Is there light academia books?... No idea what that is really? But I would love to read books without the murder and toxic snobby protagonists but in academic settings
@@exomake_mehorololo that is a very good question 🤔 especially because these settings then are usually more focused on some form of love story and not the main characters drive. I have heard that a discovery of witches as a series is pretty neat, the book series is … not my cup of tea, because our protagonist is very much a Mary Sue. And after that… I mean, regarding movies, something like legally blonde technically would fit, and I think one could argue Gilmore girls also would 🤔
Other recommendations: - The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - Faust by Goethe - Maurice by E.M. Foster (there is a movie, too) - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark - Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle - The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis (yes there's a book, too) - Dracula by Bram Stoker - anything by Kafka if you just want the dark vibes - Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown (historical aspects, murder, old secret societies,... ) - The Gilded Wolves series by Roshani Chokshi (a bit of the above but make it YA historical fantasy) - The Red and the Black by Stendhal - The Perfume by Patrick Süßkind - Malina by Ingeborg Bachmann - Rebecca (and many other books) by Daphne du Maurier Child appropriate: Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling, his dark materials by Pullman, Inkheart by Cornelia Funke Movies: - Kill your Darlings - Crimson Peak - Blame (2018) - Another (anime) - some movie adaptations of books mentioned (there's no particular order. Some recommendations fit dark academia and its core more, other's are here for their vibe or status as dark classics)
@@Liriodelagua - Crimson Rivers is a fantastic movie. The current tv show is also quite good, but a completely different vibe. Crimson Rivers is based on a novel you may want to check out. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Red_Rivers
Personally, I feel as though obsession and critique are more crucial parts of a dark academia story. Otherwise, it’s just a book that takes place in a school. It needs that sense of desperation and mania around what they’re studying
I second this. I didn't even realize until watching this video how much a desperate reaching beyond the human intellect is vital to it being DA, and not just a "story set at a school".
Absolutely. There's something I notice in every dark academia book I read, and it's an obsession with something (knowledge, life itself, meaning of life, etc) whilst also critiquing it or expanding on it. Similar to the whole Mad Scientist thing, but in a more morbid or unhinged way
the true OG of dark academia is The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco - it has most of the points listed, although it's not an academy where the events take place, but it is very academic in nature, since it's about a magnificent library and scholars guarding its dark secrets. As for obsession... well, someone eats a book (spoilers - it's poisoned) just so not to share it with anyone else. From the beginning of the book - In omnibus requiem quaesivi, et nusquam inveni nisi in angulo cum libro - which is Latin for: I searched for quiet everywhere, and found it nowhere except in a corner with a book.
Reader: What is dark academia? Leonie: I was there, Gandalf....I was there, three thousand years ago.... Any way, based on your definition, sounds like maybe C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy from the 1930s anticipated Dark Academia by about 70 years. Especially books 1 and 3 of that series. TV Shows like The Order should probably also fit in.
This was probably better researched AND better executed than any of my actual A-level English (or German) classes taught by actual English (or German) teachers. You deserve a honours degree in literature just for that tbh 😂🥰📚
@@TheBookLeo i ordered secret history and have started reading bunny. thanks to you!! I was doubtful about secret history initially. but now, i am like noooo i must read it its the core of dark academia onion, lmao!
@@TheBookLeo i agree!!! best dark academia video ever!!!!! and you have pretty amazing stuff! can we have more dark academia content!!????? books, movies, clothing, bags etc! pleaseee?
I think the Italian version of "The secret history" might be "The name of the Rose", by Umberto Eco. I'm pretty sure it's very much known even outside of Italy, yet I sadly don't see it appear in videos like this. It's basically dark academia at its finest, and it was, like, the 1980? I recommend it :)
Interesting. I feel like Interview with the Vampire could be considered the second circle of dark academia for all the philosophical conversations and death in it.
I think the book “In my dreams I hold a knife” has *Dark Academia* vibes in it. It has those *Academic settings* , *Death* , *Murder mystery* , the main charcter’s *Obsession* ,etc..
I learned two things from this video, 1. I can hear Leonie explain ANYTHING for HOURS 2. She actually has beautiful eyes. It's a lovely combination of blue and green. Truly ✨mesmerising✨😍😄
Babel absolutely fits into the 5 pointers of dark academia and has been my gateway drug to this genre. It was SO good, I hope you get to read it someday!
I would argue that The Raven Cycle is a core dark acamedia book. Blue both joins the world the rest of the boys and the elite, private school and joins their quest for Glendower and the boys join Blue in her occult, clairvoyent world/family. The main theme and focus of the book are the Gangsey's obsession with finding Glendower and magic as well as their obesseion with each other and their friendships. Arguably the least dark academia part of the series is the academic setting. But Aglionby Academy is a prominent setting in the book and drives a lot of the themes and characters (even though a lot of the scene are set during non school hours). The premise of the book starts with the reader learning that Gansey is going to die this year and Blue is almost certainly the cause. And I think the series critqiues many different elements of society but elitism definitely is one of them. Also obviously the occult and magic vibes!
I see where you're coming from, but the vibes are more 'trees in your eyes stars in your heart' than core dark academia. Even the violence has a different feel to it.
Some more games that would be in the dark academia vibes catagory: -1000 year old vampire: it's a journaling game; so you can get your quill and ink if you want (or just a pc ofcourse), and then you basically journal as a vampire who lives to be 100s years old and forgets everyone they've ever loved... it's sad and dark, it's kinda fucked up sometimes, but also beautiful. And the handbook is also very beautiful and dark academia-esque with lots of references to the occult and supernatural. - apothecaria/apawthecaria: also a journaling game, but you are basically a healer helping others out by designing remedies for them. So it's like the medicine branch of academia with a touch of fantasy and autumness which adds to the vibes! - call of cthulhu rpg: you play as a character who investigates mysteries, the occult and supernatural. You could play as an archeologist, anthropologist, a linguicist, journalist, professor or whatever you want, but it definitely is very very dark academia! Especially because the darkness pulling the player characters in is also an element to this game. I've never played it but i watched critical role's actual play and it is sooo good. - and just good ol' dungeons and dragons :)
Would probably add the Danganronpa and Life Is Strange games to this list. There are other games like Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!, Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill, and MechaNika, as well.
I’d also recommend My Dark Vanessa - very dark in terms of themes (abuse), had autumnal vibes, beautifully written, a lot about obsession and it’s long term effects 🍂🍁
I would also recommend Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo, which perfectly fits first six criteria: university setting, investigating the death of a character, with critique of elitism, racism and homophobia, and also supernatural elements: ghosts and rituals
I really loved Summer Sons, one of my best reads this year. I came here to recommend it as well, especially that Raven Boys was mentioned which clearly influenced Summer Sons. If anyone know books with similarly creepy and disturbing but beautfiful, please let me know.
Could you please tell me if i can use this term of Dark Academia as a topic in my Master thesis ?? i am stil looking for a relevant and new idea so i thought about dark academia
Olivia by Dorothy Strachey is such an overlooked dark academia classic imo. it takes place in a boarding school in france and is about a student's obsession with her teacher, the sapphic pining and melancholy vibes are immaculate.
I would definitely recommend Maurice by E.M Forster not as a strictly dark academia book, but the vibes are there. It follows two men Clive and Maurice through meeting in school and their lives afterward. It deals with topics like homosexuality in the 19-20th century, self discovery, and male expectations. The movie is also incredible and definitely give that dark acadmia-esque feeling.
I would definitely say that A Deadly Education has a strong critique of privilege, so it has everything maybe except obsession. Other than that, loved the video! and got a few books for my list even if I have already read at least half of this, I adore dark academia ^^
I wonder why no one ever mentions 'Gentlemen and players' by Joanne Harris. It had been written about 10 years before "If we were villains", and it fits all the core criterias. I would also recommend Tana French and her "The Likeness", reminded me of "The Secret History" so much. It's the second book in a crime series though, but I think it could be read separately.
This video is just perfekt. I‘m literally obsessed with Dark Academia. I love the dark feelings, death, the tragic and all. Especially „If we were villains“ is my absolute heart and soul… 🖤 There is just something about obsession that‘s really facinating and addicting to read about.
I would highly recommend the book Love and Virtue by Diana Reid. It’s about a girl who gets a scholarship to an elite university in Australia. It has very dark academia vibes with morally ambiguous characters, critique on class disparity, there’s also an obsession element and also death. But because it’s set in Sydney Australia all the dark elements are juxtaposed with beautiful sunny beaches. I would recommend looking up the trigger warnings first before reading as it has a few heavy topics especially about SA.
Babel is just amazing. We desperately needed a fantasy that centres around language that isn't just "alien language changes our mind" even though I like that sort of SF as well. and Babel is that novel. A great addition to fantasy and dark academia. The fourth criterion you mentioned does appear in the novel though it was slowly revealed to you that something bad is gonna happen. It doesn't tell you straight from the beginning.
the combination of solemnity & humor in this dark academia guide...i have no words for how happy this made me 💘 i was not having the best day & this video made it sooooo muchhhhh better tysm 🥰
Thanks for helping me understand this subgenre!! It turns out one of my fav plays, Rope, is def Dark Academia. Please read it if you haven't! Its soooo good. It's a one-room play about two students who kill one of their peers to prove their superiority over morality, and hide his body in a trunk. Then they hold a dinner party, inviting their victim's loved ones and the professor who inspired them. Thrilling and chilling stuff!
AHHHH IF WE WERE VILLAINS IS SOOO GOOD! I read it for the first time backstage durring opening night of my schools winter musical and holy cow that book stabbed me through the chest. lets just say my crying scenes were very easy to do that day.
When i tell you, i was so happy when Rusty Lake got mentioned! Its definitely a good series, both the Cube collection (Theather, Birthday, Case 23, etc.) and the stand alones (Samsara, Hotel, White door, etc.) I reccomend the series to everyone that enjoys point and click puzzles. And the story of the games is very interesting as well, would be an amazing book!
this is possibly one of my favorite videos of yours!! i love the amount of thought and effort that went behind it, but you still make it fun and entertaining
“The Name of the Wind” is another classically (I think) dark academia novel, published ten years before “If We Were Villains.” And I’m a little surprised that lots of lists seem to leave it out.
Love this video - both the content and the format 😂 I have to say, out of all of the books on your "core" list that I've read (The Secret History, If We Were Villains, Babel, Atlas Six, Vicious, Vita Nostra, A Lesson in Vengeance and The Maidens), Vicious is the only one that is a consistently great and well-balanced story with decent pacing and interesting characters. I always get so excited about the genre but end up feeling disappointed. The one that came the closest to actually satisfying my dark academia hunger was If We Were Villains. In only someone would have cut the very last 2-3 pages of that book! I now pretend the final bit of information doesn't exist 😂
Aaahhh thank you for making this wonderful dark academia guide!! I've been on the fence about starting The Secret History, but I think now I'll go for it! I would also maybe add The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon since it checks most of the boxes (plus there's just good vibes with the main character working/living in a bookstore and there being a place called the Cemetery of Forgotten Books).
This is such a creative concept! Looking forward to see more fun video essays like this! Also, if anyone here enjoys kdramas, I have a kdrama recommendation. Law School is a korean drama that has a very prominent dark academia vibe, at least in my opinion. It's about a university where one of the professors get killed, and along with solving the murder mystery, it also goes into the personal lives and struggles of the students. A lot of the students are pretty morally grey, but also a product of their upbringing or trauma. It heavily criticizes political power and the privilege that comes with a political position, and how that privilege is abused. I highly highly recommend it, it's my favorite kdrama so far because it eliminates all the unnecessary drama and complications that most kdramas have.
thanks for the recommendation. i try hard to get into kdramas but usually i find them too full of unnecessary drama. romance isn't really my absolute favorite genre so i think i would like this. murder mysteries are great to watch imo
Thank you, Leonie, for taking this class. It was an invaluable experience. I attended all the lessons and took thorough notes with my fountain pen. I also want to thank you for taking the time to discuss all the reading options available to me in my future. I look forward to attending more of your classes. Regards,
IMMACULATE timing.... my current state while listening to your playlist gives ULTIMATE dark academia vibes: doing prep work in a bio lab at a university with brick buildings while awaiting an oncoming storm/hurricane and wearing a black mockneck top and cardigan 🤌
Profesor Leonie made my day. My Dark Vanessa has very dark academia vibes. And The dead poet society is also a book - written after the movie, which usually is very bad, but I read it first and enjoyed it a lot.
I cannot believe you mentioned Anne Bronte!!! She is by far my favorite Bronte sister and is one of my 3-4 favorite classical writers, but I have heard almost 0 people talk about her and her work. So excited that this video might prompt more people to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall !!! :)
This is a great explanation! Glad you clarified straight away that the "dark" part of dark academia means more than just visually/aesthetically dark, I think that has confused some people. Thank you!
i loved catherine house and how unhinged it felt so much. my friends are weirded out by the book and couldn’t finish it but i was so interested throughout the entire novel.
Uh.... what? A Deadly Education is like _all_ critique! :P This series is 100% eat the rich (even the prophecy since she was a child is that she will take the system down) Great, fun video! Fantasy dark academia is my happy place. 🖤🖤🖤
The whole system on which the rich reside is literally made by monsters. Like, literally, they choose the easy way out by creating monsters and unleashing them on others, to the point of needing to make a school to protect it, but creating yet another monster, that just ends up killing those who aren't rich, and continuing the cycle!
One unexpected example I can offer is Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rotfuss. It is, technically, a fairly traditional high fantasy. A very, very thick book. First part of a cycle. However, most of the book takes place at university. It is about ambition, learning and superiority, and the darkness is kind of seeping through the entire narration. Narration itself strongly reminds me of those classical novels, with emphasis on hindsight and regret. The other, less weird example, is a TV show - The Order. It is probably intentionally created to fit into the genre. The story begins with the protagonist going to university with the sole purpose of infiltrating a sinister secret society. Murder is being both the plot-driving thing, and common occurence. Occultism is really fashionable and strongly present.
Great video! The dedication is appreciated :) I hope you read Jane Eyre soon, it is great!!! And it does have a kinda academic setting, because Jane spends a time of her life at an orphanage school and then becomes a governess.
I have been following you for quite a while now (almost two years) and I always enjoy all of your videos. However, this one has to be my favourite video on your channel so far!!! Amazing idea to give us a sort of "lecture". Love everything about it. Your whiteboard, your professor vibes and looks, the music in the background, the color scheme, the aesthetic of the whole video. And of course the topic itself. I absolutely love Dark Academia, and "The Secret History" is probably my favourite book ever. This was by far the funniest and most entertaining lecture ever!
I would definitely not recommend Pride and Prejudice if you are going for dark academia-vibes. Yes, it is 19th century, but there is nothing gothic or autumnal about it at all. There is a lot of balls and visits at neighbours and it is all in a very light tone. It is a great book, but not darl academia. If you want an Austen book that fits better with dark academia, then I would recommend Northanger Abbey. It is a satire on the gothic genre and the main character gets carried away in her dream of living in her own gothic tale.
A very good breakdown of the genre (for lack of a better word)! My own reccommendation for people who like police/detective series is Inspector Lewis. The series is set in Oxford, the mysteries often centre around the academic world of the city, and the murders are often commited by overambitious and obsessive students, teachers, or people with very high-placed jobs. The episodes are always accompanied by classical music, and they show the bad sides of the academic world, and often of religion as well. Two episodes with very dark academia vibes are Whom the Gods Would Destroy, and Magnum Opus.
Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris needs to be added to the onion core! I never see it mentioned in these lists/videos but it is pure dark academia goodness
Amazing video omg I love this channel. Your humor and knowledge in the dark academia movement... because it's a movement. Flawless. This class should be taught in the highest learning institutions
I loved this! Not only the great overview about the criteria for the genre, but especially at the end of the third ring of dark-academia, when you do a shout-out about reading something that interests you being dark academia as well ❤. I personally like to encourage myself to read non-coursework university textbooks that way - and I’d like to report that nothing has ever made me feel more like a main character than reading an introduction on quantum chemistry or something on geomorphology on the train on my commute. Some classics I have read came close, like I tried reading a translation of Ovid (which I dnf’d because it gave me bad flashbacks and is also somehow lacking compared to the Latin versions I had to study in Highschool, for which I have nothing but deep hate) but somehow, textbooks are where the main-character feeling is at… which is either really weird or pretentious or both. All in all, great Video! made me reflect about which books out of the … inner circle I have read, which ones I like, and which ones I dislike with a burning passion *cough atlas six cough cough*
Legendborn made your board! Yes! I'd recommend the film "Maurice" (James Ivory, 1987) and "Brideshead Revisited" (the 1981 or the 2008 versions) for dark academia premise.
That was really fun to watch, great video! In terms of video game recommendations, I would add the Professor Layton series. It definitely has Dark Academia vibes. :)
Ooo, wow. Just found your channel yesterday, and I gotta say I love your videos! I dig your sense of humour; found myself constantly smiling through the intro. Keep up the good work!
I have seen lots of videos on dark academia book recommendation but this one has gone on another level. I even like how she used some print paintings in background.
@@TheBookLeo I suggest reacting to The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) if you haven’t seen it already. It is an instant favorite if you like animals like rhinos and elephants, and it shows why we must protect them from poachers. Have you seen it before?
Other Recs! The Library Book (non fiction, by Susan Orlean), Edna St Vincent Millay’s poetry, as well as her biography by Nancy Milford, a guidebook for writing your own poetry like In the Palm of Your Hand by Steve Kowit, then for horror there’s always the haunting of hill house by Shirley Jackson, I think both the 1963 movie adaptation and recent miniseries also fit the vibe™️. I think Charles Dickens’s writings also count. Other movies that have the vibes are Pan’s Labyrinth, Crimson Peak (this one’s more just gothic but I think the sub genres share a lot of traits), Colette, The Mummy (at least Evie as a character) and the classic two early 20th century college boys fall in love movie: Maurice (I think this movie helped contribute to dark academia being gay culture lol)
I recommend the Inspector Morse books and U.K. channel 4 TV shows. Set in Oxford among the colleges, there is murder, obsession and the mood is total DA. The original shows are the best but the spin-off series ‘Lewis’ and ‘Endeavour’ are also peak DA.
Omg YES!! Lewis is one of my favourite shows of all time and I never hear anyone talk about it. I haven’t thought of it as DA, but now that you say it, yes, it fits perfectly!
This HAS to be my favorite video like ever. We want a video for every aesthetic! Light academia, cottage core, old money, fairy core…
Is there light academia books?... No idea what that is really? But I would love to read books without the murder and toxic snobby protagonists but in academic settings
+1
@@exomake_mehorololo that is a very good question 🤔 especially because these settings then are usually more focused on some form of love story and not the main characters drive. I have heard that a discovery of witches as a series is pretty neat, the book series is … not my cup of tea, because our protagonist is very much a Mary Sue. And after that… I mean, regarding movies, something like legally blonde technically would fit, and I think one could argue Gilmore girls also would 🤔
YESSSS
YESSS PLS!
Other recommendations:
- The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
- Faust by Goethe
- Maurice by E.M. Foster (there is a movie, too)
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark
- Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle
- The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis (yes there's a book, too)
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- anything by Kafka if you just want the dark vibes
- Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown (historical aspects, murder, old secret societies,... )
- The Gilded Wolves series by Roshani Chokshi (a bit of the above but make it YA historical fantasy)
- The Red and the Black by Stendhal
- The Perfume by Patrick Süßkind
- Malina by Ingeborg Bachmann
- Rebecca (and many other books) by Daphne du Maurier
Child appropriate: Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling, his dark materials by Pullman, Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Movies:
- Kill your Darlings
- Crimson Peak
- Blame (2018)
- Another (anime)
- some movie adaptations of books mentioned
(there's no particular order. Some recommendations fit dark academia and its core more, other's are here for their vibe or status as dark classics)
One movie that strikes me as dark academia is The Crimson Rivers (2000) with Jean Reno and Vincent Casell. I remember liking it back then.
@@Liriodelagua - Crimson Rivers is a fantastic movie. The current tv show is also quite good, but a completely different vibe. Crimson Rivers is based on a novel you may want to check out. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Red_Rivers
❤
swap Kafka for Poe
I'm reading The Historian and loving it.
This is amazing…”Let me embody dark academia while teaching you about it in a perfect dark academic tone.”
Personally, I feel as though obsession and critique are more crucial parts of a dark academia story. Otherwise, it’s just a book that takes place in a school. It needs that sense of desperation and mania around what they’re studying
I second this. I didn't even realize until watching this video how much a desperate reaching beyond the human intellect is vital to it being DA, and not just a "story set at a school".
Absolutely. There's something I notice in every dark academia book I read, and it's an obsession with something (knowledge, life itself, meaning of life, etc) whilst also critiquing it or expanding on it.
Similar to the whole Mad Scientist thing, but in a more morbid or unhinged way
100% agree. I had an issue with some of the books classed as core dark academia because of these exact criteria.
With that definition Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe should also be dark academia. I just realised that.
the true OG of dark academia is The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco - it has most of the points listed, although it's not an academy where the events take place, but it is very academic in nature, since it's about a magnificent library and scholars guarding its dark secrets. As for obsession... well, someone eats a book (spoilers - it's poisoned) just so not to share it with anyone else. From the beginning of the book - In omnibus requiem quaesivi, et nusquam inveni nisi in angulo cum libro - which is Latin for: I searched for quiet everywhere, and found it nowhere except in a corner with a book.
this is SO true
Reader: What is dark academia? Leonie: I was there, Gandalf....I was there, three thousand years ago.... Any way, based on your definition, sounds like maybe C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy from the 1930s anticipated Dark Academia by about 70 years. Especially books 1 and 3 of that series. TV Shows like The Order should probably also fit in.
The best comment I’ve literally ever seen in my life
This was probably better researched AND better executed than any of my actual A-level English (or German) classes taught by actual English (or German) teachers. You deserve a honours degree in literature just for that tbh 😂🥰📚
I shall now refer to if we were villains and the secret history as the core of dark academia onion this is perfect 😂
two culinary classics
@@TheBookLeo i ordered secret history and have started reading bunny. thanks to you!! I was doubtful about secret history initially. but now, i am like noooo i must read it its the core of dark academia onion, lmao!
@@meimei2630 Reading “A Secret History” is like a required initiation for DA.
This is one of your best videos yet. So much fun! Also loved the bloopers at the end 😄
thank you
@@TheBookLeo i agree!!! best dark academia video ever!!!!! and you have pretty amazing stuff! can we have more dark academia content!!????? books, movies, clothing, bags etc! pleaseee?
I think the Italian version of "The secret history" might be "The name of the Rose", by Umberto Eco. I'm pretty sure it's very much known even outside of Italy, yet I sadly don't see it appear in videos like this. It's basically dark academia at its finest, and it was, like, the 1980? I recommend it :)
It’s one of those books that when you finish reading you feel like you have a masters in the subject
Interesting. I feel like Interview with the Vampire could be considered the second circle of dark academia for all the philosophical conversations and death in it.
its just gothic
I thought of that book too!
This makes it to the "inner core of the onion" for my list of most entertaining, most adorable booktube videos I've ever watched. Thank you!
I love this. Been feeling down recently, but with an unhealthy amount of the book leo i’m feeling better:)
glad to be of service lol
I think the book “In my dreams I hold a knife” has *Dark Academia* vibes in it. It has those *Academic settings* , *Death* , *Murder mystery* , the main charcter’s *Obsession* ,etc..
I learned two things from this video, 1. I can hear Leonie explain ANYTHING for HOURS
2. She actually has beautiful eyes. It's a lovely combination of blue and green. Truly ✨mesmerising✨😍😄
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Babel absolutely fits into the 5 pointers of dark academia and has been my gateway drug to this genre. It was SO good, I hope you get to read it someday!
can it be read by beginners/teenagers?
I would argue that The Raven Cycle is a core dark acamedia book. Blue both joins the world the rest of the boys and the elite, private school and joins their quest for Glendower and the boys join Blue in her occult, clairvoyent world/family. The main theme and focus of the book are the Gangsey's obsession with finding Glendower and magic as well as their obesseion with each other and their friendships. Arguably the least dark academia part of the series is the academic setting. But Aglionby Academy is a prominent setting in the book and drives a lot of the themes and characters (even though a lot of the scene are set during non school hours). The premise of the book starts with the reader learning that Gansey is going to die this year and Blue is almost certainly the cause. And I think the series critqiues many different elements of society but elitism definitely is one of them. Also obviously the occult and magic vibes!
I see where you're coming from, but the vibes are more 'trees in your eyes stars in your heart' than core dark academia. Even the violence has a different feel to it.
Some more games that would be in the dark academia vibes catagory:
-1000 year old vampire: it's a journaling game; so you can get your quill and ink if you want (or just a pc ofcourse), and then you basically journal as a vampire who lives to be 100s years old and forgets everyone they've ever loved... it's sad and dark, it's kinda fucked up sometimes, but also beautiful. And the handbook is also very beautiful and dark academia-esque with lots of references to the occult and supernatural.
- apothecaria/apawthecaria: also a journaling game, but you are basically a healer helping others out by designing remedies for them. So it's like the medicine branch of academia with a touch of fantasy and autumness which adds to the vibes!
- call of cthulhu rpg: you play as a character who investigates mysteries, the occult and supernatural. You could play as an archeologist, anthropologist, a linguicist, journalist, professor or whatever you want, but it definitely is very very dark academia! Especially because the darkness pulling the player characters in is also an element to this game. I've never played it but i watched critical role's actual play and it is sooo good.
- and just good ol' dungeons and dragons :)
Would probably add the Danganronpa and Life Is Strange games to this list. There are other games like Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!, Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill, and MechaNika, as well.
I’d also recommend My Dark Vanessa - very dark in terms of themes (abuse), had autumnal vibes, beautifully written, a lot about obsession and it’s long term effects 🍂🍁
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I would also recommend Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo, which perfectly fits first six criteria: university setting, investigating the death of a character, with critique of elitism, racism and homophobia, and also supernatural elements: ghosts and rituals
Yesssss I totally agree! So sad not more people are talking about this book!
one of te best books I read last year. The obssesion, the yearning...
I really loved Summer Sons, one of my best reads this year. I came here to recommend it as well, especially that Raven Boys was mentioned which clearly influenced Summer Sons. If anyone know books with similarly creepy and disturbing but beautfiful, please let me know.
Could you please tell me if i can use this term of Dark Academia as a topic in my Master thesis ?? i am stil looking for a relevant and new idea so i thought about dark academia
the aesthetic of your room and your humor, just your presense in this video tbh, are making this masterpiece even better!
Yep, Babel definitely fits! Checks all 5 requirements :)
Olivia by Dorothy Strachey is such an overlooked dark academia classic imo. it takes place in a boarding school in france and is about a student's obsession with her teacher, the sapphic pining and melancholy vibes are immaculate.
Your board is basically all my current TBR and the only content I consume right now
that board is like my personal checklist of books i want to read
@@TheBookLeo have you seen the Wild Thornberrys movie before?
Beautiful comment and share! We are catching up on bookish videos today 👍🏾🌞🤩 Same TBR on our end !
I would definitely recommend Maurice by E.M Forster not as a strictly dark academia book, but the vibes are there. It follows two men Clive and Maurice through meeting in school and their lives afterward. It deals with topics like homosexuality in the 19-20th century, self discovery, and male expectations. The movie is also incredible and definitely give that dark acadmia-esque feeling.
I would definitely say that A Deadly Education has a strong critique of privilege, so it has everything maybe except obsession. Other than that, loved the video! and got a few books for my list even if I have already read at least half of this, I adore dark academia ^^
This entire video is ART. The intro, the format, the recommendations... I'm obsessed 😂 (get it?)
I wonder why no one ever mentions 'Gentlemen and players' by Joanne Harris. It had been written about 10 years before "If we were villains", and it fits all the core criterias.
I would also recommend Tana French and her "The Likeness", reminded me of "The Secret History" so much. It's the second book in a crime series though, but I think it could be read separately.
this video is absolute perfection and we need more videos for other aesthetics
This video is just perfekt. I‘m literally obsessed with Dark Academia. I love the dark feelings, death, the tragic and all. Especially „If we were villains“ is my absolute heart and soul… 🖤
There is just something about obsession that‘s really facinating and addicting to read about.
Ironically haha love how the texts criticise obsession and we obsessedly eat it up
@@laurabid Haha yes,but as long as we don‘t kill anyone for it… ;)
I would highly recommend the book Love and Virtue by Diana Reid. It’s about a girl who gets a scholarship to an elite university in Australia. It has very dark academia vibes with morally ambiguous characters, critique on class disparity, there’s also an obsession element and also death. But because it’s set in Sydney Australia all the dark elements are juxtaposed with beautiful sunny beaches. I would recommend looking up the trigger warnings first before reading as it has a few heavy topics especially about SA.
I definitely have a weakness for dark academia books! Perfect for this season 😄
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith - not quite an academic setting but definitely gives dark academia vibes
Babel is just amazing. We desperately needed a fantasy that centres around language that isn't just "alien language changes our mind" even though I like that sort of SF as well. and Babel is that novel. A great addition to fantasy and dark academia. The fourth criterion you mentioned does appear in the novel though it was slowly revealed to you that something bad is gonna happen. It doesn't tell you straight from the beginning.
the combination of solemnity & humor in this dark academia guide...i have no words for how happy this made me 💘 i was not having the best day & this video made it sooooo muchhhhh better
tysm 🥰
i loooove the satire you brought to this video along with the actual book recs!! also the raven cycle is one of my favourite series ever. tysm leo 🍂
I LOVED Bunny so much, forever looking for a book as weirdly twisted as that
Thanks for helping me understand this subgenre!! It turns out one of my fav plays, Rope, is def Dark Academia. Please read it if you haven't! Its soooo good. It's a one-room play about two students who kill one of their peers to prove their superiority over morality, and hide his body in a trunk. Then they hold a dinner party, inviting their victim's loved ones and the professor who inspired them. Thrilling and chilling stuff!
To clarify, this is the premise and not spoilers
AHHHH IF WE WERE VILLAINS IS SOOO GOOD! I read it for the first time backstage durring opening night of my schools winter musical and holy cow that book stabbed me through the chest. lets just say my crying scenes were very easy to do that day.
When I say 'recommend me a booktuber', THIS is what I am looking for!! Absolutely loved the whole presentation!
I am literally cracking up during the Dark Academia Circle explanation, this was so funny 🤣
And now we are blessed with a new series to add to the genre, Wednesday on Netflix, a show that checks all 6 criteria. I loved it!
that show felt peak gothic to me
7 minutes in and I'm enjoying this so much. Chef's kiss content Leonie!
"chronically online enough" LOL , thanks for posting leonie!!
I never see A.S. Byatts Obsession featured in any of these lists, it checks all the boxes and it is just sooo beautiful.
100%
I could argue for The DiVinci Code, too.
i will never get tired of getting dark academia book recs even though most of them get repeated all the time
tysm for putting so much effort into enlightening us, mademoiselle!
no body no crime by tswift is my ult dark academia song
You get my approval on your dissertation for a PhD in Dark Academia.
I really love how much effort you put into this. One of your best videos so far!
When i tell you, i was so happy when Rusty Lake got mentioned! Its definitely a good series, both the Cube collection (Theather, Birthday, Case 23, etc.) and the stand alones (Samsara, Hotel, White door, etc.) I reccomend the series to everyone that enjoys point and click puzzles. And the story of the games is very interesting as well, would be an amazing book!
Always so original 🖤 I read these violent delights because of your recomendation and it is one of my fave reads of this year 😻
this is possibly one of my favorite videos of yours!! i love the amount of thought and effort that went behind it, but you still make it fun and entertaining
“The Name of the Wind” is another classically (I think) dark academia novel, published ten years before “If We Were Villains.” And I’m a little surprised that lots of lists seem to leave it out.
Love this video - both the content and the format 😂
I have to say, out of all of the books on your "core" list that I've read (The Secret History, If We Were Villains, Babel, Atlas Six, Vicious, Vita Nostra, A Lesson in Vengeance and The Maidens), Vicious is the only one that is a consistently great and well-balanced story with decent pacing and interesting characters.
I always get so excited about the genre but end up feeling disappointed. The one that came the closest to actually satisfying my dark academia hunger was If We Were Villains. In only someone would have cut the very last 2-3 pages of that book! I now pretend the final bit of information doesn't exist 😂
Aaahhh thank you for making this wonderful dark academia guide!! I've been on the fence about starting The Secret History, but I think now I'll go for it! I would also maybe add The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon since it checks most of the boxes (plus there's just good vibes with the main character working/living in a bookstore and there being a place called the Cemetery of Forgotten Books).
This is such a creative concept! Looking forward to see more fun video essays like this! Also, if anyone here enjoys kdramas, I have a kdrama recommendation.
Law School is a korean drama that has a very prominent dark academia vibe, at least in my opinion. It's about a university where one of the professors get killed, and along with solving the murder mystery, it also goes into the personal lives and struggles of the students. A lot of the students are pretty morally grey, but also a product of their upbringing or trauma. It heavily criticizes political power and the privilege that comes with a political position, and how that privilege is abused. I highly highly recommend it, it's my favorite kdrama so far because it eliminates all the unnecessary drama and complications that most kdramas have.
thanks for the recommendation. i try hard to get into kdramas but usually i find them too full of unnecessary drama. romance isn't really my absolute favorite genre so i think i would like this. murder mysteries are great to watch imo
cool video love the lil board, very nicely thought out and structured. so cool you included other media!!! and a full stretch of books!! thanks!!!
Thank you, Leonie, for taking this class. It was an invaluable experience. I attended all the lessons and took thorough notes with my fountain pen. I also want to thank you for taking the time to discuss all the reading options available to me in my future. I look forward to attending more of your classes.
Regards,
IMMACULATE timing.... my current state while listening to your playlist gives ULTIMATE dark academia vibes: doing prep work in a bio lab at a university with brick buildings while awaiting an oncoming storm/hurricane and wearing a black mockneck top and cardigan 🤌
Profesor Leonie made my day.
My Dark Vanessa has very dark academia vibes. And The dead poet society is also a book - written after the movie, which usually is very bad, but I read it first and enjoyed it a lot.
I cannot believe you mentioned Anne Bronte!!! She is by far my favorite Bronte sister and is one of my 3-4 favorite classical writers, but I have heard almost 0 people talk about her and her work. So excited that this video might prompt more people to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall !!! :)
This is a great explanation! Glad you clarified straight away that the "dark" part of dark academia means more than just visually/aesthetically dark, I think that has confused some people. Thank you!
i loved catherine house and how unhinged it felt so much. my friends are weirded out by the book and couldn’t finish it but i was so interested throughout the entire novel.
Uh.... what? A Deadly Education is like _all_ critique! :P This series is 100% eat the rich
(even the prophecy since she was a child is that she will take the system down)
Great, fun video! Fantasy dark academia is my happy place. 🖤🖤🖤
it's a few years since i've read the book so i think i may have forgotten about that!
I looove this series ❤
The whole system on which the rich reside is literally made by monsters. Like, literally, they choose the easy way out by creating monsters and unleashing them on others, to the point of needing to make a school to protect it, but creating yet another monster, that just ends up killing those who aren't rich, and continuing the cycle!
I learned more from this video than my 4 years at college
Try "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco - murder, mystery, library, and Latin (also see the film with Sean Connery)
Leonie we need more videos in this format😂👾
One unexpected example I can offer is Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rotfuss.
It is, technically, a fairly traditional high fantasy. A very, very thick book. First part of a cycle.
However, most of the book takes place at university. It is about ambition, learning and superiority, and the darkness is kind of seeping through the entire narration. Narration itself strongly reminds me of those classical novels, with emphasis on hindsight and regret.
The other, less weird example, is a TV show - The Order. It is probably intentionally created to fit into the genre. The story begins with the protagonist going to university with the sole purpose of infiltrating a sinister secret society. Murder is being both the plot-driving thing, and common occurence. Occultism is really fashionable and strongly present.
Great video! The dedication is appreciated :)
I hope you read Jane Eyre soon, it is great!!! And it does have a kinda academic setting, because Jane spends a time of her life at an orphanage school and then becomes a governess.
I have been following you for quite a while now (almost two years) and I always enjoy all of your videos. However, this one has to be my favourite video on your channel so far!!! Amazing idea to give us a sort of "lecture". Love everything about it. Your whiteboard, your professor vibes and looks, the music in the background, the color scheme, the aesthetic of the whole video.
And of course the topic itself. I absolutely love Dark Academia, and "The Secret History" is probably my favourite book ever.
This was by far the funniest and most entertaining lecture ever!
I would definitely not recommend Pride and Prejudice if you are going for dark academia-vibes. Yes, it is 19th century, but there is nothing gothic or autumnal about it at all. There is a lot of balls and visits at neighbours and it is all in a very light tone. It is a great book, but not darl academia. If you want an Austen book that fits better with dark academia, then I would recommend Northanger Abbey. It is a satire on the gothic genre and the main character gets carried away in her dream of living in her own gothic tale.
A very good breakdown of the genre (for lack of a better word)! My own reccommendation for people who like police/detective series is Inspector Lewis. The series is set in Oxford, the mysteries often centre around the academic world of the city, and the murders are often commited by overambitious and obsessive students, teachers, or people with very high-placed jobs. The episodes are always accompanied by classical music, and they show the bad sides of the academic world, and often of religion as well. Two episodes with very dark academia vibes are Whom the Gods Would Destroy, and Magnum Opus.
Bunny fucked me up so much I think about it all the time and the sorrow I felt at the end was so deep and visceral
This is by far the best video in your channel . A comprehensive dark academia video was long due which was surprisingly created by you . Thanks a lot
The Club Dumas I think definitively fits the vibe. Strongly. ❤ love the list!
the picture of dorian gray is soooo dark academia, have death, and obsession, and intellectual caracthers, so perfect
Not me finding out Dark Academia is my favourite genre through seeing how many of the books you've mentioned I have read and loved/enjoyed a lot.
exactly what i needed!!! im reading the secret history this autumn!!! but i do want to transiton my style into this
Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris needs to be added to the onion core! I never see it mentioned in these lists/videos but it is pure dark academia goodness
This is the only lesson I don't get bored of. Also I love the teacher 😹. Love the humor
4:54 casually throws in one of Tartt’s best quotes
Perfect video for a cozy Sunday! I can already feel my TBR list getting so much better with these recs, haha - thank you, Leonie
Amazing video omg I love this channel. Your humor and knowledge in the dark academia movement... because it's a movement. Flawless. This class should be taught in the highest learning institutions
I loved this! Not only the great overview about the criteria for the genre, but especially at the end of the third ring of dark-academia, when you do a shout-out about reading something that interests you being dark academia as well ❤. I personally like to encourage myself to read non-coursework university textbooks that way - and I’d like to report that nothing has ever made me feel more like a main character than reading an introduction on quantum chemistry or something on geomorphology on the train on my commute. Some classics I have read came close, like I tried reading a translation of Ovid (which I dnf’d because it gave me bad flashbacks and is also somehow lacking compared to the Latin versions I had to study in Highschool, for which I have nothing but deep hate) but somehow, textbooks are where the main-character feeling is at… which is either really weird or pretentious or both.
All in all, great Video! made me reflect about which books out of the … inner circle I have read, which ones I like, and which ones I dislike with a burning passion *cough atlas six cough cough*
I think one of the most dark academia books I've read is "The shadow of the wind" you should definitely check it out.
I LOVED THE WHOLE VIBE OF THIS VIDEO amazinggggg
Yay!!! New Sunday vid!! I love how Leonie explain things and how good the quality of her videos is and her content.
Legendborn made your board! Yes! I'd recommend the film "Maurice" (James Ivory, 1987) and "Brideshead Revisited" (the 1981 or the 2008 versions) for dark academia premise.
That was really fun to watch, great video!
In terms of video game recommendations, I would add the Professor Layton series. It definitely has Dark Academia vibes. :)
Ooo, wow. Just found your channel yesterday, and I gotta say I love your videos! I dig your sense of humour; found myself constantly smiling through the intro. Keep up the good work!
one of my earliest introductions to dark academia was House of Anubis on Nickelodeon and i was OBSESSED w it
I have seen lots of videos on dark academia book recommendation but this one has gone on another level. I even like how she used some print paintings in background.
Vita Nostra is really something special and a very intense, psychological read
I love this Leonie! It would be cool if you made a series out of this and talked about some other aesthetics or something. ❤have a good week
Omg you would LOVE the magicians!!! TV show and book
shrek is ultimate dark academia
💀
Loved this video! I have read half of the "core" dark academia books, but Legendborn was my absolute favorite. Highly recommend it!
hmm maybe i should bump it up on my tbr then
@@TheBookLeo I suggest reacting to The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) if you haven’t seen it already. It is an instant favorite if you like animals like rhinos and elephants, and it shows why we must protect them from poachers.
Have you seen it before?
Other Recs! The Library Book (non fiction, by Susan Orlean), Edna St Vincent Millay’s poetry, as well as her biography by Nancy Milford, a guidebook for writing your own poetry like In the Palm of Your Hand by Steve Kowit, then for horror there’s always the haunting of hill house by Shirley Jackson, I think both the 1963 movie adaptation and recent miniseries also fit the vibe™️. I think Charles Dickens’s writings also count. Other movies that have the vibes are Pan’s Labyrinth, Crimson Peak (this one’s more just gothic but I think the sub genres share a lot of traits), Colette, The Mummy (at least Evie as a character) and the classic two early 20th century college boys fall in love movie: Maurice (I think this movie helped contribute to dark academia being gay culture lol)
I recommend the Inspector Morse books and U.K. channel 4 TV shows. Set in Oxford among the colleges, there is murder, obsession and the mood is total DA. The original shows are the best but the spin-off series ‘Lewis’ and ‘Endeavour’ are also peak DA.
Omg YES!! Lewis is one of my favourite shows of all time and I never hear anyone talk about it. I haven’t thought of it as DA, but now that you say it, yes, it fits perfectly!
This is my favorite video ever!! 30 minutes of inspiration and pure happiness😍 thank you so so much🤎🍂