Ask Baba Yaga: The Audiobook Collection / Taisia Kitaiskaia / 2020
A fascinating cross between poetry, magic, and self-help, Ask Baba Yaga transforms one medium’s advice column into a rich book of prose poetry, tackling the complex contours of contemporary society with both classic questions like “how do I get over this breakup?” and some funny-ass curve balls like, “how do I stop falling in love with everyone I meet?” I especially appreciate the dives into deeply relatable 21st century questions like “How Do I Deal with Climate Change?” and “How Do I Live in Peace as a Trans Woman?”
I especially recommend this book for lovers of tarot and magic, but on the real, we all need this kind of medicine on occasion. If I were you, I’d buy an illustrated hard copy and read some advice out of it every morning. The advice is frequently heavily poetic and metaphor, taking cues from the cliches and phrases in the inquirer’s question and fleshing them out with fantasy and grit. There are plenty of cryptic bits like sticks of cinnamon to chew and suck. Baba Yaga’s wisdom has cold, glittering eyes, but sometimes snow angels are closest we’ll ever get to heaven. I give this book a 5/5.
Special thanks goes to RJ Walker and Elle Alder for introducing me to this book in their podcast Mancy. To check out Mancy, go here: https://www.mancypodcast.com/