Latest / Friday Night Readers: Gilmore Girls Inspired Book Club / 🏫10 Books That Capture the Dark Academia Aesthetic of New England

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🏫10 Books That Capture the Dark Academia Aesthetic of New England · Friday Night Readers: Gilmore Girls Inspired Book Club

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, Friday Night Readers.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: This Friday night, we are going dark.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: What do I mean by that?
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Dark academia.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I know that Gilmore Girls is often more watched for being a light show than
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: a dark show, but hear me out.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: It actually bears a lot of dark academia storylines.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Some would say that it started on the Lorelai's first day at Chilton.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, Headmaster Charleston's office alone gives those vibes.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: And remember when they looked up at Chilton itself
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: and said they thought it was grander than they imagined and quote,
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: less off with their heads.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: That is actually a Alice in Wonderland reference.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I think it started when Rory was puffed at Chilton.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I do like in dark academia with secret societies.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then,
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: of course,
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: it continued at Yale when she, quote, jumped Jack with the Life and Death Brigade.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: One of everyone's favorite episodes.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: And also think back to her Yale style.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: It has that same traditional collegiate look that you find in dark academia.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Think cardigans and turtlenecks, plaid skirts, Mary Jane heels.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: And we can't talk about Headmaster Charleston's office without talking
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: about Richard's home study.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: It looks straight out of the Ivy League.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: So as we take our Rory Gilmore reading challenge to read the books on Gilmore Girls,
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: particularly this fall, Let's explore the dark academia these characters referenced.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll also give you a few more of my personal favorite fall books
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: that have this moody aesthetic.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: So go ahead and light a fall candle.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'll link my personal favorites in the show notes.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Throw Honorary Gilmore sweater.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: I will link my favorites for those as well in the show notes.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: And turn the pages of these books as you rewatch Gilmore Girls this fall.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: First, let's talk about what makes a book dark academia.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I gave some clues before a more tangible definition.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: It generally involves a school setting, but the darker side of human nature.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: The characters are flawed and they face things like moral dilemmas,
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: violence, forbidden love, power struggles, and more.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: When you think about it that way,
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: you can even see Paris and Rory's relationship in those early days at Chilton
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: as having a dark academia vibe.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, what's more scary than Paris intimidating you by reciting Shakespeare?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: As for those school settings,
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: they're very much gothic like Chilton and Yale,
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: and even Harvard as well,
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Let's not forget that Ivy League's goal was also featured in an episode,
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: and the tone is more introspective.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: At the same time, though, the narratives are very thrilling and mysterious.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Lots of moody vibes.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: To compare and contrast,
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: I would consider books like Anne of Green Gables and To All the Boys I've Loved
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Before as being light academia.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: All of that said,
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: let's get into some of the best dark academia books of all time,
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: starting with the ones featured on Gilmore Girls and ending with more
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: of my own favorites.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: But first, I want to get into a deal from one of my affiliate partners.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: It is Audible.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: And right now, fall 2026, they are running an Audible deal for Prime members.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are a Prime member,
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: you may qualify for 99 cents If you don't want to auto renew at $8.99 a month
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: after those four months, you can cancel it.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: I actually just did this myself on a trial that I did over the summer.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: So it's basically like getting four audiobooks for $4.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: The offer ends on October 7th, 2026 at 11.59pm Pacific Time.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to put the link in the show notes because you are going to have
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: to click on that specific link to see if it applies to your account.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: I love these deals, and here is why.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: They have many audiobooks that you can't get anywhere else, including Audible exclusives.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Some of these we will talk about later in this episode,
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: including their Harry Potter books, which are narrated by a full cast.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I also like reading Now let's get back to the dark academia books
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: that were referenced in Gilmore Girls.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: First is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is a five-star read for me and it's also a very popular pick in our book club.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: It does remain one of my all-time favorite classic books.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: I picked it up during a summer when I was in law school and I could not put it down.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: It follows a young Smith student in the 1950s who gets a prestigious internship in
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: a New York City magazine,
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: but there she finds herself struggling with depression and feeling trapped.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very heavy novel with themes like finding one's identity and the pressures
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: of both academic and social expectations.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's also a very feminist novel because without spoiling anything for you,
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: things get dark in how Esther is treated.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: And what I mean is medically.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: She's actually one of my favorite literary characters and the reason is
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: because she has a voice that is all her own.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's quirky in the way that Lorelai's voice is.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's on Gilmore Girls several times and that doesn't really surprise me
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: because they love to feature famous female authors.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: First in season one episode 17 after Dean and Rory break up,
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: Lorelai tells Rory to stay home and read this classic instead of going to Then
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: in Season 2,
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Episode 5,
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Nick and Nora,
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Sid and Nancy,
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: this is Jess's first episode, you'll see the book on Rory's bookshelf.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then when Richard visits her in Stars Hollow, Season 2, Episode 12, it's in her drawer.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Oddly enough,
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: later at the Stars Hollow book sale,
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: which is Season 2, Episode 15, Lost and Found, she buys it.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: I always thought this was a little bit of a blooper because she does buy books
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: that she presumably owned.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think that the showrunners were really just moving books that they already had to
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: the book sale instead of buying new books.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: And they probably didn't think people like me were going to track all of them.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, then in Season 4,
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Episode 11,
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: in The Clamor and The Clangor,
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: this is one of my most underrated Christmas episodes of Gilmore Girls,
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Rory asks Lorelai if she read this book.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I think Rory would already know that she did.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Next up is Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Not sure if I'm saying her name right.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's W-A-U-G-H.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: I have not yet read this book, but I was completely sold on it in researching this episode.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: It follows a young Oxford student who becomes close to a very wealthy family.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: But what begins as an intense university friendship Draws him into the underbelly
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: of their world of wealth, romance, and family secrets.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's got that melancholic old money side of dark academia.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: At first it was giving me vibes of The Great Gatsby,
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: but then I watched a movie trailer and it also gave me a touch of the talented Mr.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Ripley.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: I was really taken by the trailer and I really want to watch it,
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: but I don't want it to be spoiled for me because it seems so good that I do want
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: to read it.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Emma Thompson is in the movie so of course that is very tempting
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: but it really did feel so high stakes and like something really big
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: and bad was ultimately going to happen I just didn't know why.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: You'll find it on Gilmore Girls in season 6 episode 16
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: which is called Bridesmaids Revisited so the title of the episode is actually a play
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: on the title of the book.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is when Logan's sister gets married.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's a pretty smart reference.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: The plot in the movie trailer that I watched actually reminded me of the episode
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: where Rory goes to Logan's home for the first time.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're team Logan, I think this would be a great choice for you.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's definitely on my list now.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Next up is another one of my favorite classics, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: This is another five star read.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: And you all know the story.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: A young and overly ambitious scientist creates human life,
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: which spins out of control,
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: and then he must face the tragic consequences of going too far with science.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I was always scared of this one because of the science fiction themes.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's just not one of my usual genres.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Between that and the fact that it's an older classic,
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it would be too hard to read,
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: but it is actually quite beautiful, as well as easy to read for a classic.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: I did the illustrated Minelima edition which has the full text
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: but also illustrations and some interactive elements like maps
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: to make it even easier and more immersive for me.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: And at times I also listened to the audiobook while I read.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Then of course I did pair it with the new Netflix adaptation
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: which came out last year and I thought that was a pretty good adaptation overall.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: The thing about this book is that it still holds very true today.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: We're talking about AI and ethical considerations.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of the things that you read can give you chills in a very real way.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: A few fun facts about this novel.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Mary Shelley was only 18 when she began writing Frankenstein and 19 when she finished it.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: It boggles my mind.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: She wrote it while she was staying in Lake Geneva with her husband and Lord Byron.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it all started as a writing competition to come up with a ghost story.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: Then it was later edited by her husband, Percy Shelley, who was a romantic poet.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: On Gilmore Girls,
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: you'll find it in Season 2,
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Episode 16, There's the Rub, Jess Calls Dean Frankenstein.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now, my understanding is that Dean is around 6'4 or 6'5 in real life,
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: and Jess is around 5'9 or 5'10.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: Then in Season 3, Episode 16, The Big One, Rory refers to bolts on the neck.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that is a reference to the character of Frankenstein.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I could not recommend this one more,
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: both as a beautiful classic book and as a fall thriller.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: Next up is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Rowling, another five-star book and a book that shaped me and so many others.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: I think it really changed the way books are consumed, especially the most popular ones.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And that is because it became a whole world.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, there's movies, but also an actual theme park.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: I did go and visit the one in Orlando and had an amazing time.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: We went around Christmas time and I actually loved that because it was all decorated
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: for Christmas.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: The crowds were a lot lower.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't as hot.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: We could actually get that vibe of snow being on the roofs,
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: which may feel kind of weird in the summer.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then when it comes to butterbeer,
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: I was able to get warm butterbeer and sip it as we walked around.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, some people consider the first book in the series to be Light Academia.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I think all of the books in the series are dark.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: I know that the first one is more of a children's book,
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: and the series does grow a lot darker as Harry and his friends age,
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: but there are still a lot of gothic elements within Hogwarts.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, Harry does still begin his journey against evil right here.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Whether or not you've already read it, there are still more ways to consume it.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: I mentioned the Minelima edition of Frankenstein,
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: and I do also have the Minelima edition of Harry Potter.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually collecting that series.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: They are on book four right now.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: So book five will be the one that comes out this year.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: And again, these are full text, but they are also illustrated and interactive.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's another way to immerse yourself in this world.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: And earlier in the episode, I also mentioned Audible.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: And they do have new exclusive full cast productions.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think these are perfect for family listening,
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: whether it's with the original text or in the car.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe a fall road trip.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: You may or may not also know that HBO is readapting the books.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe there is a documentary behind the scenes that is already on HBO.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: This is in fall 2026 that you can watch to see how that's going.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: How do I feel about it?
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: I think that eventually I will watch,
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: but the movies are so good as they are that it's hard for me to even think
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: about watching a different version of them.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know about you,
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: but I have dressed as Hermione for Halloween more times than I can count.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, where can you find this on Gilmar Girls?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Of course,
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Gilmar Girls love books that are in the zeitgeist,
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: and this would be one of them, especially at that time when the show first aired.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: In Season 3, Episode 3, Application Anxiety, Carol Springsteen mentions Harry Potter.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then,
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: of course,
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: in Season 3,
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Episode 19,
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: which is called Keg Max, Brian wants to name Hep Alien the Harry Potters.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: The actor who played Brian is actually a friend of mine that I've gotten to know
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: over the years being in this Gilmore Girls space,
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: so I definitely want to ask him about that if he's ever a guest on this show.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: In Season 6, Episode 3, The Ungraduate, Gil refers to the adaptation.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: Again, this is a whole dark academia world we're talking about.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then in season six,
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: episode 20, super cool party people, Anna says April's friends called Luke Hagrid.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: So again, this is a book that's in the zeitgeist.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: All different kinds of characters are mentioning it.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: This definitely isn't just a Rory book.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: Next up is The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: I gave this book four stars and I read it this year for a Rory Gilmore reading challenge.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: It had been on my list for so long and so many people had talked about it
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: as very readable and reading it in just a weekend or so.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I had to pick it up.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's considered one of America's best loved novels in PBS's The Great American Read.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I love when a book is called Best Loved,
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: because it's not just about what critics say about it,
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: it's about what readers feel when they read it.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: I think that is a great reason to pick up a book.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's about a young man with a portrait of himself,
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: and he sells his soul so his portrait ages so that he can remain eternally young.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Sounds pretty simple,
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: but it causes him to descend completely into moral So why is this one Dark Academia?
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: I don't recall any school scenes in this book, though I could be wrong.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's really more about how destructive his pursuit of knowledge is.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: This is all within the atmosphere of art and beauty and intellect.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a unique story that I feel like there's so much that can be done with it.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: In a modern context, I would love to see a retelling or an HBO style adaptation.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you are a thriller reader, this is one that you are going to want to pick up.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: It is very juicy and it is a real page turner for being a classic.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: And this is often what we really want as classic readers, don't we?
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: We don't want to get bogged down as we read some of the most meaningful books of all time.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: On Gilmore Girls,
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: the author Oscar Wilde is mentioned a few times,
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: but the book is only referenced once.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that is actually in the last episode ever,
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: A Year in the Life Fall, when Lorelai compares Emily to Dorian Gray.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Next is probably my top pick of all of these books,
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: not because it's my favorite, because it is the definition of dark academia.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: I did also give it five stars and consider it to be a modern classic.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: It is The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: It is one of Time Magazine's 100 best mystery and thriller books of all time.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: It is also a Read with Jenna book club pick and one of Jenna Bush Hager's favorite books.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: She's talked about it many times over the years.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I do consider her to be a reader like Rory.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: When you think of dark academia, people like us who are Gilmores think New England.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: We think crunchy multicolored leaves.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: We think of old school buildings.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: This book has all of that.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: It follows an outcast who is coming from California, a very different place.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: And he is desperate to fit into a preppy Vermont college in the 1980s.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love the 1980s setting of this as well.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's modern yet before our technological times.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: So at college, he becomes friends with his Greek classmates.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: And this friend group, they are obsessed with Greek to a point that has deadly consequences.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is one of those books that something happens and
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: the characters absolutely spiral downward in coping with what happened.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: All of this leads to a conclusion that made my heart absolutely pound with suspense.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: It has some of the best dialogue I've ever read
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: and those penultimate moments felt like they were going in microseconds.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: You really did feel like you were living I'm really excited to bring it to you because it is
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: Very, very tiny reference that you are unlikely to find anywhere else than my list
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: of books on Gilmore Girls.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: And it is in season five, episode 14.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: You can see the spine in Rory's dorm room.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: So yes, locating and identifying this book did require I love all of
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: the books I've mentioned so far as well as the ones that are to come.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Again, this one most defines dark academia and it is the one book
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: that I truly hope you pick up if it is dark academia vibes you are looking for.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so now let's talk about a few more of my personal favorite dark academia books.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: First is probably the best one to read if you are already a fan of The Secret History.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: It is If We Were Villains by M.L.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: Rio.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: I gave this one four stars.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: This one also works really well for Gilmore Girls fans because it's highly connected
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: to Shakespeare.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: I do think that for readers who go to The Secret History as
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: the number one older title that fits Dark Academia,
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: If We Were Villains is the one they go to as the number one title in
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: a very modern last few years kind of context.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: That is because it absolutely oozes Dark Academia.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it starts with Oliver who was part of a group of Shakespearean actors at this conservatory.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: He is actually in prison after a night of drunken debauchery with these actors,
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: which led to someone's death.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: But now he's ready to tell his story.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: So it's one of those books that you know the ending and then you unravel what got us there.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now, since the characters are all Shakespearean actors,
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: there are tons of parallels
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: to Shakespearean tragedies running throughout this narrative.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's done in a really daring way that really works.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: What I love about Shakespeare is how intensely passionate the characters are,
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: both in their words and their actions,
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: and how these deep, dark motivations drive these really big actions.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: And that's exactly what happens in this story as well.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's super sharp and super smart.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you are looking for a book that will keep you up late at night,
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: lights down low,
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: and either a book light or a flashlight in your hand, this is the one.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: Next is Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: This is another four star read for me.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: It is actually a Nobel Prize winner,
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: as well as one of the New York Times 10 Best Books of the 21st Century.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: It is unique on this list in that it is science fiction.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: So this is one for fans of Frankenstein to check out.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: It takes place at a boarding school where students have very little contact with
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: the outside world.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: It feels almost like a M. Night Shyamalan movie in this sense.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: And now that I say that, I would love to see him adapt this or a story like it.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: After the students leave, though,
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: Kathy and her former classmates uncover a shocking truth about the school
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: and themselves.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: I know that's all kind of vague.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to say too much because there is a big reveal.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: But what I will say is that you leave this novel with
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: a really unforgettable statement on the value of human life.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of those books that I have been thinking about for years
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: and don't think I will ever stop thinking about.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: If a Nobel Prize winner feels scary to pick up, Don't let it scare you.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: The writing is very refined in a way that it's a page turner.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: At the same time, the mystery is slowly unraveled like the layers of an onion throughout.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it has a little bit of slow burn as well.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: It is definitely worth the hype,
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: especially if you're into backlist titles that you may have missed,
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: but really pack a punch.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Totally worth picking up over something new and flashy.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Next up is a separate piece by John Knowles.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: This was a five star read for me.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: I read it in high school as required reading.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: And this one was also nominated as one of America's best loved novels by PBS's
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: The Great American Read.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: Again, this is really good proof of a classic that readers love to pick up.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: Not just a classic that scholars say you should read.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Here it is set at a New England boys school and it follows Jean
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: who is this lonely intellectual type.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: And he befriends Phineas, aka Finney, who is a very handsome athlete.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: This atmosphere breeds all of this jealousy, competition, and guilt within their friendship.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: And these tensions do boil over.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: It shows that when you act on emotions that you are feeling in a certain moment
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: and time and place in your life.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: They can actually have lasting consequences.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: Why is this one required reading?
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it also makes comments on the innocence that was lost during World War II.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: To me, it feels very season one Paris and Rory.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: And let me tell you, it is oh so dark.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean this in the best way possible.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: My high school class loved this.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: And of all the books I read in high school,
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: we've read five during each summer and five during each school year,
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: along with short stories and poems and the like.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: This is one where I can physically recall Where I was sitting in the class,
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: what the teacher was saying, what my classmates were saying.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: And that is the definition of a satisfying read, isn't it?
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: Last but not least is the book that I am currently reading,
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: which I'm loving so much that it actually inspired me to record this episode.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it is The Witches of Cambridge by Alice Hoffman.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't have a star rating for you just yet.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're thinking Alice Hoffman, where do I know that name?
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: She is the bestselling writer of Practical Magic.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: And of course,
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: the Practical Magic 2 movie has just come out and people are as into her stories
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: about witches as ever.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Read with Jenna also picked this book as her current book club read.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm about 33% of the way through it and completely engrossed and eager to return to it.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: I read both on my Kindle on the treadmill in the morning and on the couch at night.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: And often I find myself needing two different books
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: for those two different purposes, but not with this one.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is one I want to read in both places and it works both
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: when I'm walking very fast and when I'm sitting super relaxed.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: I think the plot is the perfect transition from Practical Magic
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: while still giving fans exactly what they crave from Hoffman.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: So two young women meet at Radcliffe College.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is in the 1950s in Cambridge, which is in Massachusetts.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: And they are recruited into the Lilith Society.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: This is a secret organization of witches that goes all the way back to colonial times.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: So even though it's just one book right now, maybe it will be a series.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: Who knows?
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: You do get to experience different time periods as you did in the four books in
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: the Practical Magic series.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: One more thing I want to note is that Lilith was actually The first wife of Adam
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: from Adam and Eve in the Bible, but she was not made from Adam.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: She was her own self.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are an elder millennial like me and Rory,
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: you may know that name from the Lilith Fair as well.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: This was an all-female musical festival that took place in the late 90s
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: and perhaps even into the early 2000s as well.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: It was run by Sarah McLachlan,
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: and you'd also see famous names like Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette,
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: the Indigo Girls,
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: and all of those indie female rocker types of the time,
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: a lot of whom you will see in the music on Gilmore Girls as well.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you like The Lalas by Sam Phillips,
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: Lilith Fair was a lot of the same kind of music,
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: so it would actually be a fun soundtrack to listen to
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: while you are reading this book.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: But anyway, back to the book.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: As the women discover their magic,
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: They get caught up in things like disappearances,
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: the threat of McCarthyism, and the darker side of witch persecution.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: What is McCarthyism?
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: I love how this book teaches us about the 1950s.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: This was a political practice that was associated with US Senator Joseph McCarthy.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: And this was during the second Red Scare involving the Russians and communism right around 1950.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: And in this practice,
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: liberals in particular were accused of treason without regard for evidence.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: So that is how witchy practices could become caught up in it.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm definitely getting Practical Magic vibes,
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: starting with the fact that there are two women at the heart of the story.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: There is some romance and magic, but I also love how she portrays old New England's history.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: My second favorite book in the Practical Magic series was Magic Lessons,
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: which went all the way back to the Salem Witch Trials and did that.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: So to me,
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: this book is the perfect blend of both of those books from
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: the Practical Magic series.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now that concludes all 10 Dark Academia books that we're going to talk about today.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: But this isn't just a genre.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: It is an entire aesthetic.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: So in the show notes that accompany this episode,
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: I have linked my mood board for a dark academia study and this is inspired
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: by Richard Gilmour's study in his Hartford,
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: Connecticut home, which to remind you is very old money.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: Wood paneling, lots of books, leather, accessories like globes and telescopes.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: These all show his elite education,
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: how much he values tradition and intellectualism,
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: And let's be real, they are also symbolic of his financial status.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: Next, I have also created a mood board,
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: which is collegiate dark academia style inspired by Rory Gilmore at Yale.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't say her Yale style is full dark academia.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: But we do see her wear things like plaids and argyle sweaters, wool coats, and Mary Janes.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: This style matches her surroundings,
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: which of course is the old libraries and gothic lecture halls,
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: but it also shows that she is a scholar.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: She's part bookworm and part old school New England.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: The mood board that I have created is a bit more dark academia than Rory.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: But it is influenced by the clothes that she wore at Yale.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: Again, that is in the show notes to this episode.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: And also in the show notes is a special for paid subscribers.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: Here's where I'll make my pitch to you.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you head toSubstack where I host this podcast along with I'll see you next time.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: You can support my work and get some bonuses for yourself as well.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: So first and most important,
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: that upgrades you to getting a 15 page checklist of the books from Gilmore Girls
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: that does have the episodes listed after them.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: So if you liked how I mentioned all the episodes from Gilmore Girls that went with
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: the books from the show,
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: Earlier in this episode, you will love this exclusive upgrade.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: Paid subscribers also get exclusive content and full chat and commenting access.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: This is all so that you can actually feel like you're part of a book club,
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: not just a passive scroller.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: So anyway,
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: in the show notes,
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: in the blog post that accompanies this episode,
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: paid subscribers get the 10 books that didn't make my cut.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: These are books that I either fully read or Partially read and did not finish
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: that are Dark Academia,
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: but I did not think they were good enough to put on this list as
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: a reader like Rory Gilmar.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: I love to put these hot takes behind the paywall
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: because I just don't feel right speaking negatively about a living author's work.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: That said,
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: I do think it's very insightful to readers like Rory
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: in curating our own to-be-read lists that are best for us.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: So my list of books that didn't make the cut does in fact include some of
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: the most famous dark academia books of all time,
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: but I just didn't think they were best for readers like us.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, I spilled the tea for you.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: Again, that is all in the show notes.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to have you as a paid subscriber to keep this work going.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: Of course,
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: fall is a great time for Gilmore's and getting people interested in
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: the most iconic books of all time through the show and through their rewatches.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that includes you.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so that is it for today.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you have a great early fall weekend with one or more of these Dark Academia books.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: I especially recommend that you pick up The Secret History,
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: but I really don't think you can go wrong with any of these books.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_00: Most of them were five stars for me.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: Happy fall, y'all.