lou's library

Hello hello, today I felt the urge to ramble on a bit about the idea that autumn and winter are the best seasons for reading, mainly to cheer myself up as it’s currently foggy and miserable outside and I’m having one of those days where I’m struggling to romanticise these weather conditions. So, this shall act as a reminder for myself that actually, I am currently in prime reading territority. I hope you’ll get yourself a warm cup of tea and get comfy!

I always read, whether it’s freezing cold or boiling hot outside. Reading is a habit I have cultivated over decades now (which makes me sound old but that’s okay because ageing is a privilege, am I right?) and it stays with me no matter what might currently be changing in my life. But if you spend even a fraction of your time on social media, you will notice that the colder and darker months (autumn in particular, but winter too) are being hailed as the ultimate months for the readers out there. And I totally agree, I just think there’s more to it than is usually being suggested on Instagram.

One thing I dislike about posting about reading online is how aesthetic it has become, it’s almost like it’s a performance and that you should absolutely take a cute photo to post if you’re reading in a cafe (bonus points if the cafe has pastel coloured furniture and you’re reading a classic). I think we should all post more content of ourselves huddled under a blanket in bad lighting after work or school, hair up in a messy and very much not cute way, forgetting to hydrate because we’re so focused on our book and almost fall off the couch when we try to get up because our foot has fallen asleep and we’re stumbling over the blanket we’re wrapped in.

Because that is what autumn and winter are all about for me: it’s cosying up inside without having to be presentable for the outside world. I tend to feel guilty in summer when I spend an evening reading at home instead of making the most out of the long, warm summer evenings outside. There’s none of that guilt when it gets dark in the afternoon already. You best believe I am embracing the slowness of autumn and winter and am reading whenever I get the chance.

If you’ve ever experienced seasonal depression you will know that the darkness during those months can really get to you, and I find that reading books that take me to another place mentally can really help with that. In that way, books can truly be medicine (do not take this as me saying you can cure seasonal depression through books, you cannot and should not try to). And I think it can help to embrace these months and take them for what they are: a break and an opportunity to reset, to process the past year and slowly get ready for the coming spring (which always does come, no matter how endless winter may seem in February).

I recently read a beautiful book called Wintering on this topic, in which Katherine May talks a lot about the power of leaning into the colder months and embracing the changes they bring with them. She also ties it to emotional upheaval and the loss of control you feel when life does not go to plan (which of course does not only happen in winter, but can occur in any season). It’s a stunning book that gave me a new appreciation for winter, although she in no way glorifies it. I think she says it best herself:

Doing those deeply unfashionable things – slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep, resting – are radical acts these days, but they are essential. (p. 14)

And I think that reading is a beautiful way to slow down and prioritising your mental health and wellbeing in the colder months. As I said before, I think we would all do well to banish the aesthetic versions of this we all know from social media from our thoughts and allow ourselves to show up exactly as we are, because that is enough ( we are getting a little dramatic over here today, aren’t we?). And when we leave the outside noise behind us, we are able to focus in ways we perhaps thought no longer possible. I can only speak for myself here, but I find I can concentrate on a book much better in winter than in summer. If I know everyone is up to doing fun stuff outside (and shouting about it from the rooftops on Instagram), the urge to constantly check my phone is much stronger. In the winter, when most people hunker down and relax on the couch, I can take in what I’m reading in a much more focused way.

And I love that. I love that I have the energy and time to really engage with the books I am reading and that I feel like it helps me make it through the darker months ( I do genuinely love autumn and winter too, until the second of January at least, although you perhaps wouldn’t believe it based on this blog post). In a way, September until March to me are the months for thinking, and then the warmer months are for living. This is not to say I am not doing any thinking over the summer (or any living in winter), but my priorities shift. I’m sure that still has something to do with school starting in September, even though I have not been in school for almost a decade. I still feel this urge to annotate my books more and do research on them more strongly in September than in any other month of the year.

If you are struggling with the darkness of autumn and winter right now (unless you live in the southern hemisphere, in which case: good for you, you lucky chaps), I hope this blog post helped encourage you to embrace the cosiness of this time of year and the beautiful role reading can play in enjoying the quieter moments in life. If you would like some recommendations, I have a blog post full of autumnal book recommendations and one about great short books to get you started back on your reading journey. Happy reading, everyone!