workweek reading recs (21 July 2025)

[matsushima]

• My writing group was infiltrated by a serial fraudster who said she had a terminal illness (2025/03)
• The New Sun Worship (2025/07)
• The Game is Played with Great Feeling (2025/04?)
• Mary Had Schizophrenia - Then Suddenly, She Didn't (2025/07)
• PageTurner's $44 Million Fraud (2025/07)
• Rot Economy (2024/08)
• Podcast: Better Offline: Make Fun of Them: Part 1 & Part 2

This week's nonprofit is Middle East Children's Alliance, "a nonprofit organization working for the rights and the well-being of children in the Middle East."

Comments

[haunted_cherries]

Thanks for sharing these!! Sucks that the first scenario especially seems to be much more common these days... ; o;

[matsushima]

I don't know if it's more common now (the "Warrior Eli" hoax was revealed in 2012) or more commonly called out? but it does make it a bummer for actually disabled/chronically ill people trying to raise awareness (or money for treatment).

[haunted_cherries]

EXACTLY, that's what I meant was that I feel like I've been seeing folks more frequently use illness/disability as a means of attention and to garner sympathy and it distracts from folks who are ACTUALLY suffering. Even worse is that the more it happens, the more it causes terms to be watered down and not taken as seriously as they should ; o;