is The Secret History worth the hype? the irony of Dark Academia ☁️ a vlog & essay

[@christy-anne-jones]

Welcome back to another vlog!! In this video, I did a deep dive on The Secret History and ~The Dark Academia aesthetic~ and I had a lot of fun making it 😊 really quickly, I just wanted to say here: there's nothing wrong with having fun with an aesthetic. I personally love Dark Academia as a style and genre, and although there's definitely an ironic link between TSH and the aesthetic itself, I think everyone should be supported to express themselves creatively and have fun with things like this. The world is too shitty and too stressful to take everything too seriously. Hope you enjoy the video and take care 💛

[@howardrice8330]

O😊

[@howardrice8330]

O😊

[@howardrice8330]

O😊

[@vanessalamontagne4443]

My immediate thought when finishing this book was, I want to read it again from each character's perspective, including Julian's. Then I wanted to find more unreliable narrator books to feel this kind of alive, then dead feeling again. Made me realize I was reading far too much simple story-telling from fantasy novels (not a bad thing! just less critical thinking). then I promptly went down a tsh tiktok rabbit hole. This reading vlog was so entertaining!

[@aparkinglott]

do you have any recommendations? also liked the unreliable narrator book

[@vanessalamontagne4443]

I would suggest Bunny by Mona Awad, also in the dark academia genre ​@@aparkinglott

[@kaylacurrently]

I think Donna Tart’s love of Dickens comes through in her work. She never shys away from exploring the class system.

[@christy-anne-jones]

Agreed! I went and watched a bunch of interviews after I finished reading it, and she seems to LOVE Dickens

[@JimmyDThing]

Dickens, Dostoevsky, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Absolutely.

[@howardrice8330]

TSH has nothing to do with the class system.

[@mongolianqwerty123]

@@howardrice8330 It has something to do with it

[@howardrice8330]

@@mongolianqwerty123 barely... you assume that because her characters are of different social/eco classes that she is exploring the differences between those classes -- that is not necessarily true... YOU'RE the one exploring the difference between those classes

[@bernsky]

i always love the lulls in books as i don't want them to end, i want to live in them forever. this novel is an impeccable Bildungsroman, about something we all must learn about the circles we wish to inhabit. cliches are cliches because they are true, the grass is not greener. But it is nice to venture into other worlds wether through literature, ideas, or desire - i think the most important lesson is - assholes abound everywhere. Aesthetics are empty - used and marketed nowadays, many social indicators used to mean something - a way to find your tribe - now not so much.

[@christy-anne-jones]

This is a very eloquent comment! I think people still find communities through aesthetics in certain situations, but you are right--marketers use them in predatory ways. I think the book was incredibly profound and said a lot of really insightful things about the world, honestly. It was beautiful~

[@lizasaakadze5411]

I got so excited when you said you have 100 pages left because that last pages are roller coaster. It does really drag out in the middle but those pages had me shaking crying and screaming

[@virginiabassu9259]

Definitely me😂😰😭

[@louyou6614]

I can't get myself to read the last one hundred pages It's so boring and dreaggg so much

[@georginagarforth8367]

I have mixed feelings about this book… incredible writing, very atmospheric, but I really hate all the characters and it left me feeling hollow. But I guess that’s the point, which brings me back to admiring the writing again!

[@christy-anne-jones]

Right?? You leave the book knowing NO ONE was a good person hahahah

[@lightlawliet3526]

the characters aren't suppose to be likable and that's kind of is the point lol.

[@aprilias7400]

@@lightlawliet3526 But you can’t deny that people glamorize the characters. When i read the book i was really shocked by the characters cause every post i saw was about how this person in love and obsessed with Henry Winter etc. But when i read the book i really scared by this dude. Donna Tartt did really good job about characterizations but people loves to romanticize them

[@aprilias7400]

I think this is the reason why some people didn’t like the book. Of course this not Donna Tartt’s fault. Oh also I think some people just don’t like the fact that some privilege rich kids kills someone and get away with it. But this is the whole point of the story, right :)

[@nula14]

That is exactly how I feel! In the end, I can't like a book that makes me hate all its characters ... So I got rid of it ...

[@morganhay3968]

I do enjoy the whole 'Dark Academia' aesthetic, and I can definitely see the attraction it holds, but when I compare it to my actual experience at university it's hard not to find it kind of funny. Maybe I should found my own aesthetic movement centred round redbrick campus buildings, cheap cider, and daylong D&D games...

[@TheDudeWithDaCowbell]

Daylong DnD games sounds better than any romantized aesthetic. Where do I sign up?

[@eleanorofaquitaine4045]

Guys I just realised something about Bunny's behaviour after he found out the secret. (spoiler alert!!) Remember when Henry said Bunny wouldn't leave him alone for one minute and was always watching him? For some reason I thought that Bunny was, just like Francis said, annoyed at having been excluded from their core group (Henry, Francis, the twins). But now I think Bunny was scared of Henry, shocked after finding out H. took their classes and these ancient rituals seriously, acting them out and feeling little remorse at the death of an innocent human who happened to be there. Bunny didn't know if he actually knew H. and was afraid H. would perhaps murder him too because he knows the secret. And Bunny being this chaotic person who acts on impulses, he didn't know if he could keep the secret. So while the core group felt threatened by Bunny's knowing their secret, Bunny felt insecure because he knew THEY knew that he knew and they felt threatened by it. I think Bunny was some kind of street smart; he was also the one least impressed by Julian whereas the rest thought him a divinity

[@eleanorofaquitaine4045]

Oh and the next person to be scared of Henry is Charles, who makes it rather clear that he thinks Henry's out to kill him

[@lisakealhofer7907]

totally! like how, in the letter to Julian, bunny was calling Henry crazy and basically wrote it in the case that he was killed. I mean I hated bunny, I thought he was such an ass and so irritating but he was smarter than the group gave him credit for

[@elize3137]

*finishes the book* "I feel dead inside." Lol sorry for laughing but I felt dead inside for weeks after finishing it. It's so fun watching someone else's reaction! I hope you read The Goldfinch one day too, it drags on but it's worth it and it's less depressing! Beautiful video by the way! 🥰

[@c.s.hayden3022]

It’s a well written book and one hell of a debut novel. It’s funny how most things following it focus on fetishizing an aesthetic and misunderstand how she was using it, but I think that’s the wake of trends in general.

[@JimmyDThing]

I just finished reading the book yesterday and this is funny to watch. Especially where you started to be creeped out. I bet I know where you were. I had a similar experience. The book managed to make me go from admiring and envying many of the characters to loathing them and being absolutely disgusted by them.

[@ellie2285]

I've been debating whether to read this or not, because people seem to either truly love it or strongly dislike it, but I'm so happy you think it's worth the hype! I'll definitely be picking it up now. I really loved the format of this video too, and if more videos like this are on the way, I will happily watch them. Take care, Christy! 🌸

[@lee_rayyy58]

What did you think of it? Update? Personally, I was one of those people that absolutely loved it.

[@jessn5677]

I also loved it, just don’t go into it thinking it will be Harry Potter

[@thefairylibrarian3282]

I'm currently reading The secret history. I have about 60 pages left. I can see myself also feeling empty inside after finishing this.

[@lee_rayyy58]

I certainly did for awhile

[@anshupandey8]

I'm thinking of reading it , is it good

[@gj2600]

Oh gosh I loved this video format !! I'd definitely love to see more vlog + essay combination style videos

[@christy-anne-jones]

Yay! I'm so happy you liked it 💛

[@madielaineeeee]

ultimately the secret history will always be my favorite book of all time. i love it so so much

[@roserising]

This book is what helped me rediscover my love for reading again. It took me forever to finish though & made me realize I need to brush up on my vocabulary. 😅 Her writing is exquisite. I definitely want to read some more dark academia books- my next read will be These Violent Delights- the one by Micah N.

[@theayesha147]

This book went from How to Get Away with Murder to Gossip Girl without warning 😬

[@theayesha147]

Also what happened to Henry at the end was sort of expected but also- his last line was cheesy af

[@escapedgarbage]

Stappp I’m screaming why is this true 😂😂

[@monavc8962]

That moment at the end of the book when you widened your eyes, that's the moment I was waiting for the entire vlog (especially when you said you thought you were in the denouement of the book).

[@zuu876]

i love watching reviews on this book because every person finds their own message in it and i think it's wonderful and also interesting how differently people can view the same book

[@Enhafun]

I just finished the book yesterday I'm enjoying your analysis and progression with the book so much as it matches exactly with how I felt at each stage of reading the book! The book is fascinating and every climax feels like ok now this is it but there's always something more and something unknown to the narrator until he has to know it, until the other four cannot hide anything from him it'a wow experience!!

[@givenreality7688]

studying this for a school project and this has actually been so helpful alongside scholarly resources - thank you !!!💓

[@Musikchic47]

Song of Achilles! So good! I'm starting her other book, Circe, right now. I love Greek mythology :)

[@MichelleShaubi]

I loved Circe! Actually more than Song of Achilles. I actually just finished the latter recently and now starting The Secret History and when she said she just finished Song of Achilles, I was like “omg that’s funny”

[@carolioning]

that gasp at the end is SO REAL i finished this book and just sat there with my mouth open

[@cxlia.]

"i feel so dead inside" was so real. i finished this book and felt the same as you. i was like : how am i supposed to move on , to keep living after this??

[@reneevandyk5022]

With the word 'aesthetic' and it being thought of as a tik tok trend- I used to think of it as a synonym for 'look' as in 'the dark academia look'. In my psychology course they defined 'aesthetic' as something like the immersion of the senses, as opposed to anaesthetic which is cutting off the senses. With that definition I feel like I understand it a lot more, its not just the surface level look that is important, but how it makes you feel, deriving pleasure from the activities and so on. Loved this video with analysis + I'd love a recommendation video.

[@ruthfarrell6337]

This book is my favorite of all time. So glad you also enjoyed it, and I loved your analysis!

[@perriwinkleiii5361]

You summed up my feelings perfectly when you described what you felt was a "denouement" in the middle of the story, which was the reason I still have not read the last half of the book. And your key thoughts about the problem with Dark Academia mirrored my own almost exactly! I felt that it was ironic that the experience of chasing this decadent "aesthetic" lifestyle to the detriment of your health and morality is so thoroughly explored and ultimately advised against in Richard's tale... and yet, the book became the centre of the new Dark Academia movement, and people are chasing this ideal of the aloof, ultra-studious pupil, and it can lead to wrapping yourself up in impossible standards and probably loneliness, too. You likely won't embrace Bacchaean madness because of Dark Academia, but there's still this element of self that should be monitored when delving into any aesthetic, really. It's wild that our minds went to the same places in our read-throughs; I had been meaning for some time to put my thoughts into writing online, but your video and this comment sum it up perfectly. You've inspired me to perhaps finish the book now, to solidify my thoughts

[@YourTrueShelf]

More please! I loved the format of doing both a reading vlog and an analysis. I also loved watching your reactions 😅 I found a review I'd written in 2013 when I read this book which was interesting. I'd written how I wanted them to stop going days without sleep/ food and so much alcohol and that part stayed with me!! I like how it romanticises dark academia, and those kind of characters, but then also pulls the rug from under you and tells you to remember not to believe the fakery at the same time. I love being a dreamer and a romantic, but at the same time I want people to be real. I hate pretense. I think Donna Tartt conveys both well 💛

[@landritabertyiski]

i love the format of this vlog!! combining video essay and reading vlog is such a great idea ❤

[@christy-anne-jones]

Thank you, Landrita 😊💛💛

[@maybekatie]

had to watch this video because I just finished this book myself about a week ago-i thoroughly enjoyed getting to relive the story by watching your reactions to the story and trying to guess which parts you were reading!

[@GeorgieCora]

Really enjoyed this video and appreciate the analysis! When Donna Tart says she took inspiration from Hitchcock you can completely see how. I've not finished it yet but I am desperate to find out what made you gasp at the end! I would also love more recommendations from this genre ☺️

[@han.nah.]

I was too! I just finished the book and I’m wondering if it was the letterhead from the excelsior.

[@thefirstbloom7289]

This was such a great video!!! From the reading vlog to the video essay it was just amazing! I would love to see more book essays included in the end of the vlogs and a dark academic books recommendation ))

[@teacupthestoryteller]

This was wonderful 🥰 I really enjoyed this "essay" type of video. It was nice to hear about your study experience. I´ve never read anything from Donna Tart but I am really temptet to get this book now. Thank you 😊

[@ashmiller626]

This was so fun! I’m absolutely living for your reactions lol. The analysis of the irony was great, I’m so glad you mentioned it.

[@nayoungkim2170]

Loved the vlog + essay format! Def would love to see more also wouls love a book shelf tour again at some point loll

[@ahl2712]

Dear Christy, I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on this book! I loved the format of the flog as well. Coincidentally I also just finished reading The Secret History a few days ago. And my personal reading experience can be summarized to being amazed by its brilliance and not being able to put it down while also dreading every moment of reading further... I felt constantly torn between a love for the writing style, general aesthetics and facets of the plot & subplots vs. my personal frustration boarding on dislike towards basically all the main characters - especially towards the unreliable narrator! (Sorry to all the Richard fans out there...) As for the dark academia aesthetics: I thought you summarized it beautifully - the irony of the book contributing to and fully immersing itself in the dark academia aesthetics while simultaneously tearing it to pieces by exposing the romanticized and archaic imagery vs. reality.

[@xoshainaify]

Really enjoyed this video, and the new format! I enjoy hearing your views on books, so having a more in-depth analysis of what you're reading was cool! I also finished reading the book yesterday so this was perfect timing 🤗

[@virginiabassu9259]

OMG I WANNA CRY LOL Hey there Christy, I can't end this year without saying THANK YOU very much because you were the reason and the definitive push for me to read this work of art!!! In february, I was looking for a DAcademia classic to read, I knew this was the pioneer book of D.A but I didn't decide until you shook my heart with your video & let me tell you It's really touching the dedication you put into doing this! I was unsure about translating latin and greek phrases but I'm curious and I love languages so... Definitely the writing is poetically beautiful, worth and fine, I still feel deeply empty, and I also needed some time to process everything when I finished it, It's makes you wonder a lot, and I still can't leave the story since the characters got stuck in me, like even if they did terrible things I felt pity for them. No doubt this writer plays with our theories and feelings all the time, and we end up skidding like a car in the snow, not knowing what to say or how to shout. Also, I always read his interviews and I know that he did this as a kind of critique of our perception of beauty (among other things) and I am surprised to note that we often sentimentalize interesting people just like Richard, although of course we do not end up included in horrible events of that size... Anyway, she's iconic & wise, I could talk about this story for hours but it would seem like a document letter, It's is already so don't hate me please.😂✨ Lol Pdt: Curious if you have a favourite character, and yes the proffesor is the irony made human. And I don't want to say how I feel about camila because it's so contradictory. and charles reality slapped me... Of course, I'm talking about the characters that are not talked about as much as Henry, Bunny and Francis. And yes, I would give anything to erase my memory and meet them again.

[@HadassahCordoba]

I just finished reading the secret history yesterday. I moved to Paris a few months ago and was feeling quite lost in the city. This book has been my little secret happiness, made me fall back in love with reading and has inspired me to start writing my own book. I loved this video 🖤

[@RiverJanewayRoslin]

Good afternoon, I hope you're enjoying Paris. If you are still feeling lost (I know you posted this 5 months ago) the Bookanists along the Seine often have great books sometimes in various languages and if you want English books there is a great English expat culture at Shakespeare and Company that has events and meet-ups that can help finding your people in the city. If you've already done this ignore me but I do genuinely hope you have found your niche in that beautiful city. All the best

[@HadassahCordoba]

Thank you so much for this comment! I will definitely look into the Shakespeare and co meetups. I didn’t know about them 🤍

[@aparkinglott]

the last 100 pages shook me. also felt like i was just waiting and then when it happened I was shoook

[@CoralTheWitch2023]

Loved the style of this video! Would love to see a dark academia tbr or a video on more dark academia books

[@halfmoons.]

wow i LOVED this entire video. first of all, i was shocked when you said dark academia started blowing up just around two years ago at tiktok and other platforms and i was like WHAT?? and then you said dark academia has been around for a long time bc of tumblr and i was like yes exactly bc i was also drawn to the dark academia aesthetic a lot back then in tumblr and it's literally what made me want to read this book!! i started reading the secret history at 9th grade and i'm a freshman at college now and i just realized that i resonate a lot with what you said about the meaning of this book. i'm also someone that romanticized having this coming of age type of a college experience but i really can't have that at all because of the pandemic and we're still doing online classes and the education system's just brutal out here. thank you for making this vlog i really missed the feeling of reading this book for the first time again and seeing you read it (especially the horrifying parts toward the end) just brought back memories :') i hope you'll make more of this type of videos with other books soon!! lots of love

[@pixadavid]

The aesthetic has been around for a very long time indeed - faaar predating tumblr - after all, it's based on Edwardian fashions and ideals, but it's only been 'named' recently as part of the recent trend to formalise and name aesthetics.

[@mirandamarquette1438]

Love this format! You're creative but you also have classic training in analyzing texts. It makes your analysis very interesting and informative. As usual, thank you for the incredible content, Christy!

[@MyAndromedanCheese]

Prioritizing this on my TBR thanks to you! I too felt disenchanted by academia when I lived through it - the questions of class rang true then as it does now. I’m also curious about trends coming out of the pandemic. Our culture is going through a seismic shift born out of loneliness and grief, and our changing relationship with work and university. I have a burning desire to see it as it happens and try to understand it as I myself am pulled into cottagecore. Thank you!

[@jasminp6916]

I really like this style for your reading vlogs. The commentary makes it even more interesting and fun to watch ☺️ Maybe I'll attempt to read this 🙈 sounds like an interesting book but the size overwhelms me lol

[@myfirstnovel]

I need to reread both Secret and Goldfinch but they are such a time commitment. Part of me was resisting them all through reading (and no, I can’r explain why, maybe the rhythm which was a strain because I’m ADD). Still both have left me with memories and images I can’t shake, here the wintry Christmas I shivered through, and the torrid Las Vegas interlude in Goldfinch. Love the analytical vlog format btw, you had me craving tea :)))

[@Purzius]

Love these more analytic, intelligent discussions

[@seafarer_]

i LOVED the format of this video! the irony you caught was really interesting as i’ve only heard a little bit about the recent criticisms of dark academia and this book as a source

[@ellarose8696]

A lot of people said they got bored at the end, but I feel as though the mix of normalcy of life (things we might encounter) with the events happening made it more immersive for me

[@dimman77]

Amazing how many people trying to experience Dark Academia are obsessed about the superficial aesthetic specifically. Just. Like. Richard.

[@bookishly.introverted]

Yes, to the Dark Academia recommendations video. Also, I loved this format of reading vlog!

[@christy-anne-jones]

Thank you so much!! 😊💛

[@toribrooks7308]

I love this video, Christy and your essay format! I've always wanted to read this book but your video has given me that push to finally get. Lots of love!

[@realdocphil]

Currently reading the 'Goldfinch' and really, really enjoying it.

[@carolinaao3075]

I loved this. People tend to criticize books as good or bad, but you share with us the good and bad parts of a story and your general thoughts. I really like this 🖤 I’ve been wanting to read it for so long. I hope I can start it next month.

[@masa59125656]

Hello! I enjoyed this week as well. Thank you very much 😊 The weekly VLOG format was very interesting!

[@christy-anne-jones]

I'm so glad you liked it! 😊💛

[@ReadingNymph]

This was really great, I'm picking up the Secret History soon. This sort of vlog was really helpful in getting more of a feel for the book

[@libbettmirabal3624]

i’m a massive fan of ‘if we were villains’ and if i had to say a book was the quintessential to dark academia, that’d be it. though, i’m only re-starting the secret history for the 4th time cos i couldn’t get through it, so maybe i will grow to like it the more i read it. if we were villains is a Must !!

[@joanahenriques8863]

I really enjoyed this format so I hope to see more videos like it 😊 Also those houses you filmed on your way to the book store were incredible 😍

[@kat7531]

I loved this! This was such an interesting and educating take on the book. Would love to hear what you think of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt!

[@mc0806]

Ha! I've just finished it yesterday and was looking for some analysis videos! Timing of this is ridiculously perfect :D

[@andreaskaliks8664]

I love the analysis! I appreciate a beautiful vlog with depth.

[@minahil8]

I loved this so much! Please please also do a similar analysis video on "The picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. Really want to hear you talk in depth about it 🥺💗

[@christy-anne-jones]

ooooooooooh that's a good idea 👀

[@Sthemingway]

Would it be simplistic to say that dark academia is preppy gothic? Instead of taking place in an old family manor in the country, it takes place in/around educational institutions, libraries, and other places with archives (like the town's historical society)?

[@llEMMAll]

That is a really good description, but I feel like it's grown to a point where it deserves it's own title.

[@barn_ninny]

Going out in a soaking rain to get a book seems like a very Hampden College thing to do. (Also, love your sneaks.)

[@lemonadehug]

I am tempted to read this book after hearing your review. Look forward to see more videos from you on the dark academia books and your analysis like this one 😉

[@manju3802]

Love this format! I was worried about spoilers when I saw "essay" but you organised it beautifully! :)

[@demonicmaleficentviciously140]

Coming from a Berkeley student, this book hit on a lot of notes sure, some of them were the usual tropes of going to a competitive uni but it also hit on some that live in the underbelly of college life. Even though I found the abuse of cigarettes and alcohol in the novel comical, it is quite true. Cigarettes have been replaced with vapes but the drinking is definitely still there, along with adderall, xanax etc. I enjoyed the characters more than I did the overall story which seems a bit hypocritical since none of the characters are ones to root for but they were interesting enough to keep me engaged. I love 'Little Friend' and 'The Goldfinch' but this one was hard for me to like at first. I read it a second time and I liked it more. It's one of those books that grows on you. Great review!

[@cadeylinn]

I loved this video so much! I would love a video of dark academia book & movie recommendations.

[@danaewardrup3922]

Thumbs up to this new format! Really enjoyed this video and The Secret History is now on my TBR ☺️

[@coachcashmoney]

Thanks for helping me understand the book. I’m listening to the audio book and needed guidance.

[@pixadavid]

I think one reason why people dislike it is that they go in expecting a glorification of 'dark academia' tropes when it is almost a deconstruction of them.

[@zahrasameer5143]

Your thougts on this really helped lmao thanku❤

[@ajaybahure111]

Because of you I fall in love with fantasy books 🐱

[@christy-anne-jones]

Awwwwh this is such a beautiful comment! I'm really glad to have helped in anyway 💛

[@Ozgipsy]

That was great. I enjoyed the wrap up at the end and the analysis 👍

[@Samreen0987]

Ah Christy you are such a wonderful creature!😊🌼youe videos elevate joy in my heart!

[@christy-anne-jones]

😊💛💛💛

[@circleofleaves2676]

Foreseeing getting through 100 pages in an hour? Dude, that's... wow, impressive. The fastest I'll go is 50 pages in an hour and that's if I'm not as invested. Generally it's more like 30 pages. I like to read at the pace at which things are happening or at which people are talking. I'll also read more slowly if the writing is particularly incredible (like Virginia Woolf's books) for the rhythm of those sentences.

[@pazidawson2178]

5:19 oh no the ironyyyy😭 bunny wore a yellow rain slicker when he died (I'm not sure if this is called a slicker, though)

[@zynpkrdg]

You know, I am not planning on studying literature, I'd say I am more of a science nerd. But I quite like this aesthetic and the respect it gives to literature. It's one of those harmless joys people have. And I would love to read The Secret History someday, so I won't fully watch this video now because I don't want to get spoilers.

[@willallnutt4612]

I feel like there's a lot more to literature than just being something that's a 'harmless joy'...

[@zynpkrdg]

@@willallnutt4612 oh no definitelly, it's the dark academia aesthetic that i called a harmless joy.😅 i just tried to point out that it would be great if dark academia also consisted of the stem side of academia as well, because that's what i'm more interested in . it's always the humanities side of academia i see in dark academia books.

[@willallnutt4612]

@@zynpkrdg Ooh, sorry! I agree - I think artsy people and people that write literature tend to be quite Anti-Stem, so unfortunately not as much representation for equally profound fields! I'd highly recommend Arcadia by Tom Stoppard which essentially combines academia with the STEM, the unknown etc. in quite a groundbreaking piece. Maybe not 'Dark Academia', but something quite close to it :)

[@zynpkrdg]

@@willallnutt4612 thank you! much appreciated, i'll definitelly look it up right now haha.

[@Emma-Jayne100]

Absolutely loved this video! It’s very interesting to hear your thoughts on a book that I loved, a lot of which i hadn’t considered. Thank you 😊

[@justabitofamug6989]

Spoiler warning and trigger warning for SA and incest: I had no idea about the incest, not a single thing I had read about it mentioned it, and I was very into the dark academia aesthetic. The book does not in any way romanticise their experiences, and the incest epitomises that. Perhaps that's why noone mentions it, or the way Richard views Camilla at one point, when he says in the narration he wants to rape her. The alcohol and murder and blood is much easier to aestheticise than the sexual violence.

[@17caria]

random, but I love the purple flowers in this video!

[@sarajanecase]

I love your commentary videos so much !

[@opheliabalou2652]

That bookstore is beautiful!

[@donnasoriano5110]

Yes!!! I'm so happy to be hereee for my Weekly dose of Christy 🥺💞 This book is in my TBR.

[@christy-anne-jones]

😊💛

[@josskorvus3428]

Really liked this format and the content.

[@incaseofasteroid13]

8:06 omg NEMO WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!!! 🤣

[@Tinahgirl83]

I read this book in 2019 and it’s just kind of haunted my mind ever since. The characters are despicable but tragic, and I felt the writing was beautiful. I often see it compared to If We Were Villains, which I also read recently, and hated. In TSH while you don’t agree with anything these people do, the motive behind it makes sense, and you see the way that they play out like a Dickensian Greek tragedy, destroying themselves from the inside. If We Were Villains felt derivative and was both poorly executed and unbelievable. I’m in the minority on that one, but for me TSH is by far the more well done of the two. (I don’t want to say “better” because of the subject matter. Murdering people is never good.😂)

[@lee_rayyy58]

I favored the secret history as well because characterization personally is what I seek within a great book. I think it’s Donna Tarte’s specialty. Proper wel written characters and a atmospheric environment that you can easily insert yourself into. Not a lot of books call pull that off of you not feeling like a fly in the wall but for this book I definitely was Richard (especially in the beginning, I felt that desperate desire to belong to this elicit group myself as if I was him). Only thing about If We Were Villisns is I like the underlining love triangle, it is very Shakespearean and tragic and I’m here for a tragic love story

[@poirotmysteries]

I absolutely disliked If We Were Villains as well.

[@sairabookish]

What lovely video. Im not into dark academia but i loved learning about it through your vlog. Yes please to more of these types of videos x

[@christy-anne-jones]

💛

[@TheDudeWithDaCowbell]

I think the themes of Dark Academia are fine, a love for knowledge, books, study, classical music, the stuggling creative/"intellectual." A romantic love for knowledge is a great thing to posses. However, there is nothing romantic about the reality of education/college. If you want to surround yourself with a certain style, stay up late drinking coffee and reading stimulating books. Do it. Thats great. Just don't take out student loans thinking college is a romantic experience. Young people will always take fiction too seriously. Fiction is an important part of a healthy life. We need it. We just need to remember that social media isnt reality, just as previous generation had to do with TV and magazines. Enjoy your books. Write poetry. This world could use more romanticism. For the sake of our souls. But college is expensive, and is not very romantic

[@briegowin306]

Love this video so so much I've seriously watched it 5 times haha! I've just started If We were Villains by M.L. Rio and it's giving me SUCH good TSH vibes. I was also wondering where your glasses are from, the round thin-rimmed black ones? I have the hardest time finding ones with a lower bridge like these!! Thanks, Christy!

[@roman-cu1cw]

Haha the part you talked about the romanticised image of university vs. reality resonated with me. I happened to follow quite a few studytubers who are almost 10 years younger than me, and it really makes me feel weird every time I see their even younger fans leave comments like "your university vlogs really make me want to go to university / dream of my own campus life / etc." because I never thought of university as something that could be romanticised in such a way. Yes, there's definitely more freedom and room for exciting experiment at uni compared to school, but it also means that most people are gonna flail and flounder, go through trials and errors, get frustrated over the discrepancy between the ideal and the reality, often experience the most embarrassing moments or periods of their lives due to immature cockiness... Uni life is most of the time very mundane and unromantic, but the rise of studytube plus revival of dark academia is giving birth to this über romanticised notion of uni and I can't help feeling a bit put off by it, knowing uni life a bit too well. All in all, I think online aesthetics are quite like instagram filters - it can inspire and lighten up our lives when applied moderately and consciously, but it can make life even more depressing and frustrating if we lose grip, as reality can never be like the perfect, ideal image suggested by aesthetics and we will have to face it at some point.

[@amg304]

Dark academia in TV BBC's "Lewis" takes place in Oxford, England and within the universities, murder mysteries, so yeah, dark academia is not really new, but it is good to see new faces within the genre.

[@Natopera]

Endeavour is even better, the whole 60's vibe is so good.

[@katem198]

*ITV

[@poeticpiscean]

Finished this book about 15 minutes ago. I loved it. I went in not really knowing much about it. It is more like a very dark creepy satire of "dark academia". I also feel a bit bereft after finishing it. What ever I read next will pale in comparison.

[@Jayveel]

The irony of you putting on a yellow rain coat to go for a walk at the start of this is insane 🙃

[@albertjayme1122]

Love your thoughts here!

[@lisakealhofer7907]

this book had me screaming at characters in the car as I listened to it,, it was so good

[@bronwyndiperi6696]

I just finished this book today (strangely, I had never heard of it during it's actual publication time). My copy from the library is only 529 pages, not 600+. This makes me wonder if some are abridged?

[@pizzaisthebest1493]

I'm about halfway through the book. When I finish, I'll be back to watch this video!

[@izabela914]

Thank you for the info! I’d love to see your suggestions on dark academia books .

[@Lillyjoy]

Enjoyed the video! Would you say the darkness aspect of the book took up a lot of it? I'm wondering because it is on my TBR but I don't like super dark books.