DÔEN & Library Science
A Reader’s Reverie
We found a profound sense of escapism back in 2020 when Library Science, an online book club co-founded by Kaia Gerber and Alyssa Reeder, began hosting thoughtful interviews via Instagram Live with Kaia and authors like Jia Tolentino and Jeremy O. Harris. Building a community of avid readers, book enthusiasts, friends, and fans, Kaia and Alyssa made a point to focus on books and authors they were interested in—not just books that were popular. Since then, the book club has evolved, serving as a destination for discussions around race, loss, motherhood, and more, spanning across debut fiction, short stories, and plays that venture beyond the more commercial best-seller lists, often featuring new or underrepresented voices—many of them women.
With a shared philosophy that books are indeed for everyone, we teamed up with Library Science on a limited-run Lillian Nightgown, a light-as-air cotton-voile style accented with Alice Blue embroidery and grosgrain ribbon, plus an embroidered “LS” monogram at the hem—a nod to a detail found on antique nightgowns we’ve always admired.
A Library Science Reading List
A few of Kaia and Alyssa’s most recent reads.
“I Am Alien to Life” by Djuna Barnes
“Djuna Barnes is most notably remembered for her novel ‘Nightwood,’ a cult classic of lesbian fiction. But later in her life, it was short fiction she prized (and revised) most. This collection of her stories, edited and introduced by writer and critic Merve Emre, feels like treasures unearthed.”
“Brat” by Gabriel Smith
“Part ghost story, part grief story, this debut novel flirts with autofiction, while sitting squarely in the tradition of the gothic novel. Strange, haunting, and somewhat swayed by the rhythm of the internet, this book refuses to take itself too seriously. It’s a fun read, and hard to stop talking about.”
“Role Play” by Clara Drummond
“We chased after an early copy of this novella—it’s Clara’s first to be translated to English—and fell in love with it quickly. ‘Role Play’ examines the superabundances of Brazilian elites, brilliantly opening up a conversation about performative politics, acting in everyday life, cycles of behavior, heteronormative gender roles—and the ways in which people are horrible and funny and complex all at once.”
Reading Companions
Our collaboration nightgown was designed with hours spent reading in mind, so here are a few bedfellows we’re rarely without…
PUTTING PEN TO PAPER
Our love of the classic micro-fine LePen knows no bounds. We suggest getting a mix of assorted colors—they have everything from Burgundy to Green and Classic Black.
Our friends at Library Science are proponents of marking up your books, writing in the margins, and dog-earing pages, and we are, too. Their cheekily named Nepo Highlighter, in a fluorescent yellow, will be back in stock soon.
TO HOLD OUR PLACE
For purists, a Smythson leather Bookmark is sure to delight any design-minded bibliophile.
FOR WHEN WE CAN’T PUT A BOOK DOWN
To read whilst under the covers, DesignWorks’ Book Light makes the perfect reading companion with three light temperatures and a charging cable.
Everything is a Bookmark
From hair clips and movie ticket stubs to subway cards and days-old receipts— everything is a bookmark, Library Science explains. We’re deeply inspired by the idiosyncratic ways in which we save our place between the pages…
Images courtesy of @LibraryScience
“That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Dôen Reading List
A few of our tried-and-true favorites.
“Foster” by Claire Keegan
A bite-sized book that, for all its brevity, does not lack in gravity...a moving meditation on a child's mind, care, wonder, beauty, and all the complexity that lies beneath the surface of any meaningful relationship.
“These are My Flowers: Raising a Family on the Big Sur Coast” by Nancy Hopkins
This series of letters intimately unravels the author’s experience raising her family on a ridge overlooking the wild and volatile Big Sur Coast in the 1950s.
“Slouching Towards Bethlehem” by Joan Didion
An enduring classic that never fails to reveal something new each time we read it. Surreal stories about the ‘70s in California, political commentary, and Didion’s personal history intertwine in this series of short essays that feel like true treasures.
“Feel Free” by Zadie Smith
A collection of essays by one of our all-time favorite writers. Sharp and brilliantly written, it’s a portrait of the modern world through acutely observant eyes.
In Support of Room to Read
We are thrilled to donate 20% of the profits from each DÔEN & Library Science Lillian Nightgown sold to our longtime partner, Room to Read, an organization that promotes literacy and gender equality through education, by helping children in historically low-income communities develop literacy skills and a habit of reading, and by supporting girls as they build life skills to succeed in school and negotiate key life decisions.
Room to Read collaborates with governments and other partner organizations to deliver positive outcomes for children at scale and has benefited more than 45 million children across 24 countries. The organization has been the recipient of numerous awards including the UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education and the Library of Congress Literacy Award. Since we launched DÔEN in 2016, with the support of customer donations and our fundraising products, we have raised $268,000, which Room to Read effectively uses to send 893 girls each to school for one year, says our co-founder, Margaret Kleveland.
Image Credits
{“Oleanders” by Vincent Van Gogh (1888) // Page 24 of American Cookery (1914) // “Still Life with Flowers in a Glass Vase” by Rachel Ruysch (c. 1690-1720) // “Hackensack Meadows” by Jasper Francis Cropsey (1890) // “An Interesting Story (Miss Ray)” by William Wood (1806) // “Vase of Flowers (Pink Background)” by Odilon Redon (c. 1906)}
