Wintering

a guide to building your winter TBR

I tend to feel especially nostalgic during the wintertime, and this week I was thinking about when I was a teenager and how fun it was to get the magazines with the quizzes in them. It inspired me to make a fun little quiz to get your winter book recommendation from me, so read to the end to get your results!

To me, the most important thing about enjoying winter is obviously having a really good tbr lined up. I’m a big mood reader so I often stray away from tbr piles, but winter can be such a stagnant time that I like to have some preselected books that I think fit a wintery vibe, that way when I finish I book I don’t have to think about what I want to read next, I’ve already curated myself a bunch of options. So, here is my guide to building you ideal winter tbr!

Vibe Curation

Regardless of what kind of reader you are or what genres you reach for the most, establishing your vibe during wintertime can help you curate what kinds of books to reach for. Think about how winter makes you feel and how you would ideally feel during winter and let that drive your selections:

how do I feel/want to feel during wintertime?

Identifying a few key feelings to curate towards is a great way to build a tbr. It’s not really about the genres that match your feelings, more so what kinds of themes, pacing and even tropes you gravitate to. Do you feel really energised in the winter and want to reach for shorter fast paced books? Do you already like the wintertime and want to indulge in dark wintery books - literally books that are set during winter but also books with darker themes? Do you crave some escapism during the colder months wether that be reading cozy/low stakes books or even picking up books you know you’ll only like in a bad good sort of way? Get specific with it too, think about what phase of your life you’re in and how your tbr pile can reflect that. Think about how to find the kinds of books that help you feel how to want to feel during wintertime instead of contributing to the blegh feeling so many people struggle with in winter.

For me, winter is the perfect time to indulge in nostalgia. I don’t often re read books, but if I do it’s usually during winter when i’m feeling a little nostalgic and contemplative. This also means that I reach for longer books during winter, I want to dig my heels deep into a story. I also really reach for books that are set in winter, or books that are set pretty far in the past because I’m really drawn to the way weather can be more significant obstacle than it is in books set in modern times. I’m also a student in my final semester of grad school so I’m craving some dark academia this winter.

How Many Books Should Be On Your TBR

Everyone has their own way of building their tbr piles, but the ideal winter tbr needs to be a wider selection than usual, I’m talking like 3-4 more books than you expect to read in the winter months. The winter months are when life just feels slower, which for me often means that I read more books than I expect. Moreover, winter is a fickle season, you need to have a safety net of extra curated books so that when you finish one and go to your tbr it feels like a you always have options. Winter is not a season that naturally feels abundant, which means you have to create that feeling of opportunity for yourself within your tbr.

Essentials

No matter your vibe and number of books on your winter tbr, there are three types of books that should make it onto your tbr just in case.

a book you’ve been meaning to read forever

Everything feels lower stakes during winter, which means that it just might be the time you reach for that one book you’ve been meaning to read forever. The book you haven’t read because it’s intimidatingly long, the book thats overhyped and you’re worried about being disappointed, the final book in that series you just don’t want to end, that book your mom has been telling you to read forever but you just haven’t reached for. Put it in your tbr, you just might surprise yourself.

an autobiography

Winter can be an isolating time for people, and sometimes you want to reach for something that feels more real, something that makes you feel connected to other people. Autobiographies are great for this and are also really easy books to be reading alongside other stuff or something you can reach for when you haven’t decided what to read next, but you’re still in a reading mood. They also make great audiobooks, especially when they’re narrated by the author!

a classic

Winter is the perfect time to pick up a classic, specifically something Victorian, an Austen, or any of the Brontë sisters. You might not pick it up, but find something that intrigues you and leave it there just in case. If you’re not big into classics, winter can be the perfect time to dip your toes in, I promise the vibes are perfect.

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That’s all from me! Go forth and curate! And if you read this far - or even if you just scrolled here for your results - here they are, and thank you for reading!

and comment your results below 👀