78. Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi

The Library Coven

Hey, book lovers! It’s been busy over here in our respective worlds – hence the episode delay We hope you enjoy this conversation about Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi, one of our fav contemporary authors. Better late than never, right?!

In the novel, we follow our MC, Bitter (who we know as Jam’s mother from the first book Pet), as she learns the various ways to be part of a social movement, falls in love, and tries to help the city of Lucille.

Both of us listened to the audiobook, which is narrated FABULOUSLY by Bahni Turpin.

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• Recommend if you like…
  • Pet by Akwaeke Emezi – it is the prequel after all (episode 47, feb. 2021)
  • The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson
  • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  • Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeymi (episode 2!, sept. 2018 and episode 34, aug. 2020)
  • Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series
  • anything by Octavia Butler
• Jessie recommends this article from Schalk and Kim – “Reclaiming the Radical Politics of Self Care: A Crip-of-Color Critique — that she read for a class about what self care is and what it isn’t.
• Since recording this in early 2023, k has since made and VERY MUCH enjoyed a sweet potato pie

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Access complete show notes on our website, thelibrarycoven.com.

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

We support #LandBack. The Library Coven 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)