Books for the Four Seasons

Each season brings its own charm and particular atmosphere to all aspects of our daily lives. Sometimes, the current season also has some influence on what books we will pick up to read. Maybe you associate some books or authors with a particular time of the year, maybe it’s the weather outside or your nostalgia, or maybe you don’t care at all what season it is! Either way, I thought it would be fun to discuss how the seasons prompt us to pick up certain types of books. Perhaps you’ll agree on some, and think the total opposite on others. Keep in mind that this is just my feeling on this topic, and of course no book is bound to be read only in one particular season!

Spring Books

When thinking of spring, the first thing that comes to mind are blooming flowers and singing birds. The days are starting to get longer and the weather warmer – perfect for relaxing on your balcony or a bench in your local park with a good book in your hands!

Spring provides that overall romantic feeling well suited for your classic Jane Austin novels or some contemporary love stories. In general, I feel spring is a good time for books dealing with emotions or provoking new ideas; or books that just give you that magical feeling of being transported into their world.

Some good examples for me are magical realism books by Haruki Murakami like Kafka on the Shore and 1Q84. Another one that comes to mind is Huxley’s Brave New World, my favorite of all the classic dystopian novels.

Spring is also a great time to get into poetry (something I should do myself!), either picking up classics or checking out some recommendations. There are lots of ways you can enjoy poetry: from normal reading, re-reading for meaning, re-reading for the sound, etc. What better way to do that than surrounded by singing birds and the fresh smell of spring flowers?

Summer Books

The summer months represent the best time of the year for many people, and for good reason. Most of our responsibilities are either done or put on hold for summer vacation. We enjoy the sun, beaches and cold drinks with our friends. Even though it is vacation season and we should have more free time, there are so many options for outdoor activities that it can be challenging to find time to read. Luckily summer days are long and hopefully there will be plenty of opportunities for nice reading sessions under the sun!

For the summer I like picking up ‘lighter books’, ones that may not ask a big commitment from my side – either by the number of pages I have to read or the mental capacity I have to devote to reading them. I usually pick more contemporary novels over classics, and read fiction rather than nonfiction.

I also found that I am much more willing to experiment with some reading suggestions, or pick up something from the store which I didn’t research too much. Sometimes it turns out to be good, sometimes it’s a fail for me, but it’s fun to give yourself the option to go old school and pick up some books based on the cover and the short summary you see on the back.

Speaking of the cover art, it helps if the artwork has some depiction of the Sun, the ocean, or clear skies…maybe it’s a minor thing, but it adds to those summer vibes and general vacation feeling.

Another aspect worth considering is the physical aspect of different editions – hard cover vs paperback and the book size. If you are traveling a lot during your summer break, you probably want to go with paperbacks and smaller sized books since they are more convenient to pack and move around. Also, you don’t want sand and seawater all over your favorite, expensive, deluxe hard cover editions, do you?

Autumn Books

Ah, autumn…the bittersweet season. The summer is over and we have to go back to our schools and jobs, which is both a bummer and an opportunity for new beginnings. We still have some nice sunny days, and we have gloomy rainy days – which can also be cozy, if you don’t have to leave your house when its pouring, that is…

For me, Autumn is usually a good time to tackle a longer book I’ve been meaning to read, but did not manage up until that point in the year. Also, here I will start some books that I feel won’t have some nice uplifting spirit associated with hot summer days. Usually their themes would be more serious and the atmosphere overall more gloomy. What comes to mind here is East of Eden, 100 Years of Solitude, To Kill a Mockingbird or Flowers for Algernon.

Since October usually marks the ‘spooky’ season, this is also a good time to read something scary like Bram Stoker’s Dracula or Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Winter Books

I love winter, it’s probably my favorite season and definitely a great one for reading! It’s the holiday season – hopefully full of delicious food, warm blankets, and people you love around you. The days are short (at least in Croatia) and outdoor activities are more limited due to low temperatures. This is the perfect atmosphere to relax at home and get some quality reading done. Is there anything more cozy than reading a good book and drinking hot chocolate next to a warm fireplace while it’s snowing outside?

During winter months I tend to gravitate towards classics, particularly the works of great Russian writers: Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, War and Peace, The Master and Margarita…Maybe it has something to do with Russia being so well known for its cold winters. It is certainly a part of their identity, as the Russian Winter played an important role in military failures of multiple invasions on Russia. I just love the cozy feeling those books provide, together with all the amazing psychological and sociological themes they are dealing with. It’s the perfect winter read for me.

I also sometimes associate murder mysteries with winter months, probably the prime reason for that being Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express.

Winter is also perfect for a re-read of your favorite fantasy novels like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

Conclusion

Although I listed some examples of books I associate with particular seasons, this is of course all quite general and I could just as well pick up a Russian classic in the middle of the summer! Maybe some books are linked more to one season than the other, but the most important thing is not to get hung up on any restrictions and to always read what suits your mood. Luckily, there are a lot of books out there and hopefully we can enrich our lives with good ones throughout the whole year.

With that said, I wish you many more beautiful seasons of reading!

Do you have favorite books for each season?