What is seasonal reading?

I am by no means the ‘inventor’ of seasonal reading, nor did I coin the term; it was actually my friend who told me that it was a concept in itself! But I am a staunch defender of seasonal reading, and hope that in this guide, I can convince a few of you to give it a try.

Seasonal reading is simple: it’s the idea that the setting of a book dictates the time of year in which you read it. For example, I saved reading Call Me By Your Name until this summer, even though I’d wanted to read it for months, and I only just read Dostoevsky’s White Nights because I wanted to save it for colder weather. It may sound slightly insane, or even restrictive, but it’s a fun way for me to frame my year. In the hectic whirlwind that is Oxford, I rely on my 15 minutes of reading at the end of each day to keep me going amongst the blur of academic readings.

Why read seasonally?

You might think I’m crazy. Why wait? Why wouldn’t I just read a book when the impulse first strikes? Fair point. As a Humanities student (and I know many of you can relate to this), my term centres around reading—all day, every day. Seasonal reading is really the only way I can keep myself excited about reading just for pleasure, rather than for an essay, and it keeps me looking forward to the moments when I can read purely for fun.

I’ve always been someone who gets overly invested in books or films. Picture ten-year-old me anxiously reading The Hunger Games for the first time, or sobbing in her bed after Sirius Black died. When I was younger, my parents even banned me from reading and hid my books away in the loft, just to get me to do something else! I’ve found that seasonal reading is the next step in fully investing in a novel. Seasonal reading allows you to align your real-life setting with the events of a book, and escape even further into fiction.

How to start seasonal reading?

Okay, maybe I’ve got a few of you on board. Or at least interested. Where do you begin? Here’s how I do it…

I keep lists of books I’d like to read everywhere: on Goodreads, my Notes app, or even a photo album. And every time I get a physical copy of said book, it makes it on to my master TBR: my ‘Want to read’ list on Notion. I aim to read 15 books each year for pleasure, knowing that anything higher than that is simply unrealistic, and decide on 12 books each January: one for each month. These can be books I’ve had for ages, books I’ve bought from charity shops (since I’ve had to ban myself from bookshops for the sake of my bank account), or Christmas presents. 

Then, I decide on ‘certain’ books. These are books that I’m certain I will read this year, and I already have a month in mind for them. For example, I know I’ll have a heavy workload in June (I’m a finalist), and have decided on an easy read—Tour de Force by Mark Cavendish—to match his descriptions of the picturesque French countryside to the (hopefully) warm weather of June. 

My Seasonal TBR for 2025

To give you an idea of how it works, I’m sharing a part of my seasonal TBR for this year:

FEBRUARY: Orbital by Samantha Harvey (2023)

I’ll admit I only learned of this book recently when it was nominated for the Booker Prize, but I think that the introspective nature of space and philosophical tones of the novel will be well suited to February. I find winter to be quieter and more contemplative, which should complement the novel’s slower pace and its focus on the characters’ mental landscapes.

APRIL: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (2001)

I was bought this for my birthday by a friend who told me that it had “early summer/spring vibes” so I’ve decided April is the month! After a bit of research, it seems to start with a lighthearted tone, which matches the freshness of spring.

JULY: Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (2022)

This is also a book I’ve had my eye on for a while. I saw a copy in a charity shop and decided to get it. Funnily enough, it was actually the song that Taylor Swift wrote for the film that converted me (‘Carolina’). The novel is set in the swampy marshlands of North Carolina, and the lazy heat of July or August will suit it well.

OCTOBER: Bunny by Mona Awad (2019)

It seems I’ve mentioned wanting to read this book too much to my friends and family, because I was given several copies of this book in 2024. The backdrop of Halloween provides the perfect time to enjoy this novel’s strange and sinister charms, and its blend of dark academia, horror, and surrealism.

Reflection

Your seasonal reading doesn’t have to be as structured as this; it’s ultimately about enhancing your relationship with a book. Seasonal reading allows you to become an active reader; you can control the way in which you consume a plot, and that changes the novel and how you interpret it—it creates a bond between you, the author, and the plot itself. According to Henry James, “A novel is a living thing”, and I believe seasonal reading is the best way of engaging as directly as you can with a plot’s life.

For me, seasonal reading has turned reading into more than just stories; they’re memories tied to moments in time. Whether you try it for one book or an entire year, I hope it brings your reading life a little extra joy. Happy reading, and here’s to finding the perfect book for every season.