Reading books within the season

AE35Unit

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Am I the only one who likes to read books that were written or set in the season we're in? For example its approaching Christmas so I like to find books in any genre set at that time. Same with easter, Halloween etc.
And its not restricted to seasonal events. I like to read the Ed McBain books that are set in winter, in winter time etc
 
I do that with the exception of winter. We get enough snow, ice and cold where I live that I don't usually enjoy stories set in snow, ice and cold during that time.

I also find my fall and early winter reading tends toward mysteries. Sf/f is more spring and summer. Why this is, I haven't a clue.
 
Yeah, it occurred to me that there is an exception, I often read Christmas stories, mainly mysteries, in December. Christmas is its own season.
 
My reading includes a fair number of books
a) Set in space
b) Last for several years so the action takes place in all four seasons.
So mostly no. :D

In terms of TV watching though, I am rather particular about the last thing I watch before going to sleep - not too loud, busy or violent - and after a rainy day also insist on something with plenty of sunshine. NCIS Hawaii and Magnum re-done series (also set in Hawaii) are fitting the bill quite nicely at the moment. It's amazing how little it rains in Hawaii'i (wink).
 
You're definitely not alone in enjoying books that match the season! There's something magical about immersing yourself in stories that align with the time of year. It enhances the reading experience and sets the mood perfectly, especially during holidays like Christmas and Halloween.
 
I do like to read wintery books and Christmas books around this time of year. There are certain stories that I am particularly drawn to and have read many times to get me in the mood for the holiday, though I don't read them every year. The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper. The Box of Delights, by John Masefield. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis. Charles Dicken's Christmas novellas, particularly "A Christmas Carol" and "The Haunted Man. "A Christmas Carol" is my very favorite for reading at this time of year,but sometimes I will watch one of the movies instead (although, really, even the best of them don't quite measure up to the original story).

Also other wintery or Christmas ghost stories, like "The Old Nurse's Story," by Elizabeth Gaskell. And though it's not a ghost story, just a memory of how Christmas used to be celebrated, I do enjoy "Old Christmas" by Washington Irving. (You can sometimes find it published as "Christmas at Bracebridge Hall.")

When my children were small I used to read The Tailor of Gloucester to them on Christmas Eve.

At the present moment, my seasonal reading is The Children of Green Knowe. I last read that one about fifty years ago, which means I remember so little about it, it's almost like reading it for the first time.
 
I do like to read wintery books and Christmas books around this time of year. There are certain stories that I am particularly drawn to and have read many times to get me in the mood for the holiday, though I don't read them every year. The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper. The Box of Delights, by John Masefield. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis. Charles Dicken's Christmas novellas, particularly "A Christmas Carol" and "The Haunted Man. "A Christmas Carol" is my very favorite for reading at this time of year,but sometimes I will watch one of the movies instead (although, really, even the best of them don't quite measure up to the original story).

Also other wintery or Christmas ghost stories, like "The Old Nurse's Story," by Elizabeth Gaskell. And though it's not a ghost story, just a memory of how Christmas used to be celebrated, I do enjoy "Old Christmas" by Washington Irving. (You can sometimes find it published as "Christmas at Bracebridge Hall.")

When my children were small I used to read The Tailor of Gloucester to them on Christmas Eve.

At the present moment, my seasonal reading is The Children of Green Knowe. I last read that one about fifty years ago, which means I remember so little about it, it's almost like reading it for the first time.
Yes to Box of Delights and Dark is Rising. As intrinsic to the special feeling of this time of year (secular or not) as mulled wine, mince pies, and the Festival of Nine Lessons And Carols.
 
The what? Not heard of such a festival...
Well, it's not exactly Burning Man. I am not remotely religious, and I had my fill of high Anglicanism at school, but there is something special about the traditional carols and someone really letting rip on a decent church organ. The service from King's College, Cambridge is marvellous, and is broadcast live on the BCC (Radio and TV) so it goes on in the background, often when we are preparing dinner.

The other thing about the trad carols is that they are good to sing outdoors. It helps that my wife and children are accomplished musicians who can do a beautiful descant.
There are some atrociously clumsy lyrics (Lo! He abhors not the virgin's womb), and there are some which are just great to belt out on a dark cold night after a couple of mugs of mulled wine and a mince pie:
Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I shall see him dine
When we bear them thither.

(Terry Pratchett has a good take on Good King Wenceslas)
 
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Well, it's not exactly Burning Man. I am not remotely religious, and I had my fill of high Anglicanism at school, but there is something special about the traditional carols and someone really letting rip on a decent church organ. The service from King's College, Cambridge is marvellous, and is broadcast live on the BCC (Radio and TV) so it goes on in the background, often when we are preparing dinner.
I've never heard of it!
 

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