• Merry Inkmas on white e-reader on top of christmas wrapping paper and between skeins of yarn
    Bonus Episodes

    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…

  • pile of books on a blue marble background
    Bonus Episodes

    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…

  • Book cover of Daughters of Nri on a yellowish gold background. Reni. K Amayo is written in calligraphy in the top left, and interview is written 3 times in a circle in the upper right.
    Bonus Episodes,  Interview

    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…

  • Front cover of Girl in the Walls on a mauve background
    Bonus Episodes,  Interview

    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…

  • Bonus Episodes,  Interview

    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…

  • Bonus Episodes

    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…

  • cartoon renderings of Jessie and Kelly wear black witch hats. A book and text "JK, it's magic" float above them
    Bonus Episodes

    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…

  • Kelly smiles with a mug of butter beer in her hand
    Bonus Episodes,  Interview

    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…