Spring is coming, and after a long, hard winter, I think that qualifies for a celebratory Spring Reading List. You know what summer reads are — beach books, thrillers, all the genre books you love to relax into. And winter reads are the kinds of books you curl up with, under a blanket next to a fire — deeper, darker books that take you away on the cold howling wind. So what’s a spring read? A book about awakening, a delicate but powerful book, a book full of the magic of transformation, tinged with slight sadness. Here are my four spring reads for this year:
4) A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
A moving romance and wry social commentary, A Room with a View takes place in the spring and summer, in Edwardian-era Italy and England. This book begs to be read by an open window.
3) Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
The classic tale of coming of age, Brideshead Revisited is a spring read because it’s about growth — and leaving things behind. Its bittersweetness will meld with March weather — and feelings about March snow.
2) Persuasion by Jane Austen
This is the Jane Austen book I recommend most often to men, and reluctant Austen readers. The story of a second spring, Persuasion is soft and melancholy — and brings up the classic debate about how men and women feel love differently.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14HiacfER8E
1) I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
A forgotten classic by the author of 101 Dalmations, this book was adapted into a charming film starring Bill Nighy. The tale of a quirky bohemian family and two sisters struggling for normalcy is moving and funny — springtime captured in a jar.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member