tomb robber who are ripped from their lives and thrown into the conflict. Amid murder and betrayal, magic and monsters, these four unlikely heroes find themselves connected by a forgotten oracle that whispers across the land. Only together can they save the kingdom. But when the bloodshed is done, who will sit on the throne? So we've got magic, romance, adventure and horror that collide in like, the most perfect package. Make sure to check out His Face Is the Sun by Michelle Habez Ghoubora. And thanks again to Sourcebooks Fire for sponsoring this episode. Today's episode is brought to you by Hachette Audio, publishers of Big Dumb Eyes by Nate Borgetzi One of the hottest stand up comedians today, Nate Borghetzzi brings his everyman comedy to the page in this hilarious collection of personal stories, opinions and confessions. The audiobook is read by Nate Bragzzi, who was, by the way, recently confirmed to be the host of the upcoming Emmys. He's one of the most versatile comics, so you don't have to mute your audiobook in the car with your kids, grandparents or co workers. In this audiobook he talks about his meteoric rise, but also about his disdain for onions. And especially in the audiobook edition, he riffs and goes off on tangents, making it feel like Nate is himself in your earbuds. So make sure to check out the audiobook Big Dumb Eyes by Nate Bergetse. And thanks again to Hachette Audio for sponsoring this episode.
- [26:46]
Rebecca Schinsky
All right, we ended last week on a surprising note. Reverberations throughout the bookternet, but also wider congressional responses actually happened. The Trump administration abruptly fired Carla Hayden, who was the Librarian of Congress. She was the first woman and the first black person to hold the position and she was notified in a two line email from a director in the personnel office just stating that her position has been terminated effective immediately. There was of course, follow up questions. Caroline Levitt, the White House Press Secretary, stated that this had to do with DEI and that Hayden put inappropriate books into the hands of children, which we're going to veer for a moment into. That's not what kind of librarian this is.
- [27:36]
Jeff
Carla Hayden does not give copies of Kristin Hannah's the Nightingale to Congress. Like I just need you to take several seats.
- [27:45]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yeah, I made a quick like a sort of, you know, off the cuff in the moment reel for book Riot when this happened. Like hey, here's the news. This happens this morning. Let's see, we'll see, you know where it goes. But the Librarian of Congress has been fired. And the comments that we before we closed the comments, which tells you something really astonished me in terms of how many people seem to not know what the Library of Congress does, or what the Librarian of Congress does not. So what should they know?
- [28:17]
Jeff
Vanessa well, one, I will go ahead and just shout out that by the time this episode comes out, there will actually be a beautiful primer out in the world by R. Kelly Jensen, who has done the work of going, hey, let me teach you a little bit more about not just specifically the role of the Librarian of Congress, but just the Library of Congress in general. Really informative. And I, yeah, had. I brushed up on some of that myself, but. So the Library of Congress itself is not, again, just like a library that happens to exist on Capitol Hill on a daily basis, I believe was the statistic that Kelly says. Like, there are over 10,000 items that get added to the Library of Congress. It is obviously a library, but of just so many important documents that exist, I was going to say in this country, but it's made up of several different offices that include the Copyright Office, the Congressional Research Office, of course, the Office of the Librarian. So everything from copyright to searches to, like, the flute that James Madison owned that Lizzo got to borrow in 2022, like, it's just all kinds of important historical stuff is housed in the Library of Congress, and the librarian is in charge of everything. Pardon me. Voice cracking from executing everything I just said, basically deciding where the research funding goes, what to do with the funding that is allotted to the library, how to properly catalog all these items becomes what also assists in the copyright sector. So, again, it is not like you're just typical standard research librarian at, like, a smaller library. This is a giant.
- [29:42]
Rebecca Schinsky
I was joking with a friend that this isn't like AOC needs to read needs like book recommendations for the weekend and she trots down there and Carla Hayden looks her up.
- [29:51]
Jeff
Have you heard of all Fours? Like, no, that's. That's not what this is.
- [29:55]
Rebecca Schinsky
I see you. The Library of Congress also provides, provides Congress, the Senate and our folks in the House of Representatives with confidential research and a ton of documentation. So, like, if your representatives are trying to put a bill together about something and they are looking for historical documents and what kind of arguments were made before, like, anything that was documented that the Library of Congress has a hold of Congressional reps can request. And they can request it confidentially. Yeah, right. They can do their work. So, like, yes, it is abhorrent that Carla Hayden was abruptly fired. There are other devious things going on here. Like, this is likely connected to the Trump administration's take on dei, but I don't think that those are the primary reasons that's in. I think it's fair game to think that that's in the mix when we're talking about this administration. But on the heels of Hayden's firing, the administration also fired is it Deborah Perlmutter, the head of the Copyright Office. And of course, she reported to Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress oversees the copyright. Oh, Shira Perlmutter is her name. I'm sorry. She had just released two days prior a huge report from the Copyright Office about AI and what is or isn't fair use for AI training and the use of copyrighted materials. And the Verge has two great big pieces about this. We'll put links to them in the show, Notes by Wes Davis. But the headline really is this does not have the force of law behind it. But when these cases about AI and copyright make their way to the courts, the courts can look to see what the Copyright Office has said. And the TLDR is that what the Copyright Office has said is that the use of copyrighted material and even publicly available materials to train AI, the Copyright Office deems it to be illegal and has said in this report that their recommendation, based on their understanding of copyright law, is that not only should companies who are training AI AI models have to make individual deals with like every publisher, every media company that has material they want to use for future training, they should have to go backwards and pay for the material that they have already used. You know, as we've covered for the last few years, all of those pirated books, all of those pirated news articles, this kind of backfired interesting ways. So the Trump administration fires Shira Perlmutter after this report and then Elon Musk and like some of the tech MAGA folks lobby to, well, they lobby to get her fired and then they, and then they lobby to put in someone pro tech tech in their place. And that is not exactly how it went. Would you like to tell the people who is the new acting Librarian of Congress?
- [33:06]
Jeff
Librarian of Congress is Todd Blanche, who is like the deputy attorney general and somebody who represented Trump during his own criminal trial that he, you know, got convicted of like 34 counts. And I am like, yes, that makes sense. How.
- [33:23]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yeah, it's. I mean, this is kind of a weird and fascinating one where like the Musk cabal of folks, I hate to use that word, but that like that posse really wanted someone who would be pro tech and they lobbied for it. And it turned out that like the real MAGA diehards were like, no, we need someone anti tech. We don't want to allow all of this copyrighted material to be used in these ways. Which must be pretty surprising to the high tech folks who wrote big checks to Donald Trump that he would look the other way. Because it turns out that Todd Blanch, like, although he's likely unqualified for this position.
- [34:04]
Jeff
That was what my. Yeah. Was about. Was. But. But yes. Go ahead.
- [34:07]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yeah. Is pretty anti tech. Like is pretty likely to in some ways back up this report or to not fall on the side of just letting AI companies do whatever they want. So like that's a weird win for publishers for creative people who have copyrighted material out there embedded in this really screwy situation.
- [34:28]
Jeff
Didn't his other lawyer, Mike Davis, literally post to social saying like tech bros are going to attempt to steal copywriters rights with AI profits. This is unacceptable and all.
- [34:37]
Rebecca Schinsky
It's just.
- [34:40]
Jeff
When you look around and realize this is, you know, what decides the intricacies of so many of our daily lives. It is just, just you really want.
- [34:47]
Rebecca Schinsky
To bang your head against a wall. Like, like real dis. Disregard. We know this. But real disregard for the institutions, for the important functions that they are supposed to play in American life and in American governance. Todd Blanche is also currently the deputy Attorney General. So like he's wearing multiple hats. Not as many as Marco Rubio is wearing. But he's got.
- [35:09]
Jeff
Yeah.
- [35:09]
Rebecca Schinsky
He's got some jobs happening over there and. And I guess we will wait and see how this shakes out. Are they going to stand behind Shira Perlmutter's report? Did these firings have nothing to do with the AI copyright report, but the timing just makes it look like they did? I think there will be some. You know, I would expect that we'll get some big like New York Times flavored. I assume so Reporting.
- [35:34]
Jeff
Yeah.
- [35:35]
Rebecca Schinsky
About this. Jodi Cantor is probably on the case, but you can read the big pieces about that. There's also an AP News piece about Todd Blanche and you know, his involvement both in the Trump hush money case but now his apparent work as the acting Librarian of Congress.
- [35:52]
Jeff
Sure.
- [35:53]
Rebecca Schinsky
So maybe we'll get a new permanent Librarian of Congress. My money is on somebody from Moms for Liberty.
- [36:00]
Jeff
Oh, I don't know why that didn't even creep into my brain. And it seems like the silliest oversight and probably here's the thing. Yeah.
- [36:07]
Rebecca Schinsky
If our people don't know what the Librarian of Con Congress does, the MAGA people definitely don't.
- [36:13]
Jeff
Nope.
- [36:13]
Rebecca Schinsky
And my also just like cynical thinking was if he, if he can get a headline that someone who is like anti books and anti freedom of speech is now the Librarian of Congress. That will fire, fire up the base. Yeah. Yeah. So we'll see. Maybe it'll be a FOX News personality. That's always possible. And I, I learned while I was researching this that historically the position has not always been held with library experience. Actually, only a couple of the librarians of Congress in history have been trained archivists or librarians. Many of them are have been lawyers or historians who have that archival training by virtue of their work in law or history. So just that's just an interesting thing.
- [36:59]
Jeff
Maybe we're saying that the Library of Congress has been around since 1800, so like won't be it's a long line of people we're talking about here.
- [37:06]
Rebecca Schinsky
And yes, exactly, Quite, quite historic. Just continuing destruction of these institutions. But we did get some good news about one institution. Do you want to break the good news since I made you talk about Todd Blanche?
- [37:21]
Jeff
Thank you for that. Yeah. So there has been what is. Yeah. Kelly Jensen also reported on this. So you can read that piece. But we got some good news about the dismantling of the IMLs, or at least that it's, it can't happen. It's not going to happen. Judge John J. McConnell Jr. Issued an injunction into that case where 21 state attorneys general sued Donald Trump for the unlawful Institute of the or Institute for Museum and Library Services. You can read the details of the brief, but basically it is like a stop and reverse. Like you anything that you were going to try to do, you cannot do. You have to prove to us that you're not going to do it. You have to hire back the folks that you fired. Anything broken out in that executive order has to be reversed. And you got to basically give people money that they're owed from grants. The only exception being, you know, if that grant receiver didn't like hold up their end of the bargain. But it is an about face in what I think we can unite just call a victory here and a slice of good news and what otherwise feels like a deluge of bad stuff. So that's, yeah. The people doing that work, I applaud you.
- [38:23]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yes, may their efforts continue to succeed. But that was a really great shot in the arm, I think. And continuing this pattern of like the cruelty and the chaos are the point. And the administration is acting through executive orders because they know they don't have the legislation, legislative power. And they, I think they, some of them, the grownups in the room know that these things aren't going to Stand up in court. So they're just getting in and breaking as many things as they can while the courts catch up with what's happening. But in almost every case so far, the courts have ruled against the Trump administration. It is. Ls left and right over there, lots of damage done. But like, the system as we have known it previously is not, like, entirely failing to defend itself or to continue upholding our institutions.
- [39:12]
Jeff
Gotta have some faith. And this was a nice shot to remember that. Yeah, it was really nice to see.
- [39:18]
Rebecca Schinsky
All right, other good news this week. Our hero of the week. Or like, maybe temporary hero, possibly permanent hero. We'll see what they do going forward. But an Edinburgh based tour company called Street Historians that has been, you know, for the last many years hosting Harry Potter themed walking tours in Edinburgh, which famously inspired J.K. rowling. One of the castles there inspired Hogwarts. They have decided that for the month of June, they are pausing Harry Potter themed walking tours and they're going to be hosting LGBTQ history tours in observance of Pride Month. They're doing this because the founder, Fraser Horn, has become increasingly uncomfortable with Rowling's statements about transgender gender rights and is noting that it's becoming more and more difficult to justify continuing to engage with the Harry Potter fandom. Like good pieces of information in this story from andy lawany@gayety.com But I thought a really nice job here where the guy who owns this company is saying, like, I've seen a lot of people who love and have deep connections to the Harry Potter stories, but it also feels like participation, participating in something harmful. And Edinburgh has a rich history, Scotland has a rich history, of course, of queer people contributing to the culture and society. And so they're going to spend the month of June highlighting that. I would like to see more of this and I would love to find out that they're not going to reverse this after June.
- [40:54]
Jeff
Yeah, he definitely left that door open. But from the piece, the way he describes, like, the thinking behind it, it definitely seems like something they are legitimately wrestling with and that it's not just some, like, vanity thing, which gave me at least a little bit of hope. I really would hope that they would, yeah, try to keep this as, like a permanent. But I, you know, as the piece also points out, they've got a lot of folks who, you know, are expressing how much they, you know, love the tours and the, you know, the positive associations they have with it. But it's just impossible to ignore her impact at this point. And it's Nice to see. And I, yeah, like you said, I hope more we'll see more of that across the board because this is just a property that is so enduring and so just ubiquitous.
- [41:34]
Rebecca Schinsky
It's yeah.
- [41:35]
Jeff
Hard.
- [41:36]
Rebecca Schinsky
And as you said, it does seem that they are really sincerely engaging with how do we best go forward? And I'm sure that it's tough as a business owner to see that they would be turning down like money making opportunities. So I hope that they will also be richly rewarded for this change by folks who are going to be traveling into Edinburgh or residents who might want to learn more about queer history there. But good for you street historians of Edinburgh. May these efforts succeed. Let's, let's do more of it. Vanessa, would you like to take a journey to Front List Foyer?
- [42:12]
Jeff
I would, yes. Let's do some happy stuff.
- [42:14]
Rebecca Schinsky
All right. We're going to talk about what we've been reading, but Front List Foyer is brought to us by Thriftbooks. Y' all know Thriftbooks has millions of new and used titles, an endless selection of books and videos and music, gifts and games, and they're all available at prices that will fill your imagination and your library. They got childhood classics, something for everyone and every budget. And there's a Thriftbooks reading rewards program so every purchase gets you closer to three to free book rewards so you can read more and spend less. @ThriftBooks.com More than 19 million titles to browse from and you will get free shipping in the US on orders of $15 or or more. So you can go to thriftbooks.comBRpodcast to see a running list of all the titles we've talked about on the show and do your shopping over there. I just did a big bulk buy of books for an upcoming project from Thriftbooks and I was able to like, I love being able to buy new and used in the same place because I know that some of these books I'm going to use for this project I'm going to want to keep. And some of them are books that I just need for this one thing so I can get a $4 used copy in good condition. I don't have to Pay, you know, $20 new hardcover, new paperback money. And it was really great. They all came at the same time. Nice mix of titles and consistent quality. Always loved that. So what have you been reading, Vanessa?
- [43:39]
Jeff
Well, speaking of trans rights, this is kind of a segue from our last story, but I just read this book that like shook me and I, I keep wanting to tell More people about it. It's called so Many An Oral History of Trans, Non Binary, Genderqueer and Two Spirit People of Color by Carol de Robertis. Caro de Robertis is a Uruguayan American author who's written books like Cantoras and the. Oh my gosh, I'm forgetting the title. Prophecy of Eros the Something. It's her newer book or their newer book. And this is a fantastic book on audio. It's also good on print. And it is like it says, an oral history that started off at as a collaboration between Caro de Robertis and Jacqueline Woodson, as part of Jacqueline Woodson's project, which was this oral history of elders of color. And Caro specifically got sort of assigned to engage with queer elders of color and was just sort of tapping. I think they tapped like 10 writers to interview elders from these communities and then through the process of conducting these interviews was just so touched and moved by their stories. It was like, no, this needs to be like an unique entire. I don't even want to say an anthology. It really is an oral history because there is no connective text or like narrative. It is quite literally just this book that's broken up into chunks that talk about like early childhood and family coming into your gender identity or like your understanding of queerness. What navigating intimacy was like, what activism has looked like in their lives, what their future looks like, how they're navigating the many changes that have happened, you know, within the queer community over the years. And these are all folks that came of of age somewhere between the 60s to the 90s. And it was just this stark reminder a that like yes, trans and queer people have always been here. One, two. What a privilege it is to get to speak to elders from these communities. Because as they also talk about in the book, the AIDS crisis, for example, in addition to just all manner of other violence against queer communities, just wiped out these giant portions of the population. We're like, there should be so many more elders around for us to talk to. And there aren't. But the ones that are here have done this amazing just by living life right on their terms. Just this super inspiring story that is resilient. It is sometimes a hard read because of course there's discussions of the like violence and issues that have affected folks in the queer community especially because it's just hasn't always been safe for them to live where they live. It's sometimes not safe now, but again, it's just their rolling kind of commentary and it was so touching. It was beautiful. It was interesting to see how our understanding of queerness has changed both us as just collectively, but that, you know, these people individually and, like, oh, I didn't think of myself as trans, you know, once upon a time, but, like, now I use that language. Or, like, why folks would consider transitioning and why they wouldn't. So anyway, I'm rambling, but it was. It was that good. It was one that I had to.
- [46:19]
Rebecca Schinsky
Stop and, like, really powerful.
- [46:20]
Jeff
Yeah, it's phenomenal. It's impossible not to be touched by it. So I really, really encourage folks to spend time with this, if you can, and get us so many stars by cuddle little guests these. And then I just have a fun little one to toss in there, which is a book called Detective Auntie by Uzma Jalaluddin in a hard pivot. But here I am to bring us, like, older women solving crimes. Because I think last time I hear, I was talking about murder by cheesecake.
- [46:44]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yeah, this is your regular beat. I was gonna say last time you were here, I learned that there are now Golden Girls inspired mysteries. And I can't tell you how many people I immediately texted as soon as we heard that.
- [46:54]
Jeff
So good. And I'm really, really, I realized, a huge fan of. And this is probably no surprise, since I am an Agatha Christie head and, like, grew up loving Ms. Marple, that I love that we're getting to see more of these older women amateur sleuths in books. And that's basically what this is. It is a story of a woman who lives in Ontario, and she's sort of, like, estranged from her daughter, which is why it's shocking when she gets a phone call from her that's like, hey, I've been arrested, People that, you know, I'm a suspect in a murder. I didn't do it. Can you come help me? And so she goes back to Toronto, and that's when we learn that, you know, she's estranged because she left Toronto years ago when her son was in a fatal accident. And so that's. That's why, you know, things aren't what they are. But she basically is. Her nickname is actually Detective Auntie, like, among her friends, because she is that person who is just super deductive and observational. And so she, you know, sets down to crack this case and figure out whether or not her daughter is indeed guilty. And it's just fun. It is very South Asian flavored. So there's all these delicious descriptions of, like, chai and, like, chutneys and delicious, you know, foods, but also this really observant and quirky fun woman of a certain age. And I just, again, I love that we're tapping into the wisdom of older women because they have that in droves. And, yeah, it's a lot of fun. So those are my two.
- [48:03]
Rebecca Schinsky
That sounds like such a blast. And also kind of aspirational reading for you, I would guess. I have seen how quickly you can find, like, that one guy that our friend went on one date with four years ago based on two pieces of information.
- [48:20]
Jeff
Correct. I was very much a little triggered, slash seen. When she was discussing, discussing, like, the notebook that she keeps or she just writes random stuff down, I was like, so we don't all do that. Okay, cool. So, yeah.
- [48:30]
Rebecca Schinsky
Okay, noted. Gotta watch yourself around Vanessa. Yeah, those sound great. And really occupying both far ends of your readings.
- [48:38]
Jeff
Absolutely.
- [48:39]
Rebecca Schinsky
So, yes, a fun day to be here. I've only got one this week. Man, I really loved it. This was one of my most anticipated books of the season. It's not even officially out yet, but I was too excited to wait for it. It's the Dry Season by Melissa Felix Phoebos, just a really incredible memoirist and essay writer. One of her previous books was called Abandon Me and was about a very difficult and abusive relationship that she was in for two years. This is about the time of life, not immediately after that, but sort of in the aftermath of that relationship where she is reassessing her relationship to relationships and her relationship to sex. And so she decides that she wants to be celibate for three, three months. It ends up becoming six months, maybe a little bit longer. And she, you know, wrote a lot of diary entries and, you know, kept track of her experiences in that time. It's now been several years she was documenting. She says, I think in an interview that I read with her that she's always, you know, like, writing to herself about her experiences and in the moment, she doesn't ever think, like, I'm going to make a book of this someday. So I don't think she's. This is not an A.J. jacobs. Like, I'm going to be celibate for six months. See what happens. Like, she's really trying to interrogate the functions of intimacy in her life or maybe the ways that she has used sex and flirtation and intrigue to meet other sorts of emotional needs. She's also sober. She's been in recovery for decades, I believe, and so she's trying to find out for herself. Also, is this a temporary dry period where I recalibrate Mai's relationship to sexuality, or do I need to, like, completely recontextualize it? And she does a little bit of both, but just really fascinating. Her writing is so, like, it's a cliche to say that a memoirist is vulnerable, but I think she does it in a way where she's talking about experiences that are very particular but that are attached to sort of universal fears, insecurities, universal types of interactions or moments that most of us have had. And her willingness to just say the thing. Like, I have found that in a lot of memoirs, like, the more difficult an experience is that the person is writing about, the more like the language gets dressed up or they try to make it really beautiful. And she's not trying to make hers intentionally ugly or difficult, but she's not trying to dress it up at all. She's like, very matter of fact with her herself. And that results in this very matter of fact, but I think quite profound ability to. She observes herself very carefully. And by the time she has had years since this dry season to process what she learned, the things that she's able to observe to us are just really powerful and interesting. I'll read anything that she wants to write about. I know you're in the fan club, too. I am just really wonderful. And not without difficulties. You know, like, she writes about abuse. She writes about sexual assault. She writes about, you know, her relationship to her body and her relationship to food and her relationship to substances. But like, her, I really think willingness is the word I'm going to go with her willingness to talk about, like, this friend that she's always been kind of attracted to and that it's just in the room with them and they've never talked about it. And then is that the responsible thing to do or should she nip it in the bud? Because allowing that that intrigue to continue is that's doing something for her that maybe she doesn't want to be feeding. Those kinds of things just are really, just really insightful. I appreciate her every time around and I'm looking forward to, like, seeing her do the interview circuit for the dry season when it comes out in June.
- [52:31]
Jeff
Wrote that down. That is exciting.
- [52:33]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yeah, it's a good one. So those are. That's our front list. Foyer again. Those will be a thriftbooks.com brpodcast that's our show. Vanessa, thanks as always. I love having you here riding along even when the news is a little bit of a downer.
- [52:47]
Jeff
Happy to be the Rabbit Hole correspondent anytime you need me. You let me know. No, it's always a pleasure. Thank you for having me.
- [52:53]
Rebecca Schinsky
Yeah. And folks, Show Notes as always will be@bookriot.com listen. You can find us on the patreon@patreon.com bookriotpodcast all the other links to all the things that you might need will be in the Show Notes as well as well and we will be back in your ears later this week. Thanks so much for listening today. We hope you'll enjoy this excerpt from the audiobook edition of A Garden Wedding.
- [53:23]
Rosie Lee
By Rosie Lee Martha swept the sandalwood fan in her hand back and forth, not to cool her brow but to tame the nervous anger energy brewing inside her. Although almost everything was going according to plan, she couldn't shake the notion that things were about to get messy. Martha placed her Mason jar on the coffee table and scooted closer to Oji. His constant reassurance had proven right so far. The day had gone exactly as he said it would, and now they were in the home stretch, chatting on a sofa like they did most evenings at his home or hers. But their surroundings were different on this cloudy late spring evening as they sat on a rented sofa that was part of the lounge vignette at her aunt's outdoor wedding reception near the Lake Pavilion on the Garden Family estate. The garden and games theme is a big hit, martha said, mindlessly repeating the same comment she'd just made as she slowed the speed of her face fanning and scanned the east portion of the property. The wedding planners had turned the area into a floral wonderland in shades of pink and orange. Flowers lined the walkways leading to the pavilion and cascaded down its posts from the ceiling. Oji gave her a comforting smile. Wanna go for a walk around the grounds to let off some steam? He asked. Martha coyly held the fan, a favor from the wedding reception, up to her face like a woman in one of the Regency era dramas. Oji pretended he didn't like to watch with her. I would love to go on a promenade with you around the grounds, sir, but when we pass by one of those big long games, I'll have to beat you again. Which game do you feel like losing this time? Time? She asked. I kept letting you win because I'm a gentleman, ojee replied, smirking. Whatever you need to tell yourself to make it okay, martha teased. Ojee burst out laughing, and Martha joined in, reveling in the serotonin release. He always knows what I need, she thought. That's all right. I'd prefer to stay here and talk with you, y' all, martha said, accounting for her sister and her cousin by marriage, who sat chatting among themselves. Across from Martha and Oji, the women maintained an easy balance of having their own conversation, engaging with Martha and Oji, and watching the other attendees enjoy the festivities. With only 96 guests, the reception felt like the laid back Juneteenth cookout the family hosted each year. Except both the venue and the attendees were more spiffed up. Following a dress code described as comfy cocktail attire, wedding guests looked chic as they posed for photos in front of a massive floral wall. A few groups of people congregated at the reception tables or at one of three lounge vignettes overlooking the lake, but most rotated among the array of dark giant games. Checkers, Jenga, Connect4, and Etch A Sketch spread across the grounds. Bursts of laughter filled the air as some men and women played like children and other adults introduced their kids to the games they grew up with. But Martha fretted because the joyful occasion served as the first meeting for her family and OG's since the couple began dating three months prior, and Martha wanted it to go perfectly. Laughing with Oji assuaged Martha's anxiety for a couple of minutes, but it soon returned. She folded the fan and placed it on her lap as she leaned toward him. I didn't expect your mom to talk so much to the other guests, she whispered. Her deep brown skin glowed against the tangerine dress she wore. I was looking forward to bonding with her as she got to know my family, but she spent the whole reception meeting people instead of spending time with us. Since she and my dad don't get out as much as they used to, she can't help herself. She's just doing her thing, ojee replied in a hushed tone. She likes you, I promise, he continued, squeezing Martha's hand. Okay, martha replied as she caught a glance of her sister. She swung her head to her right, where Mary leaned back in a burnt orange wingback chair that faced the lake. What are you laughing at? Martha asked in a perky voice. The long, swoopy layers in her pixie cut framed her oval shaped face perfectly. You two are cute together. It's good to see you happy. Happy, Mary said. Her hair cascaded down her back as she readjusted her body in the chair and smoothed the fabric of her flowy magenta midi dress. That's sweet of you to say, martha said, blushing. Because of their similar physical traits and fashion tastes, the sisters had embarked on extensive discussions regarding their maid of honor dresses and hairstyles for the the wedding to ensure they didn't end up with similar looks. This was intended to prevent guests who didn't see them regularly from confusing them as the same person. But mostly it was important to Martha that everyone was clear about which Garden Sister was dating Ojee Greenwald. She and Mary had the same complexion, prominent eyes, and pouty lips, but Martha was two years older at 30. 38. Ojee stood and lifted Martha's Mason jar from the table. The ice clicked against the otherwise empty glass. Thanks, Mary. She makes me happy, too.