Reading Through the Seasons

Written By Olivia Scherzer

By: Haley Palmer

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, what’s the best genre of them all?

As a mood reader, it’s second nature for me to start and stop multiple books until I find something that just clicks. I don’t always know what I'm looking for until I find it, but that’s the name of the game. I could be chasing a feeling of coziness in winter, or a beach vacation murder mystery in the summer. Personally, the different seasons can definitely impact my reading mood and journey. Atmosphere, location, characters, plot, and even descriptive language all play a part when I'm choosing my seasonal reads.

During the fall months, I might be drawn to gothic horror and witchy romance, but during spring I could want a fantasy with earth magic or a small town cowboy romance. Books are one of the only ways to travel to places never been, to feel the breeze of an ocean never sailed, to smell the flowers of a land never walked. I want the stories that I read to pull me into a place I long for, to either reflect what I'm already feeling or open me to a new world of emotions I didn’t realize I was chasing. 

Winter and Fall

Let’s dive deeper for each season.

During the winter, I'm definitely reaching for cozy fantasy, winter romance, and some high fantasy to end the year with a bang.

There is something so whimsical about winter—but that could definitely have something to do with the embarrassing amount of cringey holiday Hallmark movies I watch with my family. It reminds me of staying up past my bedtime to finish one more chapter, as rain would pelt the windows in a soft pitter-patter, my eyes closing before I could stop them. Waking up on Christmas morning and wondering if the box set I asked for was wrapped underneath the tree. It reminds me of being a child, of letting my imagination run wild, and that is what I crave for in my winter reads.

I went onto my social media and asked my community what they craved for each season as well. Some look for holiday romance and fantasy with political intrigue, world building, and magic. Others want denser, dark, serious, melancholic and heavier books, wanting to take their time when reading as Winter can be seen as a slower season.

Here are some Winter book recommendations from us to you.

  1. Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree*

  2. The Wedding Witch by Erin Sterling

  3. The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne

  4. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

  5. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

  6. Beloved by Toni Morrison

  7. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

  8. Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma*

  9. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

  10. The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

  11. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

  12. A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic by J. Penner

As someone who absolutely loves Halloween, I definitely gravitate towards gothic horror, speculative fiction, and magical mysteries. There’s something about seeing the leaves change color, the wind having a slight chill as it blows through the streets. Driving by haunted houses and immaculately decorated homes for the holiday makes me even more excited to jump into stories that reflect that atmosphere and make me feel a bit scared and spooked.

My birthday is in November as well, so for that month I usually reach for some of my most anticipated reads or something I believe will be a 5-star, regardless of genre. Others look for books big on tenderness and nostalgia, cozy and warm found family stories, and light-hearted comedies.

Here are some Fall book recommendations from us to you.

  1. The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

  2. The Hacienda by Isabel Canas

  3. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

  4. There There by Tommy Orange

  5. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

  6. The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa

  7. All Systems Red by Martha Wells

  8. Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica*

  9. Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

  10. Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle

  11. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

  12. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

  13. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury*

  14. Dune by Frank Herbert

Spring and Summer

To me, Spring represents new life, as the flowers are blooming and my mom’s garden in the backyard has started to grow. It’s the smell of dew clung onto leaves, and pollen in the air. It’s thawing from the colder months and waking up with the sun.

I definitely look for found family and sports romance books during this season, as well as political uprisings and fighting for a better world. I love reading about a hero’s journey as they stumble upon new comrades, or students starting a new semester in college, awaiting their future. I want to chase the feeling of starting a new chapter and (hopefully) finding a happy ending. My community tends to lean towards fun, adventurous and hopeful reads, rom-coms and more mature romance books.

Here are some Spring book recommendations from us to you.

  1. Room with a View by E.M. Forster

  2. Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih

  3. Deep End by Ali Hazelwood*

  4. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

  5. Where the Axe is Buried by Ray Nayler*

  6. A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna*

  7. Collide by Bal Khabra

  8. Behind the Net by Stephanie Archer

  9. Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

  10. Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

When it comes to Summer, I enjoy reading in my backyard, the smell of sunscreen mixing with the flowers, the sound of birds and bugs keeping me company as the clouds move through the clear sky.

As Summer isn’t one of my favorite seasons, I try to find books that will make me enjoy it more, whether that’s a vacation romance, a summery murder-mystery or science fiction book, low-stakes fantasy, or just weird books. I find I prefer more descriptive books of setting and location during this time to really transport me to the places in the story. Others prefer literary fiction, romance books with the feeling of anything being possible, urban fantasy and historical fiction, and fun and adventurous stories.

Here are some Summer book recommendations from us to you.

  1. We the Animals by Justin Torres

  2. If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga

  3. Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

  4. Lie with Me by Philippe Besson

  5. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

  6. The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

  7. When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur

  8. The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

  9. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

  10. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler*

  11. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

  12. The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson*

  13. Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

  14. The Fury by Alex Michaelides

  15. Life for Sale by Yukio Mishima*

What Will You Read Next?

My favorite thing about reading is the power it has to transport me to every single corner of the world. I don’t need to book a plane ticket and travel across the globe to experience different cities and cultures and people. If you expand your tastes when it comes to reading, you can truly access so many stories that will open your eyes to the world around you. If you want to go to a summer beach house, but you can’t take the time off of work, reach for a book with that setting. I’ve found for myself that reading becomes more enjoyable when I realize what I want to get out of it, and making sure I curate my reads to best fit that. Chase the sun and the stars, look for the cozy and adventurous stories. I hope each season is better than the last. 

*Haley’s Favorites

Olivia Scherzer
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