The #YSJBigSummerRead is back! And this year, we’re reading Babel, by Rebecca F. Kuang!
The York St John Big Summer Read returns this year, and everyone is invited to read-along with us, whether you’re a student at YSJU, a member of staff, or just someone who loves reading!
This year’s novel is Babel: Or, The Necessity of Violence, An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’s Revolution by Rebecca F. Kuang (author of Yellowface, which we taught this year on our Level 5 module “Literature at Work”). Set in a fantastical dark academia version of the 1800s, Babel sees four students become embroiled in dangerous intrigue which, if they escape alive, will reveal the power of language, the violence of colonialism, and the sacrifices of resistance.
All you need to join the YSJ Big Summer Read is a copy of Babel!
You can then use the reading schedule below to read-along with us, sharing your thoughts, reflections, exotic summer reading locations or favourite quotations on social media using #YSJBigSummerRead
If you’d prefer to read at your own pace, that’s totally fine, we still look forward to hearing your thoughts, but please: NO SPOILERS if you zoom ahead!
You can find us on Twitter/X at @YSJLit or on Instagram at @WordsMatter_YSJ
Also, don’t forget to check out our #YSJBigSummerRead playlist on Spotify.
#YSJBigSummer Read – Reading Schedule
| Week | Date |
Chapter
|
No of Chapters |
| 1 |
1/6/24 – 7/6/24
|
Chapter 1-2 | 2 |
| 2 |
8/6/24 – 14/6/24
|
Chapter 3-5 | 3 |
| 3 |
15/6/24 – 21/6/24
|
Chapter 6-8 | 2 |
| 4 |
22/6/24 – 28 /6/24
|
Chapter 9-11 | 3 |
| 5 |
29/6/24 – 5/7/24
|
Chapter 12-14 | 2 |
| 6 |
6/7/24 – 12/7/24
|
Chapter 15-17 | 3 |
| 7 |
13/7/24 – 19/7/24
|
Chapter 18-20 | 2 |
| 8 |
20/7/24 – 26/7/24
|
Chapter 21-23 | 3 |
| 9 |
27/7/24 – 2/8/24
|
Chapter 24-26 | 2 |
| 10 |
3/8/24 – 9/8/24
|
Chapter 27-28 | 2 |
| 11 |
10/8/24 – 16/8/24
|
Chapter 29-30 | 2 |
| 12 |
17/8/24 – 23/8/24
|
Chapter 31-32 | 2 |
| 13 |
24/8/24 – 30/8/24
|
Chapter 33 | 1 |