Does the book you read depend upon the weather?

[Megan]

As I was getting ready for work this morning I started thinking about books I love to read during the spring rains. Then I realized one book would need to wait until a thunderstorm. This past winter I enjoyed reading "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This got me thinking...am I just odd or do others also choose books depending upon the weather.

[Tiffany]

Oh Megan, you're not odd at all - I do the same thing. Living in southern California though we don't get much rain so when it does I take advantage - I curl up in a blanket and make a big mug of hot chocolate and listen to the rain while I read. Love, love, love it! Sigh...I wonder how the husband would feel about moving to Seattle?! ha! Somehow I don't think my "better atmosphere to read by" excuse would go over well with him. ;)

[Hippo dari Hongkong]

We only have two season in here Meghan.
Rain season and dry season :)

And yes, Tiffany, I love reading when it's rain.
Listening the sound of it pouring down my roof :)

[Sarah]

In the hot summer days I like fluff books that don't take much brain power.

[Angie]

I am constantly reading new books... so I haven't really based it on the weather in a while. But I do think that if it is cold it is fun to read something I know I am going to love.. I like to read a series during that time.

[Megan]

I am glad to hear that I'm not the only one. I am in a bit of a conundrum though since mentally I am into my spring weather reading and we are supposed to get quite a few inches of snow...so I need to scramble for a snow/cold book. That's Minnesota for you...I love it!

[Charity]

I absolutely have to read books that go with the weather (and seasons). I'm glad that it's not just me. :-)

My yearly reading choices tend to go as follows:

Winter- Heavy books...nice and thick (typically older classics with a lot of depth or books with a more wintry theme, including Christmas-themed books)....great for hibernation, curling up with a blanket, and a hot beverage like coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.

Spring- Light, airy books (typically 'coming-of-age' classics because they seem to go with the newness and youth of Spring)...great for reading next to an open window with the spring air coming through and drinking some 'childish' drink like chocolate milk or Kool-aid.

Summer- Fast reads and/or breezy books (typically contemporary fiction/classics or current publications because they will usually suck you right in and will be fast enough to read during your hectic summer schedules...vacations, BBQs, parties, etc.)...great for beach/pool reading or sitting on your front/back porch with lemonade or iced tea.

Autumn- Genre books and/or non-fiction (typically horror or fall-themed books like 'back-to-school', 'Halloween', 'football games', etc. and/or non-fiction including true crime, school-themed studies, parenting books, etc.)...great for crisp afternoon days and cool nights, watching the leaves change, and enjoying a fall favorite like apple cider or any hot beverage sprinkled with pumpkin spice and nutmeg.

As you can see, I also like to match my beverages with the seasons and my reading. I'm just a sucker for ambience. It just enhances my reading so much more. Thunderstorms and snowstorms are always such a nice bonus. I always keep books on hand for those occasions.

[Arielle]

Never thought about it a whole lot, but those are great suggestions Charity!

[Nicole]

Charity you said it perfectly! I love how you paired drinks with the seasons as well.

[Charity]

Thanks everyone! I guess I just look at reading as an 'experience', so I try to get the most out of it. I think that atmosphere can really add to or take away from your reading enjoyment.

Unfortunately, not every day is as picture perfect as the scenes I described, but there are quite a few. And when you get one, you remember it and you cherish it and it becomes your ideal for that particular time of year.

[Megan]

I wonder if publishers follow the "seasons of reading" and release books that fit our ideas of the season.

[[deleted user]]

Thats an interesting idea Megan. It's probably true. But for me I don't think I choose seperate books for different seasons. Though I would tend to delve into something more difficult like Jane Eyre if it was winter and I was cuddled up in a bunch of blankets. This winter actually it was Wurthering Heights that I read for the first time.

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

I know that one of my favorite ways to read is with a rainstorm going on...

But I read by my mood and my mood is often influenced by the weather, so I suppose yes in a round-about way it does. When I say "my mood" I mean what I'm in the mood to read, not so much I'm happy so I read happy, etc., if that makes sense.

Okay, to be fair I like to do just about anything with a rainstorm going on - I love-love-love rain, and particularly storms... with thunder is even better! But reading all snuggled up with rain pounding everywhere, especially at night, is delicious! But that's not your question at all! Sorry! LOL

[Shannon, the founder of fun (back from sabbatical)]

Now that spring is here, I am all about reading beautiful light and airy books. I really loved the movie Marie Antoinette for the visual beauty and decadence - that is exactly what I need right now. So, I'm thinking of picking up the book that it was based on. While I know there are more serious tones, I want to indulge in all the rituals.

[Meghan]

Yes, I would love to get into some lightweight, "spring-y" fair...unfortunately, the weather right now is grey, gloomy, and yes, snowing! ARGH. I need to go back to Beijing. It's 60 degrees there.

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

Or just come laze about in California for a while! But yeah... that's for sure why I didn't want to read this month's books - just too serious for my current mood. I feel like reading something luscious... anyone know anything that fits the bill? (I mean pure indulgence, not anything seedy.)

[Sarah]

Michele, have you ever read ATGIB? I'm on chapter 9 and so far I am just loving it. But yeah, it is a little on the serious side. But then again, so is Dorian Gray!
Do you like chick lit? I know you like Bridget Jones. Sophie Kinsella (author of the Shopaholic books) has a new one out. Emily Giffin's books are fun fluff but she's smart, so they're not as silly and brainless as other chick lit books. Also I know you've read the Thursday Next series but have you read his Nursery Crimes? Not only are they fun but The Fourth Bear would be timely since Dorian Gray is a character. Also The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series is fun and light and easy.

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

You know it's funny... I bought The Fourth Bear when it was first out - an autographed first edition, actually - but still haven't read it. I think it might have to do with the fact that I was in the middle of The Big Over Easy when my life fell apart (reference to The Great Swindle). It was like a year before I picked it up again... so getting to the second one, much as I was looking forward to it, just didn't happen. Okay, also with an autographed first, I don't want to lug it everywhere and ruin it! I've been eying it lately, though!

I play it pretty close to the vest with whom I select in the chicklit category. I still have a couple Marian Keyes on my shelf to catch up on, but I sure do wish that Helen Fielding would write another. Hers are SUCH a good laugh and delightful reads.

I'm thinking of re-reading the Harry Potter books yet again. I just get cravings now and then... but then I think about how I want to keep up with you all, so I skip all the fun, light books and press on to finish what I'm in the midst of to get to our selections! I need to find my balance still, I guess.

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

But thanks - and keep the recommendations coming!

[Sarah]

Give Emily Giffin a try. I really think you'd like her. Her heroines are smart, not label-obsessed bimbos.

I also re-read the Harry Potter books every year. Usually I read them in the late spring/early summer. But this year I'm waiting until the movie comes out in the fall. I'll re-read them all in the weeks before the release.

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

Don't you feel so empty when you finish them? Like you've lost your best friends or something? Between that and loving the journey they take, I always want to start all over again the instant I put the last one down. Every darned time!

[Sarah]

Me too!! I don't understand the literati who don't like the HP books. If you don't like them for religious reasons or something, fine, that's you're thing, but I don't get how anyone can say they're not well-written.

[Ryara]

I like the HP books! But I haven't read the 7th one (but know what happens) because I keep leaving it at darn Lily's House!

[Robbie]

I've read them repeatedly, and I agree, Michele, that it does often feel like leaving best friends when the final book is over. I feel very lucky to have been able to experience the lag time between the writing of the books, so I was forced to ponder the mysteries. Also, each lag led to at least one re-reading of the series!

[Courtney]

Michele--I have an odd recommendation, but to me, it is the definition of delicious, both fun and worthy. Old New York by Edith Wharton is a set of 4 novellas set over 4 separate decades in 19th century New York. I got it for my P for Christmas the year before last and then read it myself after she raved and raved about several of the novellas. One story in particular -- about a young man who goes to Italy and throughout Europe to buy art for his father's proposed gallery or museum I think you would particularly like. It is as fast a read as any chic lit and pitch perfect.

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

Courtney, I'm sold. I'm looking for it right away. Though it's been at least 20 years, I remember loving Ethan Frome so between that and your glowing recommendation, I'd be looking for it right now if it wasn't nearly 1 AM! LOL

It's the "luscious" thing... it sounds like it fits that word, and for some reason that is spot on what I want in EVERYTHING right now - food, activities, books, places... where you just shiver at the excitement and tantalization of it! I know how strange that sounds, but I have no explanation for it. Straight chicklit wouldn't have fit that... your's sounds like it would. Thanks, mate!