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Sunday Reads Banner with books and a cat

A few weeks ago, my husband was approached by an older woman and her friend. They wanted to buy his car, a well-used 1991 black Mercedes 500SL convertible, the same model once owned by Princess Di (hers was maroon). They each cut him matching crisp paper checks for their respective halves — and I instantly recognized one of the women as 89-year-old Lake Mills author Margot Peters.

Peters published nearly a dozen books and taught in UW–Whitewater's English department for more than two decades. One of her latest (and the subject of much tongue-wagging around town) was set in "Mills Lake" — even now I can't type that sentence without grinning. I never met Peters. But I first learned about her after reading a 2020 Wisconsin State Journal article by Barry Adams, and every time I jogged through the neighborhood surrounding my husband's bicycle shop I thought about how cool it was that this prolific and clearly formidable author lived in Lake Mills.

A few days after selling the car, my husband got a call. It was from a woman whose neighbor had entered hospice and had an 11-year-old Persian cat that needed rehoming. She knew Andy had Persian cats and asked if he had room for one more — he immediately said yes. It was only when he went to pick sweet "Plummy" up that he learned the cat belonged to none other than Peters. As heartbreaking as the situation was, it was also an extraordinary coincidence that made the whole thing feel meant-to-be.

Last Sunday, another Barry Adams article on Peters hit the front page — this time, sadly, announcing her death. It was news to us, not only that she'd died when she'd seemed so alive, but that she'd gone into the hospital the very night she and her friend bought the car. Adams wrote about Andy's car, and the process of rehoming the cat, but the journalist had no idea the convertible's former owner and the cat's new owner were one and the same (yes, I've since told him).

Plummy is so sweet and she is settling in nicely. She's still understandably guarded but I just keep trying to soothe her with my energy, which I hope she recognizes as kindred to her former owner; one woman author who admired another, with similar tastes in books, communities, cats and cars.

My deepest condolences to the loved ones of Margot Peters.

Associate Editor Maggie Ginsberg curates this monthly newsletter for Madison Magazine.

Last month I asked you to share what you're reading. I'm currently reading "Handbook for a Post-Roe America: The complete guide to abortion legality, access, and practical support" by Robin Marty.

Here are two reader responses from last month:

"I Who Have Never Known Men" was my favorite find during a recent trip to NYC where I visited four independent bookstores. Written by Jacqueline Harpman and translated by Ros Schwartz, this is a close, reverent tale of a woman whose name we never learn, and whose earliest memories are of living among 39 other women in a bunker. First published in 1995, the book was an underground success, and one that I cannot recommend enough for people who, like all of us, are living in a post Roe v. Wade and Handmaid's Tale world. –Marlena H., Madison

"Booth" by Karen Joy Fowler is a fresh take on a complex family whose most famous member looms large in American history. Fowler never disappoints, regardless of her subject matter — this is a book to wander and get lost in, and emerge with new perspectives about love, loyalty, and the sacrifices we make for our beliefs. –Sarah M., Mount Horeb

Your turn: What are you reading right now? Please reply to this email or click the red button to share your book recommendations.

Email Maggie your current reads

From the Latest Issue Banner with a magazine cover

Hot off the presses from the current issue of Madison Magazine

On the left is writer Maggie Ginsberg and on the right is pilot Shane Baker, both wearing sunglasses and headsets in the cockpit of an airplane.

Only in print for now

I've said it before and I'll say it again: This job has its perks. Last month it was wrangling Madison's most adorable pets for a photoshoot; this month I got a personal sunset flight tour of the isthmus. Shane Baker, pictured with me above, is just one of the many general aviation pilots that live in the area. I got to know the people behind the pilots' certificates and the reasons for their passion, which I shared in a feature story called "Ordinary, Everyday Pilots."

On the left is the July cover of Madison Magazine and on the right is the open spread of the cover story article on vegetables.

Coming to newsstands

Our July issue is now in subscribers' hands and on newsstands throughout the city. The cover story on vegetables is another visual stunner that really celebrates the highlighted dishes for what they are. There's also a 25th anniversary look at the Monona Terrace by Neil Heinen, a lovely meditation on fatherhood from essayist Matt Geiger, and stories on a boatmaker, a geneticist with an artistic flair, adventurous eats, mushroom mania and more.

Find the Issue

'I'd Rather Be Flying Dogs'

Last month, in our pet-themed June issue, I featured the work of a retired Middleton pilot who donates his time flying rescue dogs to adoptive families. His story was so inspiring that it went viral — a good thing, right? Sort of. What happened next astounded us here at the magazine: Major web "content" aggregators including Upworthy and Bored Panda stole our article and passed it off as their own.

The most egregious example was Upworthy's word-for-word copy-and-paste of my article, which they then placed under someone else's byline. My interviews, my research, my writing; my team's exhaustive fact-checking, editing, proofreading, designing and production work — blatantly stolen. Enough people called out Upworthy's plagiarism that they deleted the story, along with a second, shorter version they'd posted under yet another byline — but not before they'd racked up 35,000+ likes on a Facebook post directed to their own site. Bored Panda, on the other hand, decided to add to the story they'd stolen by reaching out to the pilot directly and adding a few new quotes on top of our reporting. That story is still up, rewarded by each click, comment and share.

After a rough couple of days, it became clear to us that this is simply their business model. Those feel-good viral stories you share on social media? So many are essentially scraped from hardworking journalists at ethical publications and repurposed, reworded or even blatantly copied onto their own websites for profit. Well-meaning readers share the stories, thinking they're helping spread important news. Don't get me wrong — the fact that more people got to learn about the work of this pilot and others is ultimately a good thing. But trust me when I tell you how damaging and demoralizing this is for all of us. Here at the magazine, this is our livelihood. So much behind-the-scenes work goes into the final product you read. And for our entire community, local journalism is the lifeblood; a true measure of democracy that we need now more than ever. Please think twice about sharing "viral" stories and instead seek out the original source. And support local journalism like ours with your subscription dollars.

Don't miss these web-exclusive articles

Sagashus Levingston wearing a white top with black spots and a black neck bow looking directly at the camera

From the web

‘Infamous Mothers’ creator Dr. Sagashus T. Levingston announced a 45-city book tour for her new book, "Covet." The free and virtual 'Nothing's Wasted Tour' will highlight the new book while connecting entrepreneurs to bridge health and wealth gaps for Black mothers. I connected with Levingston to get some of the backstory.

Black-and-white photo of mime master Reid Gilbert applying makeup while looking at himself in a dressing room mirror.

Doug Moe's Madison

On the "Doug Moe's Madison" blog this month, Moe writes about a new band made up of seasoned musicians called the ghost particles; a Madison videographer reporting on the Ukraine national soccer team's World Cup bid; and the death of the 91-year-old mime master who first put Spring Green on the arts world map.

New book releases, author events and other local literary news

On Thurs. June 30, Sagashus Levingston will discuss her new book, "Covet," at Mystery to Me Bookstore.
"Legends of Drag: Queens of a Certain Age" was published this month by Wisconsin natives Harry James Hanson and Devin Antheus.
"Fruiting Bodies: Stories" is out this month from debut author Kathryn Harlan, a UW–Madison MFA alum who currently teaches in the program.
"Death Casts a Shadow," the final book in Patricia Skalka’s series, is due out from UW Press on July 26. Skalka will appear at Mystery to Me at Mystery to Me in conversation with Doug Moe on July 28.
Robert Fromberg's "How to Walk with Steve" won the Next Generation Indie Book Award in the memoir category. Read my Q&A with Fromberg here.
"Truth and Other Lies" by Maggie Smith was a finalist in the International Book Awards in the women's fiction category. Read my Q&A with Smith here.
Therapist Jennifer Parker's book, "Coercive Relationships: Find the Answers You Seek," was named a finalist in the nonfiction self-help category of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
Pat Zietlow Miller will be at Mystery to Me on Weds. June 29 to celebrate her latest children's book releases, including "See You Someday Soon" and "Not So Small." Read my Q&A with Miller here.
Barb Pratzel's Manna Cafe & Bakery Cookbook was honored as a finalist in two categories of the National Indie Excellence Awards. Read my story behind the cookbook here.

Meet a Wisconsin author

Q&A with Richard Goodkin, author of "Mourning Light"

Richard Goodkin wrote the first draft of what would become his new novel, “Mourning Light,” over the course of a few months back in 1993. For the University of Wisconsin–Madison French professor, working on the novel was a way of processing some difficult personal emotions surrounding the loss of his partner two years earlier — and so he wrote a fictionalized story about a UW–Madison professor who loses his partner during the early years of the AIDS epidemic. Now, three decades and countless drafts later, the semi-autobiographical love story will be published by the University of Wisconsin Press and celebrated with a launch event at Room of One’s Own bookstore on July 18.

Read the Q&A

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