Book Oblivion

Book Oblivion is an online global community of readers founded by Jessica Schad Manuel. Readers are passionate about the intersections of literature and philosophy. We trace the way ideas connect to each other and over time through reading literature, philosophy, art, and rhetorics. Many of us are academics gone rogue. We are here to nerd out over books and ideas, ask questions, and grow intellectually. 

Participants enroll from all over the world, including the United States, Spain, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Canada, United Kingdom, Mexico, and more. Most participants are college graduates, but this is not a requirement. Several participants are retired, some are working professionals, others are graduate students, and some are stay at home parents. The only requirement is a humble, intellectual curiosity and a desire to connect with others through conversation about ideas found in books.

This year we will offer live talks on Sunday mornings, Thursday evenings, and one Saturday afternoon a month.

Anyone unable to attend live will have access to the recordings within 48 hours. 

Jessica launched Book Oblivion with a desire to rescue books from oblivion and return them to the center of culture and conversation. We work really hard to create space and time for these conversations to take place and are often one of the only intellectual outlets for our participants. We all crave deeper connections to what we read and we have found that through discussing it with other curious readers. One of the greatest gifts of this community is given when participants move geographic locations. Despite relocating every aspect of their lives, they maintain the community connection with participants in Book Oblivion. 

Conversations take place in English, but we have participants reading in languages from all over the world. Discussions on translation choices make things really interesting. 

Jessica receives book lists from each instructor and arranges the readings for the year based on several factors, including participant feedback, accessibility of each text, and the overall schedule. Each instructor leads discussions based on their passions, expertise, and familiarity with the authors, books, or subjects. 

Our book selections focus on several themes: 

• Critical Theory and Philosophy
• Himalayas of Literature
• In Search of Lost Time
• Reading Beyond Murakami
• Reading With Wonder
• The Craft of Writing 

Participants can join for $97/month.

Definitely not, although many participants do. We offer the whole year as a bundle to encourage community and connection. 

You can enroll by becoming a Book Oblivion Member and you can cancel at any time. You’ll click on Join Now and decide if you want to enroll monthly or yearly.  

You can join our newsletter to find out more about Book Oblivion and receive updates on our reading community. 

We launched our first two courses in 2017 and moved to the community reading model in 2018. Each year offers a new reading list and opportunities to read and grow with the community. 

Membership includes access to the following 2022 courses: 

• Reading Ralph Ellison’s Juneteenth (3 weeks)
• Reading Dante’s Purgatorio (7 weeks)
• Reading Salman Rushdie’s Shame (4 weeks)
• Reading Dante’s Paradiso (9 weeks)
• Introduction to Adriana Cavarero (8 weeks)
• Reading the Aeneid (12 weeks)
• MyStory Workshop (4 weeks)
• Creative Reading Workshop (6 weeks)
• Digital Ontologies (3 weeks)
• Reading Teilhard de Chardin’s The Phenomenon of Man (13 weeks)
• Lament and Pearl S. Buck (4 weeks)
• Paul Scheerbart and Glass Architecture (2 weeks)
• Reading Joseph Campbell’s Primitive Mythology (8 weeks)
• Reading the Bhagavadgita (4 weeks)
• Introduction to Michel Henry (4 weeks)
• 10 additional conversations focused on Andreas Weber, Bessel van der Kolk, Robert Macfarlane, Damon Galgut, Joy Harjo, Anne Carson, Tim Ingold, Miriam Greenspan, Arundhati Roy, and Sebastian Junger. 

Sadly, yes. There is open enrollment throughout the month of December. Enrollment will close at midnight on December 31, 2021 so that we can concentrate on supporting our current members throughout the new year.