spring reading list
light, airy, pastel toned pretty prose book recommendations for march to may
The dreariness of winter subsiding and pre-summer warmth filtering in through my curtains always makes March a hyper-productive month. I finally creep out of my hermit shell just as winter removes its stubborn clutch on the Northern Hemisphere. Early March is always a borderline disorienting time because I forget just how badly I need the early sunrise and single cardigan weather and how heavily they influence my mood. Nature reawakens in thick brushstrokes of vibrant pastel hues, and leaves suddenly seem greener as well. I always say that the true start of the year for me happens in mid-March—and the one month between mid-March and my birthday in mid-April usually sets the scene for how the rest of the year is going to go.
Spring is the only season in which I like going out more than I like staying in (not to sound like Goldilocks, but summer is too hot, fall is too cozy, winter is too cold). I read a lot on the balcony like a plant eager to photosynthesize, I take a lot of walks along the beach path, I cook a lot, sign up for a bunch of pottery and workout classes, rediscover new hobbies, and of course—open my windows every morning. Spring has a quality that is so easy to romanticize for me, the ephemeral interlude between the thaw of a bitter winter and the dense heat of summer.
For me, spring is all about sunshine, pastel tones, and flowers—the antithesis of winter, so I try to find such qualities in literature as well. I always find myself revisiting most of Jane Austen’s books across the seasons, as well as reading more contemporary literary fiction and nature-related books. My birthday falls in spring, so I also gravitate towards meditative nonfiction books that hopefully contribute to and even change the way I see the world because every good book should do that just a little bit.
My themes and specific characteristics in books that I am searching for this month are contemporary literary fiction, cool essay collections, memoirs that feel self-help-y in a non actual-self-help way, fiction about love and relationships, beautiful prose, nature-related books, regency era classics, books written by women, modern classics published in 1940-1980.
I posted a reading syllabus I made for myself earlier this month for the spring seasons (see below), but I wanted to post some individual recommendations as well with some mini reviews.
These Precious Days by Ann Patchett
“Life often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart.” These Precious Days is an amalgamation of everything I love in books: beautiful writing, memoir essays, this subgenre, Ann Patchett, and that feeling when your heart hurts in a good way and the bridge of your nose stings.
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Armin
“A charming and light-hearted novel about unlikely female friendships and the power of a blissful escape.” A pretty self explanatory spring book choice—the prose is so perfect for warmer seasons, and is also set in Portofino, which is so dreamy. The story details four women who rent an Italian castle and go through personal reflections and transformations, escaping the dreariness and bleakness of their usual day to day lives. April feels exactly like this book for me—sweet and lovely, signaling the true thaw of winter.
Middlemarch by George Eliot
“George Eliot's most ambitious novel is a masterly evocation of diverse lives and changing fortunes in a provincial community.” Middlemarch is a masterclass in empathetic and sympathetic portrayal of characters, and its beauty lies in its subleties and mundanities of ordinary life. Packed with political criticism, ordinary financial struggles, romantic lines that made my heart hurt, sarcastic humor, and a strong authorial voice. A study of what it is to love and to be loved.
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
“A blackly humorous story of loneliness, deception, and life in old age by one of the most accomplished novelists of the twentieth century.” One of my favorite things about NYRB classics is that they find and publish underrated classic gems that have fallen through the cracks as decades pass. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is such a heartwarming portrayal of life, exploring themes of loneliness, aging, and the heartbreak that comes with aging.
Outline by Rachel Cusk
“A novel about writing and talking, about self-effacement and self-expression, about the desire to create and the human art of self-portraiture in which that desire finds its universal form.” Spring always feels like a transitional time to me, and so does this book. Nothing truly happens in this book, and the narrative is prose and minimal. But its experimental narrative style seamlessly blends fragments of stories, and it felt incredibly immersive for me. This book is quite unlike anything I have read before—my favorite of this trilogy is the third book though.
Emma by Jane Austen
“Beautiful, spoilt, vain and irrepressibly witty, Emma organizes the lives of the inhabitants of her sleepy little village and plays matchmaker with devastating effect.” Most of Austen’s books are fit for spring, but this one is specifically emblematic of the season for me (maybe it’s the influence of the 2020 adaptation as well). An underrated romantic comedy that is written in extravagance and lavish prose much like my favorite cossetted protagonist. “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more” is one of my holy trinity Jane Austen quotes.
Spring by Ali Smith
“The time we're living in is changing nature. Will it change the nature of story? Hope springs eternal.” This one is pretty self explanatory, but Ali Smith’s seasonal quartet is so perfect. While my favorite is still Autumn, Spring is also such a good book to read. Smith always provides a perfect blend of stories of human connection and intertwining narratives with political commentary.