DocoftheDarkArts | MEMBER EXCLUSIVE: Weekly Reading Upd...

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE: Weekly Reading Update 5/30/26 - 6/5/26

• The Broken Binding SE Website: https://thebrokenbindingsub.com/collections/dragons-hoard?rs_ref=FjdvMiYp or use code "DARK" for special edition book.

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Join Bob Stuntz’s community to keep reading and unlock 7 exclusive benefits including:

• Access to exclusive content
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• You pick a book for me to read each month

July Reading Update

• The Broken Binding SE Website: https://thebrokenbindingsub.com/collections/dragons-hoard?rs_ref=FjdvMiYp or use code "DARK" for special edition books.
• 15% off at The Broken Binding https://www.thebrokenbinding.co.uk/ : Use code "DARK15"
• 10% off Bookish Clothing at https://flowersandfantasyco.com : Use code "BOOKDOC10"
• Support indie bookstores by buying books from my Bookshop.org affiliate store: https://bookshop.org/shop/docofthedarkarts

The Sunday Prescription: June 28, 2026

Symptoms: Tribalism in Bookish Spaces
I have been thinking a lot recently about how we, as people, have a natural tendency towards tribalism. From an evolutionary sense, it is a highly logical reaction - often in our ancient history, finding a group of people and sticking with them meant safety and access to resources. It's a fascinating phenomenon from a neuroscience standpoint as well. Research has shown that feeling like you are part of a group activates circuits in our brains that have to do with rewards and positive associations, and even activates empathy (at least within our tribe). And of course, as with all things, there are positive and negative aspects of tribalism.

Over the last year in the online book space, I have seen a lot of the positive aspects of this - the support that people who feel some sort of connection with the content I put out there has been overwhelming and amazing. But of course, there are downsides as well...

Poll: Where do you get most of your books?

One reading topic, one week of plans, and plenty of books administered weekly for chronic readers.
My new Fable Book Club starts this Wednesday, July 1 with Our Sister's Keeper by Jasmine Holmes. The book club is called Dr. Bob's Literary Apothecary, and our goal is to read diverse authors, diverse genres, and try to find diverse books that aren't popping up on your algorithm!
In terms of reading, I was on vacation last week and, being at the beach, had loads of great reading time!

July Reading Challenge

Participants are eligible for a $25 bookshop.org gift card as long as they complete the challenge on StoryGraph, or share what they read on the challenge channel in our Discord server. The theme for July is "Choose a book by its cover."

Want More In-Depth Access?
If you enjoy getting into the details with me about reading, then consider upgrading to The Dark Travelers tier! My Dark Travelers get an exclusive Discord role and channels, a weekly deep dive reading update video, early access to YouTube videos, and each month they get to pick a book for me to read. This can be a book they want to read with me, or something they want me to try for them. It's super fun and a great tight knit group that I really enjoy talking books with!