IP Picks🔎: If You Like 'The Watcher' and 'Uncut Gems'...

..then you'll love this week's stories about a relentless poltergeist, an obsessive lottery scammer and more

DEADLY INTENT Is this the face of an assassin? (Janet Fries/Getty Images)

Welcome to The Optionist! A big hello to all the new readers who came abroad this week after Substack recommended our little newsletter in their Substack Reads one.

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Welcome to another edition of Substack Reads. This week we’re reading @andyblewis and @OptionistAnkler, @matlock, @GizziErskine, @badmannersfood, @HessJillian, @naomishimada, @radleybalko, @Gingerhazing, and more: read.substack.com/p/substack-rea… 🧵

read.substack.comSubstack Reads: Sex, lies, and intellectual property; plus: pumpkin pyrotechnicsYou’ve hit the hub of Substack Reads: your weekly digest of storytelling, some entertaining and some deep-thinking, plus a healthy dose of fun—all from the best writers on Substack.

Substack @SubstackInc

The chess prodigy who cheated his way to the top @andyblewis hunts for overlooked treasures that could be optioned for film. In this week’s issue of @OptionistAnkler, he finds a story so good it’s practically gasping for celluloid

theoptionist.substack.comIP Picks 🔎: The Greatest Jewelry Heist You’ve Never Heard Of➕ the mobster and the Mormon (exclusive sneak peek), and the chess cheater

For those who are new, welcome to the newsletter. You can find out more about me and this project here. And if just signed up as a free subscriber and are interested in upgrading to the full Monty, you can do that here. Most importantly, I can be reached at andy@theoptionist.com. Drop me a line to tell me what you like (or don’t like — honesty preferred) about The Optionist, what you’d like to see more of, or just to say hi.

Now onto this week’s picks. I was completely fascinated by the story of this hustler who thought he had figured out a way to beat the lottery, and then stole millions to feed his fantasy. I know it starts out like a con story, but the hustler is the one who’s really being conned here by his belief in this wild scheme. To me, that elevated this true crime story to a fabulous character study of a man unraveling. Also this week:

• A cute rom-com about two former teen stars getting a second chance at romance

• A moving story about a Latino family and their friends grappling with their pasts

• A creepy Watcher-like story about a poltergeist haunting a home

• The true tale of the only woman to attempt to assassinate an American president