Not so long ago, I was asked by two friends to recommend some books for them to read at different times of the year. This kind of request appeals to my bibliotherapy side, as although its not a personal prescription for individual needs, its certainly an entertaining way of matching books to the seasons.
Here are my thoughts:
Winter:
Winter is potentially an easy season for books – there is a miasma of Christmas books just waiting to be picked up and read. However, I currently only have one favourite ~
Cecelia Ahearn’s The Gift
This book is a true gift to yourself. If you’re wondering whether you’re in the right relationship, overwhelmed by Christmas shopping, plagued by office boredom, in desperate need of a cup of coffee, worried about where you’re going to sleep tonight – its got a ‘cure’. If you’ve never stopped for long enough to take stock of your lifestyle choices, this is the one for you – and why not do that in Winter? It’s too cold to go outside, so just snuggle down for a couple of days and get this one read.
Spring:
The joy of daffodils and chocolate eggs, and looking forward to an idealistic summer (that will never come), April showers and longer evenings. So, if you’re feeling the urge to travel, to try new things, to break out of a relationship rut, or to drink wine on the train home, then this is for you.
Scarlett Thomas’s The Seed Collectors
If you need help with any kind of addiction, general anxiety, panic attacks, dealing with children on their easter holiday, dysfunctional as well as blended families, then get this read. You will not be disappointed.
Summer:
Summer in Britain, is well, summer in Britain – wet, humid at times, flash floods, extremely hot (I’m thinking 1976), and well let’s face it, more often than not, its not barbeque weather. So let this book inject some magic into your summer.
Sarah Addison Allen’s Garden Spells
Let it be everything that your summer is not. If you’re feeling lost in any way except the physical, if you’re in need of a good hair cut, if you need some inspiration to get baking, this is the book for you.
Autumn:
Autumn is a difficult time of year. No one quite knows when this season begins, and by the time you’re into it, it’s almost winter. Usually I think of autumn as being when the children go back to school in September, and for me, this is the advent of planning for colder days despite the fact that some years we get an ‘indian summer’. This is a time for a jolt out of the summer haze, to be woken up with coffee and a good thriller.
Ruth Ware’s In a dark dark wood
If you’re thinking of planning anything at all from a bridal shower, baby shower, to a (if you must) hen night, then this is the book for you. This will make you reconsider having curtains, washing your windows, the proximity of your mobile phone and your friend choices. If you’re having trouble dealing with noisy neighbours, barking dogs, struggling to get a good nights’ sleep or the isolation of working from home (perhaps even as a PhD student), let this book ‘cure’ you.
If you would like to contact Appletree Books about personal bibliotherapy, please email me at venessaharrisbooks@gmail.com
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