Spring Reading
Welcoming Spring (with a Strawberry in the Mouth)
Welcome to today’s issue of Empty Head. Spring is here, and I want to welcome it with a few notes and book recommendations. Enjoy!
“The day, which was one of the first of spring, cheered even me by the loveliness of its sunshine and the balminess of the air. I felt emotions of gentleness and pleasure, that had long appeared dead, revive within me. Half surprised by the novelty of these sensations, I allowed myself to be borne away by them; and forgetting my solitude and deformity, dared to be happy.”
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Spring is Here!
I am both a mood reader and highly-influenced by the seasons in day-to-day life, so naturally my reading tends to align with the seasonal cycle (at least a little bit). Last year, everyone seemed to like my summer book recommendations post. I meant to keep doing them seasonally, but the days simply pass by…
I don’t have quite as long of a list for the Spring season, and my criteria/categories aren’t as specific. But even so, I wanted to share a few books that fit with the season (in my mind).
Spring is all about awakening after the long winter. It’s about growth, blossoming, becoming—getting to know yourself. It’s about reconnecting with nature as it bounces back to life. It’s about that energy that starts to bubble up as the days get longer. And the light. This season is all about the light!
Spring urges me to appreciate beauty at every turn: a languid sentence, an ornate word. It reminds me of the joys of life. It allows me to take pleasure in small things. There is no rush, so I meander. There is no anxiety, just a sense of calm. Everything is wondrous—at least for the moment.
These are the books I recommend for the season, but first…
Notes of Spring:
Awakening
Slowness
Appreciating the beauty of life
Basking in the sun
Growing into yourself, becoming
Nature (a balance of dark and light)
Poetry
Spring Book Recommendations
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
This might not be what most people associate with Spring, but one of my favorite Spring quotes (above) comes from its pages. Yes, the romanticism of Frankenstein is dark—but the grief and pain at the center of this story is leavened by the beauty of nature and life’s ephemerality. The Creature’s misery is briefly halted by the arrival of Spring, and I think of this passage every time the light starts to lengthen.
Upstream by Mary Oliver
This collection of poetic essays about nature, writing, and creativity feels light and reassuring, but not in a saccharine way. Paralleling Shelley’s romanticism, Oliver acknowledges the dark edges of nature—of life—while remaining in awe of its wonders. I especially recommend this to anyone who is feeling inspired to reconnect with their creative aspirations during this season.
“Something is wrong, I know it, if I don’t keep my attention on eternity. May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe, tiny but useful.”
The Anthropologists by Aysegul Savas
The protagonist of this story is meandering through her days, observing those around her, trying to find out “how to live”. She’s learning about the meaning of “home”, and what it means to make a life.
Coming to My Senses by Alice Waters
Alice Waters is well-known in the world of food, prioritizing its natural beauty and flavor, working with seasonal ingredients. This is her memoir, so it is inherently a story of becoming. From the counter-revolutionary culture of 1960s Berkley to the creation of her iconic restaurant, Waters’ growth through (and against) the traditional cooking world is a wonderfully-reflective read for Spring. It’s great on audio!
Bright Dead Things by Ada Limon
In this poetry collection, Limon evokes imagery with that light-and-dark balance that I so appreciate. Once again, there is a sense of awe here, an appreciation of life in the face of death.
“There was a sign and it said, This earth is blessed. Do not play in it. But I swear I will play on this blessed earth until I die.”
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Brought back together on their cherry orchard during the pandemic, the narrator tells her adult daughters the tale of her youth as an actress and the love stories of her past. We move through the story languidly, dreamily, with little tension. Ultimately, this leaves you feeling warm and comforted. I especially recommend the audiobook, narrated by Meryl Streep.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
This (and the second book in the series) is the definition of cozy sci-fi. The novella follows a traveling tea-maker and a robot in a future, post-industrial world. While these weren’t personally my favorite books (just not quite what I’m into), I appreciate the simplicity and the imaginative vision of a future that is not all doom and gloom. Reading this is like a breath of fresh air!
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
This is another future-set story, though the setting is slightly darker. Climate change and rising sea levels have created a water world, where people live in the trees and travel by rafts. But the story itself is still very reflective, quiet, and hopeful (for the most part). I would recommend this particularly to fans of Emily St. John Mandel.
Woolgathering by Patti Smith
Like most of Patti Smith’s work, this collection defies categorization. Woolgathering is a mix of memoir, reflections, poetry, and writing. It has such a dreamy quality. There is a child-like sense of wonder (much of this is about her childhood, after all) that makes me want to go outside and sit in the grass.
My Spring Reading Plans
I’m not big on TBRs in general, and I’m not sure most of what I’m thinking about reading fits (in an obvious way) the season. But regardless, here are some books I’d like to read soon.
Imagination by Ruha Benjamin
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Out of Time by Lynne Segal
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Getting Lost by Annie Ernaux
For an Ecology of Images by Peter Szendy
Daughter by Claudia Dey
Woolgathering by Patti Smith — now that I’ve mentioned it, I’d really like to re-read it!
The Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire — I’ve already started this and would like to finish it by the end of Spring.
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