35. Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

Explicit content warning

08/25/20 • 53 min

hello, everyone! We’re excited to bring you this episode about The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black, the final installment of the Folk of the Air series (after The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King– which we discuss in episode 8 and episode 16, respectively). In the novel, we finally get to find out what happens to Jude and Cardan, and we see everything that unfolds after Jude was banished to the mortal world. In the episode, J & K somehow both forget that Cardan turns into a giant snake. hope you enjoy (and add to) the conversation!

*Call to action*

J and K have feelings about our podcast name and the common association with she-who-shall-not-be-named (ahem, the author of one of our favorite series, Harry Potter). JKR is a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist’) and that is unacceptable. Consult this helpful series of posts on the JKR/TERF issues.
Let’s all commit to making a consistent practice of dismantling the transphobia we learn from cis-normative societies.
Something to donate $ to: The Okra Project, a collective that provides home-cooked meals and resources to Black Trans/gender non-conforming (GNC) people experiencing food insecurity.

**This isn’t an exhaustive list! Please do research for your local area and share with us any resources you find in your journey. We will share those on Instagram and Twitter. We are often posting resources on social media as well, so check that out, too!

Transcript below (or access the pdf transcript)

ONWARD to the show notes!

Grima and Madoc are redcaps. Redcaps, a type of goblin, come from Scottish/English folklore. They are associated with a region called the Borders, the site of numerous violent clashes between the Scottish and English. Learn more on the villains fandom wiki.
video (3 min): “is the pandemic messing with how we perceive time?” the tl;dr is YES, bitch! I (K) learned that both anxiety and trauma are huge factors....so that’s...cool....
A debrief of sexism in the Game of Thrones series finales from The Mary Sue.
Jessie speaks about tokenization of POC in the form of Heather, especially considering how the character is written using (outdated) AAVE.
Why existing as a non-Black person in proximity to Blackness (i.e., as the partner/parent/friend of a Black person) doesn’t make someone “not-racist,” much less anti-racist. Here’s an article for you on why.
RENT = SCAM. Let’s just CANCEL RENT (more on why rent cancellation crucial, especially given the COVID-19 pandemic)
- J recommends the Patriot Act episode on Rent Forgiveness
- K mentions the episode about rent strikes on the podcast Rebel Steps
At one point, J describes how she imagines Locke as a “Wall Street Frat Bro Faerie” (à la

*Call to action*

J and K have feelings about our podcast name and the common association with she-who-shall-not-be-named (ahem, the author of one of our favorite series, Harry Potter). JKR is a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist’) and that is unacceptable. Consult this helpful series of posts on the JKR/TERF issues.
Let’s all commit to making a consistent practice of dismantling the transphobia we learn from cis-normative societies.
Something to donate $ to: The Okra Project, a collective that provides home-cooked meals and resources to Black Trans/gender non-conforming (GNC) people experiencing food insecurity.

Transcript below (or access the pdf transcript)

ONWARD to the show notes!

Grima and Madoc are redcaps. Redcaps, a type of goblin, come from Scottish/English folklore. They are associated with a region called the Borders, the site of numerous violent clashes between the Scottish and English. Learn more on the villains fandom wiki.
video (3 min): “is the pandemic messing with how we perceive time?” the tl;dr is YES, bitch! I (K) learned that both anxiety and trauma are huge factors....so that’s...cool....
A debrief of sexism in the Game of Thrones series finales from The Mary Sue.
Jessie speaks about tokenization of POC in the form of Heather, especially considering how the character is written using (outdated) AAVE.
Why existing as a non-Black person in proximity to Blackness (i.e., as the partner/parent/friend of a Black person) doesn’t make someone “not-racist,” much less anti-racist. Here’s an article for you on why.
RENT = SCAM. Let’s just CANCEL RENT (more on why rent cancellation crucial, especially given the COVID-19 pandemic)
- J recommends the Patriot Act episode on Rent Forgiveness
- K mentions the episode about rent strikes on the podcast Rebel Steps
At one point, J describes how she imagines Locke as a “Wall Street Frat Bro Faerie” (à la

Previous Episode

34. Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi

Hello, magical friends! This fortnight we’re coming at you with a discussion of Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi, the second book in the Legacy of Orïsha series. If you need a recap of the story or what we talked about in the first book, check out episode 2 (so long ago!!!) about Children of Blood and Bone.

First up, let me say there is a bit of a sound issue on my part (J), that I apologize for. I accidentally recorded from my webcam instead of my microphone, but hopefully, I wont let that happen again in the future!

Call to action: this week we asked that you take the time to learn more about systems of oppression, and there are lots of ways you can do that. Check out the NPR podcast, Code Switch, purchase and read a book from our anti-racism book list, or check out Rachel Cargle’s The Great Unlearn. This isn’t an exhaustive list! Please share with us any resources you find in your journey, and we will share those on Instagram and Twitter. We are often sharing resources on social media as well, so check that out, too!

We also introduced our Bookshop for the first time in this episode, but to find out more about how Bookshop works, check out their about page to learn more.

And now on to the notes!:

J & K both listened to this book as an audiobook. The narration is wonderful and definitely worth checking out. Check your local library to see if you can get it there; audiobooks are expensive!!
If you’re interested, here’s more information about the fantasy subgenres
Here are two videos about cultural appropriation vs cultural appreciation from CBC and Vice Asia
Check out this Code Switch episode: “Why Now, White People?“
Here is a great article about colorism – In this episode I (J) talked a bit about my privilege as a light-skinned Black person, and it is really important that all of us recognize what privileges we are bringing with us to any given table. This was a weird thing to talk about in such a public manner, but I think it’s also a very important topic. Hit me up on social media or email if you want to talk about it more.
Check out the data on the racial breakdown in children’s books. It is a sad state of affairs.
Check out the episode of Vox’s Explained “Billionaires”
Article from Buzzfeed “This is What Black Burnout Feels Like“
I (J) took out a whole segment where I said a lot of nice things about Sebastian Stan, who I do not know. You can just imagine it. But it was too embarrassing to keep in lol. But I felt I should be honest with ya’ll.
Books mentioned in the episode:
- Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation

Next Episode

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

Content Warning: at 17:15 we are talking about JKR and the harm she has caused with the trans community. If you aren’t up to listening to that, feel free to stop the episode at that point, and no that we do not support her and will no longer be publicizing her or her work in any way, shape or form. We are also thinking of a new name for the podcast so that people will stop associating the podcast with her.

In this episode we answered some questions from Instagram, check out booknerdnative for romance recs and just an absolutely fun and happy page, and if you’re looking for more information about people who are problematic within the YA book community, check out bookish.you.should.know.

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 ([email protected]). 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