By Kaity Chandrika Babel by R.F. Kuang I like books that live up to what the back cover promises—this is absolutely one of them. It’s a new-age dark academia tour-de-force (560 pages, but worth it) that focuses its commentary on the conquest of languages. R.F. Kuang’s Yale PhD research in East Asian Studies beautifully informs…
Look. We’re not saying these books are bad. Here at DOWN we don’t believe in judging books by their covers but by the content of their character. All we’re saying is that if you saw us reading this in public no you didn’t. When someone leans over our shoulder to ask what we’re reading on…
This week features recommendations from Tyler Watts ’25, our wonderful Creative Director. Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin This book is gonna hurt. Short enough to read it in a day, but trust that in the weeks that follow you won’t be able to get it out of your head. So much is revealed about relationships,…
This week features recommendations from Nora Hylton ’25, our wonderful Criticism Editor. The Idiot Summary: A spiraling presentation of the first year of college told from the perspective of Selin, a Turkish-American student at Harvard Univeristy. The novel follows the narrator as she rambles her way through making friends, struggling in classes, and becomes involved…
A collection of songs carefully curated by DOWN staff that set the tone for autumn.