Friday Mood Recs: Academia from light to dark
Even more campus novels for your autumnal reading pleasure
Whether you believe fall starts after Labor Day or not until the equinox there’s not denying we’re firmly in back-to-school season, and that means it’s time for the quest for the perfect campus novel.
I know these books are for everyone but the people who love them (myself included) loooooove them. And we love them with such a passion that we are often searching for that one enigmatic and quintessential campus novel that will make all of our autumnal academic dreams come true. While “dark academia” has taken on a life of its own, The Secret History isn’t the Platonic version of the campus novel for every reader. Some readers yearn more for a nostalgic return to an ideal academic existence while others want their campuses full of toxic teachers and unhealthy obsessions.
My back-to-school sale is still happening and will be ongoing until the Fall Fiction Compendium releases. New subscribers can get 20% off annual subscriptions to FictionMatters from now until September 15th.
For today’s now annual back-to-campus post, I’ve gathered many of the campus novels I can remember reading and organized them by tone. You’ll find three umbrella categories, with all of the books ranked from light to dark academia in each category. This required a lot of judgement calls. What to do if a book has a dark academia vibe but the plot itself isn’t particularly heavy? Or what about ones that feature characters really going through it but the campus setting comes across a little more sparkling? What if it’s using humor to deal with vital issues? Or has a serious tone without verging into “dark academic” tropes?
I overthought this the right amount, and then I went with my gut. I hope this will help you find something to satisfy that academic itch this season. At the bottom of this post, I hope you’ll share your disagreements with my ordering along with your own favorite campus novels so I—and all of us who get a particular satisfaction out of this specific reading season—can build our autumn TBRs.
Oh, and if you haven’t read
Taylor’s essay on writing a campus novel, you absolutely must. I’d say it’s required reading for this time of year.