We who are in the business of books are also in the business of bettering ourselves daily. Books teach, shape and instruct us - sometimes consciously and sometimes latently, through slow expansions of our world view and gradual realizations of things we never knew before. So not only do we love books, we also love knowledge. And in our opinion, there is no better way to acquire it than by merging the two seamlessly.

In that vein, Coursera has once again come through.
For all unfamiliar with the platform, Coursera is a website which enables everyone to partake in online courses taught by university professors from all over the world - for free. The online courses in question cover various fields, from computer to social sciences, and from law and engineering to - yes, you guessed it - literature.

Among the various literature courses Coursera is offering for the upcoming months, one has caught our particular interest as being tailor-made for us fiction-lovers, and for anyone who prefers their books with a dose of the fantastical.

© 2015: Coursera.org

During the summer of 2015, from June 1st until August 21st, the University of Michigan is offering a free online course which focuses primarily on the 'pillars' of the fantasy and science-fiction genres. Aptly titled Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World, the course is set to cover the fundamentals of fantasy and science-fiction, both in their inception and as we conceptualize them today.

 The full course load, the reading lists and all the specifics (including how to sign up) are available at the course's page at Coursera.org. At the end of the course, a certificate will be handed out to those who have participated. We at The Honest Bookclub are in no way affiliated with the website or the University - merely keen on studying the literature we love from all angles and fresh perspectives, and even keener on sharing it with others.

 We hope to see you in the course's forums in June!



For any additional information or to contact us, leave us a comment below or find us on social media everywhere. We champion the no such thing as a stupid question maxim, and we'd love to hear from you even if it's just a quick hello.