Dark Academia Reading Challenge

Welcome to my very first reading challenge that I’ve tried putting together myself! The theme is Dark Academia, which is an aesthetic often associated with Northern European private schools. It includes antiques, books, glasses and tweed outfits. You’ll also find silk scarves, taxidermy animals, greek mythology and marble busts. It can be many things, but if you look it up on Pinterest, you might get an idea of what it entails.

I’ve wanted to dive more into this Dark Academia feeling for a while, since I happen to be intrigued by the whole aesthetic. Also, it’s the perfect excuse for yet another reading challenge (that I probably will take years to finish, ssschh).

EDIT: Since I first made this challenge in 2020 a lot of new Dark Academia books have come into the world and I’ve decided to make an EXTENDED DARK ACADEMIA READING CHALLENGE – I’ll add whatever books I read that I think fits into the Dark Academia aesthetic and let it grow from there!

Making the list of books

It was fun trying to make up my own list for once and I might create more when I finally get around to finish some of the other reading challenges I’m working on. The list is a mix of books I’ve already read that I thought fit the list, as well as books found through Goodreads and Bookstagram conversations.

I hope you’ll find it fun and please tag me on social media (@madebypernille) if you choose to join the challenge, so I can follow your progress too! Don’t forget to use the hashtag #Darkacademyreads (Dark Academy Reads), so we can find each other 🙂

There are 30 books on the original list, and some of them might be outside your comfort zone, and that’s ok! You can always choose to switch one of them, for another favorite book of yours.

See the extended edition for further Dark Academia books to read.