21. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Finally, the ACOMAF episode is here! J & K both adore ACOMAF, and in the spirit of that affection, we don’t shy away from dredging up the novel’s problematic aspects. Generous and loving critique is, after all, what our podcast is all about.

If you need a refresher, catch up on our discussion of A Court of Thorns and Roses

And now, copious show notes and links:

• “O I forbid you, maidens a’,
  That wear gowd on your hair,
  To come or gae by Carterhaugh,
  For young Tam Lin is there.” –– “The Ballad of Tam Lin” is a faerie legend from Scottish lands and it tells the story of a mortal woman saving a faerie male from a Faerie Queen. Sound familiar? It should! That’s basically ACOTAR, although SJM makes a lot of changes. Shoutout to Taiko (K’s friend) for sharing her wisdom on this topic. Learn more about the ballad here.
• The first print version of “La Belle e La Bête” [Beauty and the Beast] appeared in France in the 1740s, although stories of human women taking animal-esque partners is apparently a common trope from folktales worldwide. This article from the Smithsonian is a good read if you want to know more about different versions of the story in a variety of media (text, film, etc.) that have been created over the centuries. Also, K recommends the Beauty and the Beast episode of the podcast Myths & Legends.
• Utilitarianism video from Crash Course
• J mentions the “50 Shades of White: The Long Fight Against Racism in Romance Novels” article from the Guardian. It’s a long read, but well worth it.
• Rhys and Tarquin might not explicitly discuss giving up power and privilege to make change happen, but adrienne maree brown does in this excellent post. Please read it and relinquish the patriarchy!!
• We mention SJM’s privileging female sexual pleasure in our “Shipwrecked” segment. K has been reading Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown, and couldn’t recommend it more!
• This Them article on queerbaiting gets into some specific pop culture examples (e.g., Ariana Grande, etc.). V helpful. Also related to our conversation about queerbaiting in ACOMAF, here is some useful info from GLAAD about dismantling stereotypes of bi folx.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Transcript to come Spring 2021

As always, we’d love to be in discussion with you, magical folx. Post or tweet about the show using #criticallyreading. Let us know what you think of the episode, anything we missed, or anything else you want us to know by dropping a line in the comments or reaching out to us on twitter or Instagram (@thelibrarycoven), or via email (thelibraycoven@gmail.com). You can also check out the show notes on our website, thelibrarycoven.com.

We really appreciate ratings and reviews on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or any other platforms. Help us share the magic by spreading the word about the podcast!

Please support our labor by leaving us a one-time tip on Ko-fi or purchasing books from our Bookshop! Even better yet, become a monthly patron via Patreon and you can unlock a bunch of exclusive perks like mini-sodes, bonus episodes, and access to our community of reader-listeners on Discord.

The podcast theme song is “Unermerry Academy of Magics” by Augustin C from the album “Fantasy Music”, which you can download on FreeMusicArchive.com.

JK, it’s magic is recorded and produced on stolen indigenous land: Arapahoe, Cheyenne, and Ute (Kelly) and Chickasha, Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Mascoutin, Miami, Mesquaki, Odawa, Ojibwe, Peankashaw, Peoria, Potawatomi, Sauk, and Wea (Jessie)

You can support Indigenous communities by donating to Mitakuye Foundation, Native Women’s Wilderness, or the Navajo Water Project. These suggested places came from @lilnativeboy