I have a hypothesis: My reading habits change, just slightly, based on the weather. First, let’s pause. Think about your own reading habits, maybe page through your Goodreads feed or your bookstagram: What do you observe?

Here’s a prime example, I’m much more likely to pick up, what I fondly consider to be chick lit, in the summer time. I enjoy having these books with me at the beach or by the pool, which is where I choose to spend a majority of my time in the summer. Perhaps that’s the key, it’s less so dependent on the temperature and more so dependent on where you’re reading, I’m honestly not sure, but, in this post, I’m going to go through the seasons and let you know what I’m dying to read this Spring and Summer.

Fall/Winter

I find this season is much more likely to be permeated by science fiction series. I know I become a little bit of a hermit during this time period, I enjoy being curled up on my couch with a book.

Of course, this time period is also punctuated by holidays. In previous posts, we discussed books that are great for the spooky Halloween time as well as those books that put you into the Christmas vibes. I can see how the Halloween can easily transition into those sci-fi reads, and also how longer periods of time curled up on my couch can lend themselves to the series of books that science fiction tend to be.

I also watch a lot of sports, mainly football, during this time, which also means consuming news about the teams I follow. (Shout out Penn State and Philadelphia Eagles.) I think this also could have an effect on the books I choose, given that I’m so inundated with real-life things, my escapist book nature turns to the more supernatural. Maybe.

Spring/Summer

I consume an exponentially greater number of books, traditionally, in the summer. As I’ve already said, I thoroughly enjoy a good chick lit book by the pool soaking up the sunshine. These books tend to be shorter and easier to read than science fiction, keeping characters straight in Tolkien and Martin can be a daunting task, or a nonfiction read, which tend to be dense with information, so it makes sense that I’d go through more of them.

I think it’s also a psychological thing. When I’m outside in the summer time, there’s nothing else on my mind, I’m doing and am exactly where I should be. However, in the fall and winter months I can convince myself that I should be doing chores or some other productive task, as opposed to reading until my heart’s content. It’s just how my brain works.

That said, let’s see what’s on my warm month to read list:

• I Miss You When I Blink This is our book club’s April selection.
• Winter Garden
• The Broken Girls This and the one above are my sister’s, and so I want to churn them out and return them.
• Body Positive Power Also loaned to me by a friend, so I’m hoping to read it and pass it on! (If you’re sensing another theme here, you’re right.)
• The Tatooist of Auschwitz Not a chick lit, but it’s a book circle book.
• Asymmetry A New York Times Top 10 book
• American Prison Also a NYT Top 10 book, because I gotta finish them before the end of the year and it’s already on my kindle. As is the next.
• How to Change Your Mind
• The Bluest Eye
• One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter

OK, so that’s my tentative plan, and as you can see, only a few of them are in the genre I tend to enjoy over the summer, so that’s to say that this plan will likely be permeated with additions. (I could never plan out beyond the next read. I never know what I’ll be in the mood for!)

So, here’s the question: Do your tastes change depending on the season? And what’s on your short list for next reads?