ranking & reading 6 popular dark academia books 🖤☕️🕯📚 | babel, ninth house, secret history & more 

“I have a feeling some bad things are on the horizon for this book” ** viewers who have read Babel chuckle nervously **

Caste and Race are significant factors in your access to education. The quicker we understand it, the better.

I loveddd babel, it's one of my all time faves........Being an Indian, it made its mark. The representations, blunt truths Kuang explained about colonialism finally feels like we've gotten justice. Awareness of the horrors of colonialism is the bare minimum requirement to acknowledge history of poc PS- you look sooooo pretttyyy !! that hair, those outfits

I’m so happy you’re going the full 9 yards with Dark Academia. The outfit, the lighting and of course, the research (along with sources).

about the secret history, the isrami princess story was based on her real proffesor in the school Donna went to with a real Irani Princess, it was rooted in what type of people go to this school it wasnt really added for any orientalistic flavour but more to show how extravagant some of the students were and also how prestigous the teacher was. (also it wasnt in england but New england in America) I thought this was intresting to point out because it also stuck out to me!

It is so funny that 30 years later, this is such a big thing. I read The Secret History back in the early 90s. I was obsessed with it back then. In fact, it is still one of my favorite books ever. Edited to add: Donna Tartt was inspired by Bret Easton Ellis. If you read The Rules of Attraction, there is one line that "leads" to The Secret History.

I just bought Babel and then this video came out! I’ve never read dark academia so I’m super excited for Babel to be my first

Thank you so much for loving and appreciating Babel. ❤ It’s my favorite dark academia book and I’d love to go to an event with R.F. Kuang talking about this beautiful book and see you as well.

Babel is so good....its been WEEKS since I read it nd im still not over it.

I’ve been waiting for you to do a dark academia vlog!! You always have the best recommendations so I’m definitely picking up a few of these 😅

My cousin and I went to an RF Kuang event where we live in Germany! Everything she had to say about language, writing and writing Babel specifically was incredibly interesting. The moderator of the event unfortunately wasted a lot of time doing an overly long reading from the German edition of Babel and, ironically enough, providing mildly inaccurate translations of RF Kuang's answers for an audience that didn't really need them; based on the audience response to Kuang one could tell that almost everyone present understood English. We didn't have time for a an audience Q&A, but while getting his book signed my cousin asked Kuang about Robin's Chinese name, to which she responded by smiling and saying, "even if I knew, what makes you think I would tell you?" Thank you for talking about her response to this question! Just sent my cousin your video :D I could have honestly listened to her talk about language for hours, the footnotes were one of my favourite parts of the book :')

ahh all these dark academia videos that are coming out lately are rly inspiring me to explore the genre (especially babel!!!)

This was such a great synopsis and study of these books . I like substance . I am new to this book community , and observe that most booktubers only go on and on about Sarah J . Mass and Colleen Hoover . One book tuber actually said they were the “best” writers of all time . I just can not .

I like how you've pointed out problematic areas and bits you didn't enjoy or get but then are so positive about the books overall xxx

I absolutely love this video! You did such a great job explaining each book. I read most of the books so I could agree with most of what you were referring to. I have not read Legendborn or the Secret History and because of your video I want to read them next. I trust you when it comes to book recommendations. I also want to say that you made me cry when you were thanking your audience from your previous video where you talked about feeling down. I to have been feeling down lately. I lost my father in-law during Christmas and it’s been a hard week. You are so sweet and humble to talk about the realities of not always feeling upbeat and down to film. I loved that you went to see R. F. Kuang. That was so cool. I wish you would of filmed a little of it. Just to see the crowd. But that’s ok. Sending you a big virtual hug and thank you for your creativity and hard word on this and many of your videos. God bless!❤🎉😊

Oh I love this!! I just finished Babel and I absolutely loved it. Im definitely looking for more POC dark academia

This is a side note but I really love when you have videos that allow us to see you with and without makeup. It’s truly like you’re bringing us into your world, into your day. Also, you look like a couple of my cousins🥰

I'M SO HAPPY YOU ENJOYED BABEL I CAN'T WAIT TO READ IT

great video, i did not read any of those books, i was a little bit scared of going into such hyped books, but it was very helpful to watcg this video, now i have a brief idea about if i might like them. also, i love the nails hihi

just discovered your channel & I’m so mad I hadn’t found it before. You’re amazing, brb i’m gonna binge watch all of your videos!!

Loved the video! Can’t wait to read Babel, it’s been in my tbr for a while. But now I’m also very interested in If We We’re Villians.

I’m reading Babel, I put it down for a bit but you have sparked my need to pick it up again! I’ve loved what I read so far

I love that you’re a Swiftie. I’m obsessed by Midnights album and the 3 am edition tracks.

I love that Jennanee talks about how long it took her to read all the books, and that the vlog took weeks to make! I love book tube but seeing how supposedly quickly people get through loads of huge books sometimes makes me feel a bit bad about how slowly I read ❤

omg so early!! can't wait to watch also your hair is gorgeouss

I just got babel and ninth house for Christmas, and legendborn I’m waiting for it arrive in the mail sometime in January! and can’t wait to start reading them in 2023!

I just borrowed If We Were Villains from the library so I'm excited to start reading it. The only other book I've read on this list is Babel and I completely agree with everything you've said. I finished it and immediately went back to the beginning to annotate. I feel like I still can't form any coherent thoughts bc anything coherent would need to be like a thesis lol

Currently reading Babel. I hope I love it as much as you did!

I CAN'T WAIT to read Babel!! You convinced me!!

Ooo! I'm so excited for this vid!

Loved this!

My understanding of Alex Stern in Ninth House's racial background is that her mother and maternal grandmother are Sephardic Jews (they speak Ladino, which is kinda like Spanglish but Spanish and Hebrew). Leigh Bardugo is also Jewish, but from my (very brief) research into her background, she's a secular Jew, so that could also be how she intended Alex Stern to be (so it's not a religious thing, it's a cultural and racial background)

I would like to read Babel. But I need to know if there is something occult in the book because I get scared easily. But I would like to try dark academia and Babel sounds great.

Great video! You should read Vicious too if you haven't already - it really shows the toxic obsession of dark academia before it turns more into a supernatural story with an obsessive relationship

but guys, I wasn't in rage and pain, (babel) when I first got to it, I was so shocked, I wanted to cry but I was too stunned to do anything. P.S. the white b**ch comment ascended me. this book is 6.5 out of 5⭐️

Babel is my favourite book of the year. Kuang repeatedly does an amazing job with her books.

I came really early... Love it ❤

Babel is one of my all time favorites, a precious child

I read Kaikeyi cause Jananie told me to and it was one of my favorite reads of the year so now I have to read some of the books in this video 😂😂

In an interview with the author herself, she pronounced it repeatedly with the short a sound...even though the interviewer kept saying it with the long a sound. I go with short a now since that's how Kuang says it

Re the secret history the original murder is more about there obsession with the subject they study. They are also not all rich hence why the Argentina plan didn’t work out. Julian does just disappear at the end I didn’t like that but he does end up being the only impartial character at the end. Between bunny and the group Tartt does lay a thick foundation. It was written in the 90s not that long ago. It’s not a queer vibe it’s Francis going after literally anyone and being quite pushy

This video was really wonderful and insightful.

I love Babel so much. I read it in September 2022 and will definitely reread. It’s the most perfect, the most brilliant book I’ve ever read. It’s 5 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. All the other books are on TBR and will read definitely read them. And you look so lovely in your Taylor Swift cardigan. Are you a Swiftie? I am. I’ve just read the book Pandora by Susan Stokes Chapman and I love it

I have wanted to pick up Babel but I feel like it would be so over my head. Is it complex? It’s so intimidating!

I just purchased Hell Bent. I think I’ll re-read Ninth House first

Babel in number 1 on my January list

love your thoughts on Babel, I've technically not finished it yet but i spoiled myself bc that's the way i am hahahaha

fellow swiftie confirmed!! I got the same cardigan ❤️ 😍 💖

I can’t emphasize enough that you must also audiobook TSH. Donna Tarte has a voice unlike any I’ve heard. Musical story teller. POC DA: Catherine House. LGBTQ DA: These Violent Delights (Micah nevermore).

How come so many people think The Secret History is promoting elitism ? Depiction of elitism in academia doesn't necessarily mean glorifying elitism 😑

How long did it take for you to read and finish Babel?

Omg, Every book sounds delicious.

Hi! I realize this video is one year old but I have to ask, what is the brand of your cute black and beige sweater vest combo? I came for the dark academia, but the fashion was impossible to ignore.😊

2/3 of the way through if we were villains. I’ve been reading it since it October it’s so hard for me to continue to get really into it. Idk what the issue is. I feel like the book is so slow and I don’t really care for the Shakespeare elements and at the same time I feel who the murderer is so obvious. I also don’t really care about the other characters besides Oliver and James. Is it easier to switch to the audiobook? Should I? I just want to reach my 40 book goal on goodreads.

I’ve only read Ninth House 🥲

I can't wait to read Legendborn! Atlas Six is one I didn't finish before having to return it. I'll try again this year. I'm not sure that Ninth House is "dark academia," strictly speaking, or if it's a book that a lot of DA people like. Alex's family speaks spanish and ladino because Jewish people with Spaniard (Spain) heritage tend to speak Castilian Spanish and sometimes speak Ladino. Alex is American, disconnected from culture. Consider that IRL the only "proper" American way to be Jewish is to ... not be Jewish... I think that in itself is a whole Thing. Being disconnected from all parentage, no culture to really fit in with, being the person Alex is and was, and where she came from... that in itself is something to untangle with her psyche. Leigh Bardugo os Israeli-American but Bardugo is, afaik, not a Hebrew or typical Yiddish or Ashkenazi last name. Bardugo themselves may be Sephardic in ancestry. Read up on Jewish history, esp. how even now, many Ashkenazi people are white* *until discovered otherwise And Sephardic are ~ish (if they look white enough.) Mizrahic Jews (African) "don't exist." And there we have the whole real life axis of how American pale people are automatically assumed to potentially be Jewish, but not Black people. Alex Looks like Yale anonymity. Would she have the same experience if she Looked "too Sephardic?" This is the same author as Six of Crows, for anyone who recognises the name.

Alex doesn't really fit into this university. She was asked to come to uni only because of her gift. She knows this.

As a Catholic, I feel that Catholicism itself would falls square in the middle of Dark Academia. The Faith originated in Temple Time Judaism and it always seemed elitist until Christ opened the doors for gentiles (outsiders) to join. But only to those who are willing to "die to themselves". Catholicism has been for ages, the oldest institution on planet earth and has thusly acquired an abundance of literature, scientific accolades, established a plethora of academic institutions and boasts some of the most impressive philosophical works. The Faith obsesses over saintliness what how to achieve union with the Divine. Without the death of Christ, the Faith is meaningless but to add to it's appreciation of death, we often say that "the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians". The Faith naturally critiques what the world treasures, we critique ourselves and our human nature, and we critique views that oppose what we hold to be divine truth. Finally, the Faith is by its very nature, enveloped in the supernatural. From the war of angels and demons, to the partaking of the heavenly bread we call the Most Holy Eucharist. Catholicism is Dark Academia.

I haven't read any of these LOL but I was thinking about what you said about race not playing a huge role in some dark academia books. You said this in your review of Ninth House and I agree so much - a big part of why a lot of white authors struggle to tackle race in their books is because they don't have the experience to do so. If they ever make an attempt, it falls through or doesn't hit. Or it's just like...wrong. You see that all the time even in other genres or mediums and it's quite exhausting. I think that's why R.F Kwang aced it. It's because she has the experience and lens to effectively tackle the issue. White writers do not and it SHOWS girl it shows. (NO HATE OR ANYTHING IM JUST SAYING- 😂) Loved this video!!

Bahb-buhl in American English and Bay-uhl in British English 😊 I’m halfway through it now and LOVING IT and now you’ve got me so hyped up for the second half. The only other one I’ve read is The Secret History and I truly do not understand the hype around it. It could be the ebb and flow of the plot that you mentioned. I definitely “get it” but it’s so meh for me.

Kuang pronounces it "Babble" so I'd go with that 😂

I'm so on the fence about reading. I've never read anything by the author and I keep going back and forth. Add it to my shopping cart, then I'll remove it .... watching u talk about it want me 2 get it .... I just need that extra push.

I have read three of these books (Babel, If We Were Villains, and the Secret History) and I liked all of them, but didn't love any of them. At the time, I ranked If We Were Villains the highest, but it is the one that stuck with me the least and I don't remember the plot or characters at all. I think the Secret History had the most distinctive and interesting characters, but the plot was boring at times. Opposite of that, I thought that Babel had the most interesting plot, but I felt like the characters were a little flat. Overall, this sub genre never 100% works for me, and I am especially let down by American DA books (like the Secret History and IWWV) for never really touching on the aspect of how unaffordable university is, and how the price of higher education shuts out a lot of poor people from these institutions, and the socioeconomic and racial implications of that. But I do know that is a critique of American DA and not the genre as a whole.

I am following you since many years but still couldn't understand your name

Pronouncing babel with the b·AE·b·ah·l makes it a whole other word actually spelt babble meaning to talk quickly , excited or foolishly . Babel pronounced b·AE·b·ah·l is a confusion of voices and other sounds . So babel is like so many voices at once, creating confusion whereas babble is one person talking too much and way to fast creating annoyance.

💜💜

You should read zodiac academy!

It's pronounced "bah-bel"

1. There is no "reverse racism." Racism is racism, and it does not discriminate by color (pun intended). 2. You look pretty privileged to me. You should see me.

Heyyy, it’s “BAY-BUL” rather than babble as in children making talking sounds. It means confusion 😊

From the first sentence spoken (uneducated, mind you), I knew I could *not* continue watching this video.