5 Reasons Winter is the Best Time to Be a Book Nerd

To be clear, there’s no bad time of year to be a book nerd. There’s no season where it is less awesome to lose yourself in a new world, slip inside the skin of someone entirely new, encounter new ideas, and have your mind blown. I think we’re pretty much all on board with that. But I think that winter has a decided edge for the best season to be a book nerd. While others might bemoan the temperatures outside, for many bibliophiles, winter remains the most wonderful time of the year. Here are 5 reasons why.
Winning the expectations game
During the summer, there are, obviously, lots more things you can do with your time. And while I’m as big a fan of beach trips and hikes and tennis as anyone, there comes a time after the third hour of socializing that I sit down and open my book to chill out for a little while. And then I get the inevitable question: “Why are you reading?? Look around you, how could you waste such a beautiful day?” And sometimes it even works, I feel that pang of guilt about wasting the great outdoors and the sunshine, and regretfully put down my book for another lap in a slightly-still-too-cold ocean.
You know when people don’t say this? Winter. That’s right. In fact, reading big, classic, thousand-page books in winter is one of those socially acceptable Things We Do. We’re expected to read more, since beautiful days aren’t available. So when I settle in for my third hour of reading on Sunday, I do so absolutely peer pressure–free!
The conversations
Speaking of people who want to love reading more, I find I have a lot more conversations about books during the wintertime. And I have them with people who I would not necessarily identify as ardent book lovers. I find that people are suddenly a lot more interested in what I’m reading and want to pick my brain for good book recommendations when it’s freezing outside. And, interestingly, I find we haven’t talked about this subject since just about the same time last February, so I’ve usually got about a year’s worth of great books to recommend. Not only does this make me look like a book genius (which I obviously am), but it has lead to some great discussions about books. I hear from people with new perspectives and points of view that usually aren’t a part of my book conversations. I’ve been directed to books that were both out of my usual comfort zone and amazing (that’s how I found both Life After Life and The Age of Miracles, for instance). Nothing like winter and a -15 degree windchill to bring some fresh blood to your reader friend pool!
Time!
At least for those fortunate enough to live in a colder climate (and yes, this is one of those times where “fortunate” isn’t in air quotes), one of the things we’re often gifted with is extra time, in the form of snow days. (The city of Boston has been super gifted this year.) This is often augmented by the increased antisocial tendencies winter often promotes, in the form of cancelled outings and “wait, how far is that restaurant from my house?”-type conversations. For book nerds, this is often the season of the fantastically convenient and totally understandable excuse to just stay home and have more time to read. If not for some nasty winter storms, Proust and my beloved Tolstoy would still be sitting on my “Mission Impossible” shelf. I owe you one, winter!
Atmosphere
As we know, an author’s ability to successfully build their world, and with it a suitable atmosphere, can often be the most important factor determining whether their readers can successfully suspend disbelief. Similarly, the atmosphere readers read in can often have a big effect on the way they take in a story. There are a lot of great books whose seductive powers are likely to be strongest when they’re read in the depths of winter. They are meant to be experienced in the darkest times of year, the times for which fairy tales and fireside folk stories are made for. I read Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber for the first time in winter. Likewise, one of my all-time favorite books, Rebecca, just doesn’t bring the same chill when you’re not reading it under three blankets with a cup of tea beside you.
Cabin fever fighting capabilities
Even though winter benefits us in many ways, even book nerds get cabin fever. Even we start looking out the window longingly, and thinking about last summer when we read outside under the trees with the birds singing, rather than inside under our blankets, as warm and comfy as they are. But the good news is that books tend to make those longing looks a whole lot shorter. After all, there’s a good story I just left, and all I have to do to slide back into it is open this here book. Bibliophiles can escape the weather into whatever world they like, not surfacing, sometimes, for days. This superpower breeds envy, of course! I notice this especially over the holidays, when family members fervently wish they “could love reading as much as you do.” Finally, book nerds! Our powers are recognized in winter for what they are: amazing.
What do you think is the best season to be a book nerd?