Discussion

Let’s Talk Bookish | Do You Read Seasonally?

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme where participants discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts. Originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books, it’s now hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits.


This week’s topic is:

Reading Seasonally

(submitted by Mikaela @ Mikaela Reads)

Prompts: Do you read seasonally? Do you like a beach read in summer, a spooky book in the autumn and holiday themed ones in winter? What’s your favorite season? Do you have any favorite seasonal reads?

These are a few of my favorite things…

I LOVE to read seasonally. Give me a book set at the beach to read poolside… or a mystical dark academia book to read as the leaves are changing… or a holiday romance to read by my fairy-light decorated Christmas tree… and I’m in bookish heaven.

But loving to read seasonally and actually making it happen are two very different things. Especially when I’m primarily reading advanced reader copies, which tend to be a season ahead, if they’re seasonal. But I try to work in at least one or two seasonal reads each season because I think it only enhances the story, making my reading experience so much more memorable.

What’s my favorite season?? It’s an impossible question for me to answer because it tends to be whatever season I’m currently in. 😉

My ideal reading experience is reading a book during the season it’s set in, which increases the chance that the book will hit that sweet spot of being the right book at the right time.

Memorable books I read during the season they were set:

  • Set in summer – Even though I read We Were Liars by E. Lockhart over seven years ago, I still remember the experience of reading it poolside on vacation. I couldn’t put it down!
  • Set in autumn – Last year I reread The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater for the tenth anniversary, and reading it in early November when it’s set, only made the story more meaningful.
  • Set in winter – I’ve read Christina Lauren’s In a Holidaze twice over the past two previous winter holidays. I’m hoping to make it an annual tradition.
  • Set in spring – Books set specifically in spring are much harder to come by, but last spring I found myself reading Just the Two of Us by Jo Wilde, a romance set during the early days of the pandemic. Reading it outside in the crisp, fresh air, with the flowers blooming and the birds chirping only added charm to this sweet romance.

Books I wish I’d read during the season they were set:

  • Set primarily in the summer – I read Every Summer After by Carley Fortune in late spring, but I know reading it poolside or while on vacation would have made it even more memorable.
  • Set in the fall – I read This May End Badly by Samantha Markum in the dog days of summer, but this YA book set at the start of the school year is a perfect fall read. I also read How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton during the summer, but this romance is set around Halloween, with plenty of festive references and mentions of pumpkin flavored goodies.
  • Set primarily in the winter – I read Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis, The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan, and One Day in December by Josie Silver during the fall season, but all three are perfect curl-by-the-fire books!

Let’s Discuss!

Do you like to read seasonally? Do you have any seasonal reads to recommend? Let me know in the comments!

18 thoughts on “Let’s Talk Bookish | Do You Read Seasonally?”

  1. Interesting question – loved your post. Fall is my favourite season (being a teacher helps with that) but I don’t often read seasonally. I’m more of a mood reader.

  2. Because I read mostly ARC’s now, I don’t really read seasonally. Since the ARC’s come out a month or two before the season, I at least read similar books, just early.

    1. Yep, same here. Sometimes they work out seasonally, but not very often. I do try to fit in a few seasonal reads between the ARCs. And I try to free up the month of December so I can read as many holiday books as I can.

  3. Great post! I don’t tend to read seasonally though I do pick up a book every now and again when it perfect fits the season. It’s definitely tough to read seasonally when you’re primarily reading ARCs though! I read In A Holidaze last Christmas and it was so much fun! We Were Liars is also the perfect summer read.

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