September has a strange effect on readers, even those of us who left school decades ago. Something about the shift in light and the first really cool morning makes a certain book on our TBR pile suddenly feel right, the ones that were too heavy for a beach bag in July and too slow for the frantic pace of December.
Do you have that about the weight of a book? It's weird, but I prefer heavier books in autumn and winter and lighter books in spring and summer. Does that say something about my psychology? What would that be exactly?
The Psychology of Craving a Heavier Book
Turns out I'm not actually going mad (for once). There's actually a term for it. Apparently, something to do with how the environment around us nudges what we reach for without us really deciding anything or even knowing we nudge.
Shorter days, colder rooms, less time outside, and our brains crave things that feel substantial. A big soup instead of a salad. A thicker jumper. A thicker book, apparently.
Well, after the consistent heat waves we've had this summer, who wouldn't crave cooler days?!
And I believe light plays a part too. Less daylight nudges our mood into something quieter and more reflective, so a slow, layered story suits that far better than something zippy and beach-paced ever could.
In summer, we want a book that matches the pace of everything else: quick, bright, over before the ice cream melts.
In autumn, we've got nowhere to rush off to, so the book gets to take its time as well.
So, no, I don't think it says anything worrying about my psychology. I think it just means I'm paying attention to the season, which is more than I can say for half my wardrobe.
Backing a Heavier Book
Anyway, besides all that neuro-science, September is the month for books that carry a bit of weight. And this time I mean weighty subjects, not the heaviness of the damn thing.
Slower mysteries, family sagas, the kind of story you can really sink into over a few weeks rather than race through in a weekend. Beach reads are light, fun, fast-paced, get-through-quickly reads, but September starts my thicker reads.
Some readers reach for something cosy and familiar this time of year, a reread of an old favourite that takes us down memory lane.
Do you get memory lane moments when re-reading a book? Maybe it's just me, but when I read a book for the second time (dare I say a third time, better not). It feels like I've been there before and know these people. Of course, I do. I delved into their lives the first time, so when I go back to them, it's memory lane. I'm not going mad.
Others use September as the month to finally start the doorstop that's been sitting on their bookshelf since January, the book that needed the right mood and never quite got it in summer. Do you have books like that, or is it just me? There are a lot of books on my shelf that I look at it and think, hm, next month. Sometimes next month may take a year, and other times next month comes next week.
There's no wrong way to do a September reading list, only the version that suits how you're actually feeling right now.
So, what's on your September TBR? One book or ten, share what you're reaching for this month and share this with your reading buddy so you can compare stacks.
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