8 magical games to try instead of Hogwarts Legacy

Leave a comment

Story and photo by Sophia-Joelle McDowell

More than two decades ago she-who-will-not-be-named created a magical universe we all enjoyed. Hogwarts was a safe place for those who felt even a little bit different, although the fictional parents who sent their kids off to school to face life-changing villains and quests might disagree. 

The young people who read these books grew up visualizing themselves in that magical universe, sipping on butterbeer while casting spells. Everyone loved different things about the world, magical or otherwise. As someone who wasn’t allowed to have a cat growing up, I enjoyed the idea of being able to finally purchase my own feline friend and bring it along with me to school. 

Continue reading →

Lisa Cornwell and Her New Memoir on Sexism, Retaliation, and the Fight They Didn’t See Coming

Leave a comment

By Sophia-Joelle McDowell
Collage by Kelcie McKenney

Lisa Cornwell is a four-time Arkansas Women’s State Golf champion, a two-time AJGA first-team All-American, and a two-time All-State basketball player. In 1992 she was named the Arkansas Female Athlete of the Year and has been inducted into the Arkansas Golf and Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. 

After her strong athletic career, Cornwell found herself on the path of journalism. Before Cornwell was an on-air host for Golf Channel, she worked for the Big Ten Networks and local affiliates in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Ohio. Over the years, she earned a reputation for delivering excellent interviews and was genuinely great at her job. 

As described in her book, Troublemaker: a Memoir of Sexism, Retaliation, and the Fight They Didn’t See Coming, Cornwell has never had a problem standing up to bullies. 

Continue reading →

The Rise of Romance with Lawrence Librarian Polli Kenn

1 Comment

By Kelcie McKenney

The increase in popularity of the Romance genre has had us at Catcall kicking up our feet and giggling. What’s better than watching new readers find out that romance is totally for feminists too? We’re clearly big fans (I mean, check out our smut guide or our whole Catcall Reads section!) and we’ve been salivating at the rise of #BookTok and the influx of romance-books-turned-movies/shows. And now things are gettin’ local.

This week, Romance writer and TikTok’s #BookTok sweetheart Katee Robert is in town on the Cruel Seduction Tour, hosted by the Lawrence Public Library and the Raven Book Store—which has a romance-themed shelf and IG at @ravenaboutromance. Katee is celebrating the release of her newest book, Cruel Seduction, in the Dark Olympus series. It’s a collection of Greek Mythology retellings that are spicy AF (highly recommend!). On the tour, she’s bringing friends Ana Huang, author of Twisted Love, and Sierra Simone, author of Priest and a KC local. The three are lining up a panel about all things romance, plus chattin’ with readers and singing books. 

Continue reading →

Hanna Lee explores complexities of life as a Korean adoptee through writing

Leave a comment

By Sophia-Joelle McDowell

As a transracial Korean adoptee living in the midwest, Hanna Lee started writing during the rise of the pandemic when AAPI hate was high and they had a lot to process.

Lee believes writing can help people process what they’re going through, and it offers a healthy and structured way of going about this. 

The books they have written to process their own experiences have resonated with many readers. Lee spoke with us about their past and the pages they earned in the process. 

Continue reading →

‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ is a Time Capsule of Adolescent Expression 

Leave a comment

By Hanna Ellington

Glittering, angsty, sparkling, and effeminate, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is an ode to girlhood and the unrestrained emotion that comes with growing out of it.

I sit here coming to you in my apartment in a big city reminiscing on who I was when Speak Now came out for the first time. Dark curly hair, ambition beyond the confines of Kansas, and an affinity for the unbridled twang of Taylor Swift. At 11, I had already paid my dues as a Swiftie with my copy of Fearless and her debut album tucked in the growing CD collection shared with my mom.

Continue reading →