IT’S ALMOST HALLOWEEN!!!! I love Halloween, mostly because I love dressing up in costumes with my family. ❤ But I have to say I enjoy October in general, and I love Halloween/fall decorations, especially pumpkins. It’s just such a fun time of year!
I also always enjoy seeing lists of spooky books for spooky season. I even did one of my own, once. But the thing is, I almost never read spooky books in October. Partly because I don’t enjoy scary/spooky books, but partly because I rarely think of it.
But this isn’t the only time of year I see seasonal lists. At Christmas it’s inevitable to see lists of Christmas-themed romance novels. It’s like the Hallmark channel, but in book form. In the summer I see lists of beach reads, some of which are romance novels with middle-aged women in bikinis under an umbrella, others of which are cling-to-the-edge-of-your-seat thrillers. In early January I tend to see self-help lists, or at least books about people getting their lives together.
But, I never read in this way.
I have to assume people do, right? Otherwise, we wouldn’t make these lists. But I just can’t fathom curating my reading list based on the weather.
Don’t get me wrong, I see the appeal. It helps you get in the mood of the season! I’m also not hating on people who do read seasonally. That shows a level of organization and dedication that I just do not have. I mean, you have to PLAN AHEAD to make sure your tbr is full of spooky books before October even starts so you have time to get your hands on them all!
So how about you? Do you read seasonally? Why or why not? Let me know in the comments!
Over the summer, or during pandemic season, I read light beach reads. I read more literary stuff the rest of the time. I’m trying to have at least one “heavier” book in the rotation though
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I understand that! A lot of people have been reading lighter books during the pandemic, it sounds like. To help take their mind of how not light things are right now.
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Exactly
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Oooh. I’d say yes and no: I don’t set out to read seasonally, but I do RE-read certain books at certain times. It was just St. Crispin’s Day on October 25th, so my friends and I read Henry V’s speech even if we don’t read the whole play/watch a film of it. St. Alfred’s Day is October 26th, so if I can, I reread Chesterton’s The Ballad of the White Horse. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever gets reread during Advent. Generally I reread The Dream of the Rood, Tales of the Kingdom/Tales of the Resistance, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on Good Friday.
Also, I know you didn’t actually *request* any seasonal books. But Rumer Godden’s _Mr. McFadden’s Halloween_ is sweet.
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I read the Best Christmas Pageant Ever to my students at this time of year a few years ago. It didn’t age very well, lol, but they still really enjoyed it. I have a blogging friend who reads Tolkien’s letters to Saint Nick every Christmas.
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I don’t read seasonally. I read books anytime of the year no matter in which season list it falls. I can read Christmas books throughout the year as I simply love them. If by luck I got a book that is perfect fit for season then all good. I get season feel alright but it doesn’t change much.
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Oh I definitely wouldn’t want to read a Christmas book in, say, November. I’m such a scrooge until late November, lol.
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Is that being a Scrooge? OR is it just observing the seasons as they actually are so that you can properly rejoice in Christmas when it’s *actually Christmastime?*
/steps off accidental soapbox
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lol
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Great post! I dont read seasonally, the only I really do is read spookier books around Halloween.
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I’ve done that once or twice, and it is a fun way to get in the spirit of spooky season. 🙂
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It really is. I’ve never read a Christmas book but I might give it a go seeing as its my fave time of year!!!!
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Not really but I did try this month to read some thriller to get in the mood
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I find it so funny that apparently for a lot of people thrillers are beach reads. Like, what? haha
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I love reading seasonal books in the matching season. Mostly because I live in the desert and we have no real seasons which I find quite depressing. So reading books set in fall right now cheers me up!
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That makes sense! I do love the look of a New England fall, and wish there were more books that really put it on the page. We don’t get much fall around here.
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I rarely read seasonally, as that sometimes seems like just too much of a good thing. In fact, I often like to read something from the opposite calendar seasons.
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That’s fair. I tend to become a grinch if I go overboard on the Christmas music/movies/books/whatever.
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Singapore has exactly one season (hot, sometimes hot and wet), so seasonal reading is kinda out? Although this year, I’ve got an advent calendar so I’m going to try and read a few Christmas books in December!
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That sounds like fun! I hadn’t thought before right this moment how Euro-centric our ideas surrounding the holidays are. White Christmas? What even *is* that in most of the world?
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Funnily enough, Christmas = bright lights for me because that’s how we mark the season :p
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White Christmas specifically refers to a snowy Christmas, though. Not that I’ve ever experienced this phenomenon, but I did see it in Frosty the Snowman so that must mean it’s real somewhere. 🙂
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San Diego really has the same temperature almost year-round, but I do enjoy reading certain kinds of books based on the weather. It’s weird now that I think about it because I am such a mood reader, but I am almost guaranteed to devour atmospheric and horror during fall and mysteries/thrillers during the summer. I don’t know why? Especially since I would read them all year long but my reading has been so skewed to SFF the past couple of years, this is probably the only way to mix up my reading these days lol
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I suppose I was thinking of the seasons rotating around the holidays more than the weather, but I didn’t really think about how places that have the same weather year round might feel differently about this topic. It’s so interesting how where we live affects us in ways we might not even think about sometimes!
I have also been reading lots of SFF lately. Running out of books on my tbr in that genre, lol.
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The only time I attempt to do this is reading spooky books during October. Otherwise, I don’t. I live in California, we don’t really get the seasonal changes so it doesn’t really get me in the mood for anything to tailor my reading based on weather XD I also don’t really like Christmas themed books? They never sound interesting to me. And what even is a Thanksgiving themed book? I wouldn’t know what would qualify lol!
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Right? Christmas books are DEFINITELY not for me. My son really loves A Christmas Carol (specifically, the Muppet version) so I may try read that to him this Christmas, but other than that I’m just like, meh, no thanks. Which is weird, because I really like Christmas movies.
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I did enjoy reading a winter themed cozy mystery in the middle of a snow storm a few years ago, so I get the appeal. It’s fall here and I am about to start a fall themed mystery.
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Ooooo, cozies would make a great seasonal read! I never thought of that!
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While I don’t really plan my TBR as per seasons, I should admit that one or two of my TBR’s for each season will usually be seasonal. I mean who can resist reading ‘ A Christmas Carol’ on Christmas eve? 🙂 In England, especially in north, we get such good seasonal’s vibes that it is only natural to want to pick up Wuthering Heights come September, or Pride and Prejudice in spring 🙂
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Especially since those books were written so near you! I can’t say that September would make me think of Wuthering Heights at all around here, since it’s still pretty much 100 degrees and sunny every day, lol.
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I’m getting back to reading. This is my first Halloween that I’ve been reading I finished The Historian on Halloween evening. What a great book.
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I LOVE reading seasonally. Especially this year when I’m stuck inside due to COVID, it’s nice to be able to virtually experience some of the things I’m missing out on during the different seasons through reading!
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That’s a great point! I’m still outside on my back porch a lot, but that’s not quite as festive as, say, trick-or-treating.
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