Marginalia Pod

The saying about friends being the family you choose seems very true for the Gangsey. We’re reading the final chapters of The Raven Boys through the theme of friendship, and wrapping up the novel.

In our section this week, Adam makes a sacrifice to wake the ley line. Neeve, inexplicably, disappears. A herd of Irish elk turn up out of time and trample Whelk. The trees speak Latin. Finally, they rebury Noah’s bones at the old church.

You can find the show notes on the website. 

This episode was recorded on 4 December 2021.

Thanks for listening! We'll be back with a one shot next week - we're watching Mad Max: Fury Road through the themes of perservation and glory. For Season 6, we're reading Carry on by Rainbow Rowell. We’re super exited about this - themes here!  

You can find out more about this podcast at www.marginaliapod.com. If you have any thoughts, questions, or general feedback, let us know at [email protected]

Our theme for chapters 40-44 of The Raven Boys is sanctuary, and you know what, it's super fitting cause everyone could really do with a safe place right now!

In this section, Neeve has kidnapped Whelk, but not well enough. Adam seeks out Blue for comfort but decides to make a third path, as Persephone suggested, and disappears. While Maura is telling Blue about her father, the Raven Boys turn up to enlist her help to find Adam. Everyone converges at Cabeswater.

You can find the show notes on the website. 

This episode was recorded on 27 November 2021.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about this podcast at www.marginaliapod.com. If you have any thoughts, questions, or general feedback, let us know at [email protected]

Hesitation is often framed as a bad thing, but sometimes taking a moment to hesitate can actually be a good thing! We unpack all of that as we read chapters 35-39 of The Raven Boys this week.

This is a pretty intense section! Gansey is determined to prevent Cabeswater falling to Whelk. Adam’s life reaches a tipping point, partly thanks to Ronan. Adam and Gansey fight about principles. Blue, finding Monmouth Manufacturing empty, takes a phone call from Mallory that makes Gansey even more self-pitying. Blue likes him a little better this way.

You can find the show notes on the website. 

This episode was recorded on 21 November 2021.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about this podcast at www.marginaliapod.com. If you have any thoughts, questions, or general feedback, let us know at [email protected]

Sometimes just showing up for someone, and being there, is the most important thing you can do. We look at what it means to be present as we read chapters 30-34 this week.

In this section, Blue grieves Noah. Neeve is creepy. Gansey pulls some strings to fix things for Ronan, who finally offers Blue an olive branch. Whelk waylays Gansey in a low moment. Persephone, Calla, and Blue start looking for answers.

You can find the show notes on the website. 

This episode was recorded on 14 November 2021.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about this podcast at www.marginaliapod.com. If you have any thoughts, questions, or general feedback, let us know at [email protected]

We all have moments of uncertainty, and times when our convinction is tested. How do you bounce back from that? That’s what we’re unpacking this week as we read chapters 25-29.

And it’s a big week! The Gangsey go back to the woods—Cabeswater. The trees speak Latin! Blue and Gansey search for the ley line and find a body instead. Back at Monmouth, Gansey confronts the boys with the improbable news that they’ve been haunted.

You can find the show notes on the website. 

This episode was recorded on 7 November 2021.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about this podcast at www.marginaliapod.com. If you have any thoughts, questions, or general feedback, let us know at [email protected]

What is Gansey's search for Glendower if not a quest? It's the perfect theme for exploring these characters' motivations, and how their individual quests form part of the bigger picture, as we read chapters 20-24 this week.

In this section, Adam invites Blue on an adventure. This involves a helicopter (piloted by Gansey’s older sister, Helen). Ronan and Gansey realise they’ve heard Blue’s voice before. They make a vital discovery and Gansey feels as if Blue is the final piece of the puzzle.

You can find the show notes on the website. 

This episode was recorded on 30 October 2021.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about this podcast at www.marginaliapod.com. If you have any thoughts, questions, or general feedback, let us know at [email protected]

We’re all guilty of being a little judgy sometimes…. but when is that useful? Is it ever? We unpack judgement this week as read chapters 15-19.

Our group officially meet as The Raven Boys come for a reading; things immediately get weird. Back at Monmouth, Ronan confronts Gansey about the argument with Adam. Meanwhile, Barrington Whelk is hot on Gansey’s trail. Back at 300 Fox Way, Blue interrupts Neeve while scrying—only it wasn’t Neeve. And Blue gets flowers from Adam!

You can find the show notes on the website. 

This episode was recorded on 23 October 2021.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about this podcast at www.marginaliapod.com. If you have any thoughts, questions, or general feedback, let us know at [email protected]

What’s life without a little mystery? It certainly keeps things interesting in Henrietta! This week, in chapters 10-14, we learn that Whelk was once a young man of means who was also searching for ley lines. Blue overhears some curious conversations at home. At Aglionby, Gansey and Ronan cover for Adam’s unexplained absence. Back at 300 Fox Way, a stranger requests a card reading and the women of the house do not like him at all. Never a good sign!

You can find the show notes on the website. 

This episode was recorded on 16 October 2021.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about this podcast at www.marginaliapod.com. If you have any thoughts, questions, or general feedback, let us know at [email protected]

“It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.” Abraham Lincoln said that, apparently. It's a good jumping off point for this week's episode as we explore the vices at play in Hernietta and what it can teach us about our own lives. Fair to say, it’s a lot to work through!

We're reading chapters 5-9 this week, and it's the part where worlds start to intersect. Gansey schedules a tarot reading. Blue is annoyed by a group of obnoxious Raven boys in her section. One (Adam) later asks for her number, another (“President Cell Phone”) leaves his journal behind and Blue volunteers to return it.

You can find the show notes on the website. 

This episode was recorded on 9 October 2021.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about this podcast at www.marginaliapod.com. If you have any thoughts, questions, or general feedback, let us know at [email protected]

New season baby! We are very excited to get stuck into The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, the first book in The Raven Cycle. Our overarching theme is connection and we’ll carry this through for the whole series – and yes, we will eventually read all of them. This week, we introduce the text through the theme of destiny as we read the prologue to chapter 4. Can't wait to spend this time with Blue, Gansey, Noah, Ronan and Adam.

You can find the show notes on the website. 

This episode was recorded on 2 October 2021.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about this podcast at www.marginaliapod.com. If you have any thoughts, questions, or general feedback, let us know at [email protected]