BONUS! Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert
Hiya, coven! This is a super special holiday bonus episode that we recorded especially for our patrons. Annnnnd now it’s a month later, so all y’all can enjoy our discussion of Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert, one of our absolute favorite contemporary romance authors. Yep, you read that right – contemporary romance! This novella follows Bailey and Cash who end up working together at a tattoo shop! Get ready for grump & sunshine, fake dating, and there’s only one bed, all in one book! Content warning for brief discussion of abuse As always, we’d love to be in discussion with you, magical people. Drop us a line in the comments or…
2021 Year in Review
Hello, Coven! It’s that time of year where we take a look back at the books, TV shows, and movies that got us through the year. Thank you to all of the people who asked questions and more generally to everyone for listening! We hope you find some new and interesting things to read and watch. Let us know in the comments about all your favs from the past year! Books (alphabetical by author) Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé Daughter of Nri by Reni K Amayo (our Interview with Reni) From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout Grace Period: A Memior in Pieces by Kelly J. Baker King of Scars by…
Interview with Reni K. Amayo, author of Daughters of Nri
Final interview episode coming at you with Reni K. Amayo, author of The Return of the Earth Mother series and founder of Onwe! The first book in the series, Daughters of Nri is available now, and you can pre-order the forthcoming book in the series, Decedents of the First, which is available October 5th! You can find Reni on Instagram or Twitter, and we highly recommend checking out her books! Onto the notes! Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman Dorothy Koomson Take the character quiz mentioned in the episode! Check out Onwe’s podcast SUBTEXTing The Read podcast Reni is listening to Game of Thrones audiobook, watching Modern Family and WandaVision, and reading Dream Country…
Interview with Katy Michelle Quinn, author of The Girl in the Walls
We’re excited to bring you our second interview! This time we’re chatting with Katy Michelle Quinn. She is the author of Girl in the Walls, which is out June 1, 2021 from Clash Books. You can preorder the book here! Say ‘hi’ to Katy Michelle Quinn on twitter or instagram. Katy has attended Bizarro Con and misses those moments of connection at in-person conventions. She is reading N.K. Jemison’s novel The Fifth Season, listening to hyper pop like Charlie XCX as well as metal, hardcore and country music. Katy is also watching Star Trek for the first time (!) and recently re-watched Will & Grace. Katy’s horror recs include the director Dario Argento and…
Interview with Ashaye Brown, author of Dream Country
We’re thrilled to bring you this interview with author Ashaye Brown (she/her) whose debut novel, Dream Country,will be released on April 27, 2021. Aka next week (!!) for those of you listening when the episode drops. This will be the first in a mini-series of three author interviews we will be releasing in the lead up to our next season of the podcast. You can order Dream Country directly from Onwe — do it soon to get a limited edition, signed version!! I mean, behold the beautiful bookplates. Follow Ashaye on twitter @AshayeBrown for amazing content. Really, tho, follow her! (listen to the episode to hear why Jessie and Kelly rave about…
2020 Year in Review
Let’s take a look back at all the wonderful things we loved in this shit show of a year– most of them book-related, although we chat about film/TV a fair amount too. We want to share our favs with y’all in the hopes of spreading a bit more joy around. Please reach out and let us know yours as well! We know this time of year is filled with wrap ups, lists, etc. (hell, we’re complicit), which, for some, can be rough to wade through. Take care of yourselves and feel free to skip this one if that’s the case for you. We’ll be back in 2021 with more book…
BONUS! Great British Bake Off (10) The Final!
And just like that series 11 (or collection 8 for us folks in the US) is over. It was so much fun to have this during this fairly terrible time, and we hope you’ve all enjoyed listening to our ramblings about the show. Now time for a re-watch! [gif of Matt waving to Noel] 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…
BONUS! Great British Bake Off (9) The Semi-Final and Patisserie!
Tune in for our ramblings on the chaos that was patisserie week! Alas, this season of GBBO is almost over *crying emoji* Almost no notes this time! But here’s that tweet Kelly mentions.
BONUS! Great British Bake Off (8) Dessert Week
Hello, Coven! We’re at week eight of Great British Bake Off, and where did the time go!? This week, it’s all things desserts, and a very unusual technical. Who do you think is making it to the final? Just a few notes: compote is “a dessert originating from medieval Europe, made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. Whole fruits are cooked in water with sugar and spices. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemon or orange peel, cinnamon sticks or powder, cloves, other spices, ground almonds, grated coconut, candied fruit or raisins. The compote is served either warm or cold.” – Wikipedia entry for compote coulis is “is a form of thin sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits” -Wikipedia entry…
BONUS! Great British Bake Off (7) 80s Week
ahoy, bakers and reader/listeners! This season of GBBO is nearly over (NOOOOOO), but we’re still excited to share this bonus ep with y’all. We talk quiche, donuts, and ice cream cake. Oh, and Jessie gives us a lesson on air fryers. Enjoy! [gif of Mel and Nadia holding up index and pinky fingers – metal!]
BONUS! Great British Bake Off (6) Japanese Week
We are more than half way through this season of GBBO, and I am so sad! Here’s to the first ever Japanese week! What were your thoughts? [gif of Mark smiling and laughing]
BONUS! Great British Bake Off (5) Pastry Week
Hi, everyone! We can’t believe that it’s already halfway through this season of GBBO. Tune-in for our discussion of the much-anticipated pastry week. Visit The Traveller Movement website , check out this op-ed in the Guardian about antiziganism/racism, or this handy “GRT Representation: Media Response Toolkit” for more on GRT (Gypsy, Roma, Traveler) ethnic groups. There is so much to learn. Do the research, ppl! 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…
BONUS! Great British Bake Off (4) Chocolate Week
We’re coming at you this week to talk about all things episode 4 of series 11 or Chocolate Week! This week was a wild ride, so prepare yourselves! Here is the article J mentioned about GBBO [a gif of the Prue-gasm] 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,…
BONUS! Great British Bake Off (3) Bread Week
It’s finally time for Bread Week! Here is our third bonus episode in the GBBO series. [actual footage of Jessie and Kelly preparing for recording this episode. JK! it’s Mel and Sue wearing front zip hoodies and shaking out their shoulders] 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,…
BONUS! Great British Bake Off (2) – Biscuit Week
Time for biscuits and episode 2 of our very special bonus episodes about GBBO! What did you think of biscuit week? How are you feeling about the season? [gif of Steph trying to get her merengue off the beater into a metal bowl] 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…
BONUS! Ep 1 of Our New Series on Great British Bake Off
Greetings, dear coven. We are excited to introduce our new series of bonus episodes following each new episode of Great British Bake Off! The program is also known as the Great British Baking Show on Netflix/in the USA ( because copyright law). J & K are both amateur bakers who enjoy making everything from bread and patisserie to cookies and cakes. Tune in for baking tips and to hear us tailor that compassionate critique you know and love toward this sweet* reality show. We hope it brings you joy! It certainly is a treat* to record these. *PUNS INTENDED! #obvi (can you tell K wrote this? lol) On your marks…get…
BONUS! Umbrella Academy
We’re coming at you with a super special bonus episode discussing all things about the first two seasons of Umbrella Academy! If you enjoy this episode, let us know, and let us know about any other bonus episode things you’d like to see in the future!! 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…
BONUS! 2 years of the podcast
Hello, magical friends! We’ve got a bonus episode for you! We recently celebrated 2 years of the podcast! We are so excited to have been in communication with you for the last two years! The time has really flown by. We just wanted to take this time to thank you all who have been here since the beginning, and thank you to those who have just discovered us, to the people who chat with us on Instagram, and to everyone who tells someone about the podcast. We are excited to to bring you new conversations about books each fortnight, and we’ll keep doing it for as long as is sustainable…
Episode 20: Interview with Kelly
Hey listeners, welcome to the second (and final) installment of our interview mini-sodes! In this episode, Kelly fields questions from Jessie about a plethora of extremely important topics including superpowers, fur babies, astrology, and books (#obvi). Like Jessie did for the last episode, I (Kelly) am updating the show notes with information I forgot to share in the interview. Feast your ears! My dogs are named after two Battlestar Galactica characters: Starbuck (callsign for Kara Thrace) and Helo (callsign for Karl Agathon). The Portlandia episode about BSG describes how all-consuming the show can be. A friend sent me this wonderful video from the show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend about normalizing antidepressant and…
