Hello! This newsletter is SO FULL OF NEWS. An interview with George R. R. Martin! An announcement about the next show Tricia and Peter and I are going to recap! And perhaps my favorite part, a lovely notion about what it means to be a witch.
Last week, I got to interview Madeline Miller at an event with Chicago Humanities Festival. (As many of you know, her book Circe was my favorite of 2018. Which is saying a lot, because I read 77 last year.)
Toward the end of our conversation, I decided to ask her if she thinks of herself as being witchy. It’s Halloween season, after all, and some of my favorite kinds of ladies are the ones who light candles and send their intentions out into the world. But I could not have expected Madeline’s gorgeous, perfect response:
“Before writing Circe, I wouldn’t have identified as a witch,” she told me. “But I’ve come to understand that what it means to be a witch is to be a woman wielding more power than society is comfortable with women having.” HOW LOVELY IS THAT???
Speaking of witches, Lindy West’s new book is out Tuesday. It’s called The Witches Are Coming, and I can’t wait to read it. We had her on Nerdette when her book Shrill came out, and again when Shrill became a Hulu show, and she is always an absolute delight.
And speaking of delights, Jenny Slate’s first book also comes out Tuesday! It’s called Little Weirds and I can’t wait to dive in. (Jenny is one of my favorite Nerdette guests ever -- if you haven’t heard our 2017 chat about her love of houseplants, please listen immediately.)
That’s it for now — see you next week! Cheers, witches!
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