highly medicated, overeducated

Hello 🖤 Anyone interested in a dark academia literature book club this summer? I checked out a bunch of literary / dark academia books from the library... and now I need to have feverish, intelligent discussions about them with strangers.

It'll be pretty fast paced; a book a week, meeting every week, but they'll all be under 350 pages. First meeting will be July 9th/10th.

Books will be chosen this week. The roster will, of course, include (maybe even center) books by queer authors and authors of color. The only requirements are that the books must be literary, well-written, and draw heavily on/reference the classics or literature (or be classic literature).

We'll keep notes, writing in the margins of secondhand books, or on post-its in library books, and then share our thoughts as a group on Zoom (camera optional). I'll moderate with questions, and time-keeping (if necessary). We'll also have prompts and things to look out for, in case anyone isn't used to close readings and annotation.

We might read The Canon; i.e. the dark academia bible that is Donna Tartt's The Secret History... probably over two weeks at the end of the session and then critique it as well.

I will put together a booklist of potential reads and find the best way for people to vote on what to read over the month. I can also link to guides on close reading and annotation, if anyone would like me to.

It would be great (but not mandatory!) if participants each donate like $5. If we have enough interest this will go towards my getting a Zoom license. However, this donation is 100% unnecessary and just a suggestion.

I've named us the BelleTriste Book Club, because (as anyone who has followed me for a while knows) I'm a sucker for puns.

I just thought it up, but I wouldn't be surprised if the joke has been made before. It's a play on "belletrist" (originally a German word, coined by Goethe, basically means person of "belle-lettres" i.e. a learned person of fine literature) and the french adjectives "belle" (meaning beautiful) and triste (meaning sad). What better term for a group of beautifully minded people, obsessed with beauty, and too often sad.

Also, the adjective "belletristic" can describe something pertaining to literature, BUT can also mean something appreciated more for its aesthetics rather than its content... because who are we if not semi-ironic, mostly-self-aware, and fully-self-critical belletrists... : )

You may sign up on the google form here!

All my love,

How do I join the book club? Just fill out the Google Form. There is no application process, but you must be over 18.

Who is running this? Just me, Sai! I run the black-academia blog, and I decided to create this book club in order to read more books, talk about them and hear a variety of ideas and opinions, and (virtually) meet new people with shared interests.

What happens after I sign up?? & other FAQs...