Greetings my beautiful cuddlebugs, welcome to today's episode where I give my thoughts on If We Were Villians by M.L. Rio. 

Dark Side of the Library Podcast Episode #167: Dark Adult Fiction Coming Out January 2024

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Anna O, by Matthew Blake (Jan 2)

https://amzn.to/4aUDAZV

The Atlas Complex, by Olivie Blake (Jan 9)

https://amzn.to/49izNog

The City of Stardust, by Georgia Summers (Jan 30)

https://amzn.to/3QRZIw1

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years: A Novel, by Shubnum Khan (January 9)

https://amzn.to/47AGK2g

Eye of a Little God, by A.J. Steiger (Jan 2)

https://amzn.to/40mFZaC

Exordia, by Seth Dickinson (January 23)

https://amzn.to/414xMIH

The Fury, by Alex Michaelides (January 16)

https://amzn.to/3TPc8Xp

Gothikana by RuNyx (Jan 23)

https://amzn.to/3seZHbV

The Heiress, by Rachel Hawkins (Jan 9)

https://amzn.to/3tYVYj4

The House of Last Resort, by Christopher Golden (Jan 30)

https://amzn.to/47bhOPj

The Last Immortal, by Natalie Gibson (Jan 23)

https://amzn.to/3SqBk5E

Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge, by Lizzie Pook (Jan 16)

https://amzn.to/3Smvylp

Midnight on Beacon Street: A Novel, by Emily Ruth Verona (January 30)

https://amzn.to/476IK1x

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, by Janice Hallett (Jan 23)

https://amzn.to/3u6kcYD

The Parliament, by Aimee Pokwatka (Jan 16)

https://amzn.to/49hZ4Po

Rosemary’s Baby (Reprint, with Chuck Palahniuk foreword), by Ira Levin (Jan 9) 

https://amzn.to/40otxHj

Sanctuary of the Shadow, by Aurora Ascher (January 9)

https://amzn.to/3TwKE8s

Sons of Darkness, by Gourav Mohanty (January 9)

https://amzn.to/47cy1m9

Where You End, by Abbott Kahler (Jan 16)

https://amzn.to/45X2t3a

Wild Magic, by Alexandra Ivy (Jan 2)

https://amzn.to/3tuk6dL

Womb City, by Tlotlo Tsamaase (Jan 23)

https://amzn.to/46W7bzE

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Dark Side of the Library Podcast Episode #163: Dark Adult Fiction Novels Coming Out December 2023 

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After World, by Debbie Urbanski (Dec 5)

https://amzn.to/3RbdBE6

Aliens: Bishop, by T.R. Napper (Dec 5)

https://amzn.to/3t2wBwO

The Curse of Penryth Hall: A Mystery, by Jess Armstrong ( December 5)

https://amzn.to/3semgNL

Dark Encounters: A Collection of Ghost Stories, by William Croft Dickinson (Dec 5)

https://amzn.to/3T4MX2w

The Daughters of Block Island, by Christa Carmen (Dec 1)

https://amzn.to/3Rtjnmf

Death in the Dark Woods (A Monster Hunter Mystery), by Annelise Ryan (Dec 12)

https://amzn.to/45SijfD

The Folly, by Gemma Amor (Dec 5)

https://amzn.to/3Sx4Jei

Lest She Forget, by Lisa Malice (Dec 12)

https://amzn.to/3uU9c0Q

Manner of Death, by Robin Cook (December 5)

https://amzn.to/3Tan01r

Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch (Dec 5)

https://amzn.to/46EFsCA

Salt & Broom, by Sharon Lynn Fisher (Dec 1)

https://amzn.to/3R00u8U

The Serpent & the Wings of Night (Crowns of Nyaxia, 1), by Carissa Broadbent (December 5)

https://amzn.to/3SN7o3R

Sunny, by Danny O’Sullivan (Dec 5)

https://amzn.to/4a82JQk

Yours for the Taking, by Gabrielle Korn (Dec 5)

https://amzn.to/3T7T31Z

What Waits in the Woods, by Terri Parlato (Dec 26)

https://amzn.to/3RsJIAy

Where the Dead Wait, by Ally Wilkes (Dec 5)

https://amzn.to/47jbrbZ

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Dark Side of the Library Podcast Episode #160: Dark Non Fiction Books Coming Out November 2023 

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Accidental: Rebuilding a Life After Taking One, by David W. Peters (November 7)

https://amzn.to/46ynxOe

Afterlives of Endor: Witchcraft, Theatricality, and Uncertainty from the "Malleus Maleficarum" to Shakespeare, by Laura Levine (Nov 15)

https://amzn.to/3QI3hVn

Anatomical Oddities: The Otherworldly Realms Hidden within Our Bodies, by Alice Roberts (Author), Holly Dunsworth (November 7)

https://amzn.to/3QdrzGl

The Art of Ectoplasm: Encounters with Winnipeg's Ghost Photographs, by Serena Keshavjee (November 1)

https://amzn.to/3tlSlUc

Bat Island: A Rare Journey into the Hidden World of Tropical Bats, by Dr. Rachel A. Page (Author), Dr. Dina K. N. Dechmann (Author), Dr. M. Teague O'Mara (November 21)

https://amzn.to/45oxmgR

Conjuring the Calabash: Empowering Women with Hoodoo Spells & Magick, by Mawiyah Kai El-Jamah Bomani (Nov 8)

https://amzn.to/47etKzk

Curepedia: The A–Z of The Cure, by Simon Price (November 7)

https://amzn.to/44YPC0X

David Bowie: Mixing Memory and Desire, by Kevin Cummins (November 14)

https://amzn.to/3FgrP18

The Devil Inside: The Dark Legacy of the Exorcist, by Carlos Acevedo (Nov 14)

https://amzn.to/3FLCUaN

Diseased Cinema: Plagues, Pandemics and Zombies in American Movies, by Robert Alpert (Nov 30)

https://amzn.to/3sn9cFO

Diablo: Horadric Vault - The Complete Collection, by Matt Burns (Author), Robert Brooks (Author), Matthew J. Kirby (Author), Blizzard Entertainment (November 7)

https://amzn.to/45MJjx3

Disney Villains Happily Never After: A Villainous Book of Love and Friendship for a Very Special Someone, by Disney (November 7)

https://amzn.to/449qeEu

The Exorcist Effect: Horror, Religion, and Demonic Belief, by Joseph P. Laycock and Eric Harrelson (Nov 7)

https://amzn.to/46NlcQ1

Fallen Angel: The Life of Edgar Allan Poe, by Robert Morgan (November 15)

https://amzn.to/46vIg5c

The Feeling of Letting Die: Necroeconomics and Victorian Fiction, by Jennifer MacLure (Nov 2)

https://amzn.to/3sn8Kr6

The Full Moon Yearbook, by Julie Peters (Nov 28)

https://amzn.to/49lgjiF

How to Think About Catastrophe: Toward a Theory of Enlightened Doomsaying (Studies in Violence, Mimesis & Culture), by Jean-Pierre Dupuy (November 1)

https://amzn.to/3tndKw4

Starkweather: The Untold Story of the Killing Spree That Changed America, by Harry N. MacLean (Nov 28)

https://amzn.to/3tUeRnb

UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government's Search for Alien Life Here―and Out There, by Garrett M. Graff (Nov 14)

https://amzn.to/49i3LbX

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Cette semaine nous plongeons dans l'univers d'If we were villains: une lecture qui ne peut vous laisser indifférent! Amateur de Shakespeare et de romans Dark academia, rejoignez moi dans cette magnifique découverte !

Dark Side of the Library Podcast Episode #146: Dark Adult Fiction Books Coming Out September 2023 Part 2

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Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology, by Shane Hawk (Editor), Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. (September 19)

https://amzn.to/44pfVwL

Not Forever, but For Now, by Chuck Palahniuk (Sep 5)

https://amzn.to/3Pr9apG

Playing the Witch Card, by KJ Dell’Antonia (Sep 12)

https://amzn.to/43YBPGS

Red Rabbit, by Alex Grecian (Sep 19)

https://amzn.to/46yKa5V

Rouge, by Mona Awad (September 12)

https://amzn.to/3Oe5Ltq

The September House, by Carissa Orlando (September 5)

https://amzn.to/44oxA7W

The Square of Sevens, by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Sep 5)

https://amzn.to/3r79Ir6

Schrader’s Chord, by Scott Leeds (Sep 5)

https://amzn.to/3Z7ZRO8

The Stranger Upstairs, by Lisa M. Matlin (September 12)

https://amzn.to/3rwX6ZT

What Kind of Mother, by Clay Chapman (Sep 12)

https://amzn.to/437Fxgf

Witch of Wild Things, by Rachel Vasquez Gilliland (Sep 12)

https://amzn.to/3NqeTcO

The Witching Tide, by Margaret Meyer (Sep 5)

https://amzn.to/3NqgcZg

With Regrets, by Lee Kelly (Sep 5)

https://amzn.to/3JpdsKe

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Dark Side of the Library Minisode #92: "The Salt Grows Heavy" by Cassandra Khaw

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The Salt Grows Heavy:

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassandra_Khaw

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Dark Side of the Library Podcast Episode #122: Dark Young Adult Books Released in April 2023

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A Hunger of Thorns, by Lili Wilkinson (April 18)

https://amzn.to/3krVvRV

Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything, by Justine Pucella Winans (April 11)

https://amzn.to/4013Snd

The Cherished, by Patricia Ward (April 18)

https://amzn.to/3YXDj0K

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls, by Cherie Dimaline (April 4)

https://amzn.to/3JMZkuU

Giften, by Leyla Suzan (April 4)

https://amzn.to/3LvccqU

Harvest House, by Cynthia Leitich Smith ( April 11)

https://amzn.to/3JL0YgO

The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie, by Bryan Thomas Schmidt + Henry Herz (April 11)

https://amzn.to/3FvtKzk

He Who Breaks the Earth (The Gods-Touched Duology,) by Caitlin Sangster (April 11)

https://amzn.to/42iPd8t

The Immeasurable Depth of You, by Maria Ingrande Mora (April 4)

https://amzn.to/42mITNq

The Lake House, by Sarah Beth Durst (April 25)

https://amzn.to/3JOnrcK

Snow & Poison, by Melissa de la Cruz  (April 18)

https://amzn.to/3wftqjb

Someone Is Always Watching, by Kelley Armstrong (April 11)

https://amzn.to/3LwJV3m

Star Splitter, by Matthew J. Kirby (April 25)

https://amzn.to/42idFXA

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Brea and Mallory discuss dark academia, review a reading pillow, and give advice on how to dump a good book. Email us at readingglassespodcast at gmail dot com!

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Books Mentioned - 

Saving Time by Jenny Odell

Mister Magic by Kiersten White

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

The Cloisters by Katy Hays

Dark Academia...Preppy... Cottage Core... If you spend any time on Booktok, you may have noticed that there is a lot of talk of character aesthetics, as well as an aesthetic in general, which seem to have supplanted genre. That, and in certain genres, tropes such as #friendstolovers or #forcedproximity, are how readers are deciding which book to read next. You’ve also probably heard that the highest grossing romance novel of all time, 50 Shades of Grey, started off as Twilight fan fiction. You may have been wondering, should I care about this?

No one is going to tell you that you have to write to the market, or that you need to fit into a particular aesthetic or fandom. But if you do decide to, there are some things you can absolutely leverage to make your book more likely to succeed commercially. Who knows? Maybe your book will launch the next superfandom?

A gem from our archive! Way back on March 14, 1993, the then fresh new Southern author, Donna Tartt, visited the John Adams hot on the heels of her massive bestseller 'The Secret History', currently translated into 24 languages and counting.  

'The Secret History' takes place at a fictional college where a close-knit group of six students embark upon a secretive plan to stage a bacchanal, a plan that ultimately leads to a death. Tartt has subsequently written 'The Little Friend' and 'The Goldfinch, the latter of which became a bestseller, a film and a Book of the Year by numerous publications including, New York Times Book Review, the Economist and NPR. 'The Goldfinch' even won the Pulitzer Prize.

Alex and Jeremy attempt to understand an "aesthetic"