Top Ten Tuesday – rainy day reads

It’s TTT time! As usual, if you’re curious about this, Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl hosts these weekly challenges (so, see her blog for more info). Today, the TTT community is tasked to come up with a book list for rainy days. I love matching my book choice to an atmospheric environment – stormy skies or drizzling rain lent themselves perfectly to this. Rain is particularly versatile as it can feel like a good cleansing or a new beginning but also dreary and dreadful. Thus parallel book themes are easy to come by. Here are a few that I would choose to read during a good rain. I have sorted them by categories but many of them would fit more than one. I’ve linked the titles to their Goodreads pages.

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A scary book

 

Rain. Overcast skies. Greyness. That makes one of the most perfect scenarios to be scared.

• While You Sleep relies on setting the scene to draw you into the story and this would definitely be enhanced if it is actually raining while you read.
• Misery takes place during winter but I put it on the list anyway because heavy rain can make us feel closed in as well and that feeling of being stuck perfectly fits the plot of the book.

 

A book to escape this world

 

Who doesn’t want to escape somewhere else when the weather is shitty outside?! Some like to escape to stories of beaches and sunshine. I like to enter fantasy worlds!

• Any Harry Potter book is perfect when you’re stuck at home. #6 is my favorite!
• The Night Circus is magical and weird. It has a great romance and lots of adventure.
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of my all-time favorite books. I would find any excuse to re-read it but a rainy day makes it all the more absurd.

 

A funny memoir

 

I particularly love listening to memoirs. I would pick one of these while I knit or draw – which seems like a great activity for a rainy afternoon.

• Talking as Fast as I Can gave me so much joy, I love Lauren Graham and her sarcasm.
• Bossypants made me laugh out loud multiple times. Tina Fey is lovely!

 

A good romance or some chick lit

 

Romance novels, particularly anything by Nora Roberts, are my guilty pleasure. I love escaping into a good romance plot. These few were some of my recent favorites.

• The Kiss Quotient surprised me. I loved the protagonist. I liked that it had an own-voices theme and I loved how adult it was.
• Fangirl is so deliciously geeky. It was a great coming-of-age story in a setting I could super relate to.
• Three Fates – Nora Roberts and Ireland and folktales. Count me in. I loved this one.
• One Day in December was another surprise. I read this over Christmas break and even cried. And isn’t a good sob the most liberating thing to do?!

 

A book of short stories

 

I have recently begun to appreciate short stories. They allow you to have many different kinds of experience in quick succession. On a rainy day escaping to several worlds would be perfection.

• Uncommon Type is a wonderful compilation of diverse stories. What can’t Tom Hanks do????
• M is for Magic showcases how perfect Neil Gaiman is as a writer and human being.

 

A book to ponder the meaning of life or a book that makes you think

 

Ok. I love me a good pondering of why we exist and what the point of being alive is. These three books made me think quite a bit for different reasons.

• The Sunset Limited is bleak and depressing at times. It’s a continuous dialogue between two men who have very different opinions on what the meaning of life is and I am HERE FOR THAT. I honestly think everyone should read this book.
• The Trees deals with the relationship between humans and nature. It is magical realism at its best. I like thinking about my impact on nature and nature’s impact on me.
• The Time Keeper threw me for a loop. I had a huge book hangover after finishing it. Mind blown and all! I should probably re-read this one.

 

A book with beautiful illustrations or pictures

 

Looking at some amazing pictures is so satisfying. I love a good graphic novel but also love photography or art books.

• The One Hundred Nights of Hero has an amazing story paired with very pretty illustrations. The overall message is important and emphasizes female relationships.
• My Favorite Thing is Monsters has an intriguing format. It truly feels like you’re reading someone’s diary.
• Beautiful Brain: Drawings by Santiago Ramón y Cajal is my ultimate porn. As a neuroscientist myself I could stare at these illustrations forever.
• Dogs as I See Them – puppies!!!!! I love perusing these drawings.
• Any coloring book! – you can totally listen to an audiobook while you color.

 

A poetry book

 

Honestly, poetry is perfect for a rainy day. Probably more perfect than reading any horror novel.

• Milk and Honey is fantastic! I had so many emotions reading these poems.
• The Captain’s Verses is one of my favorite Pablo Neruda compilations. But I’d read anything by him!

 

A suspenseful book

 

A murder mystery. A thriller. A whodunnit plot. All of these are great to read during a storm.

• Gone Girl feels grey and melancholic. It kept my attention the entire time and I just had to read on.
• Big Little Lies has a host of amazing characters. I love the format of the book and getting to know all the backstories. Each woman could have a motive to commit a murder.
• And Then There Were None is just one example of a great Agatha Christie mystery. Really any of her books would be amazing for a rainy day.

 

A book with quirky or relatable characters

 

Quirky characters always get me. I love reading books with interesting character dynamics or interpersonal relationships. These two books would be fun reads or great audiobooks.

• Eleanor Oliphant is Perfectly Fine is a book that gets me. I am always excited to find authors who incorporate mental illness in a real way. Eleanor is lovable because of how she is, not despite it.
• Little Women is another one of my all-time favorites. It has great family interactions, wonderful characters, and just enough plot. A classic that I believe everyone should read.

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What do you like to read on a rainy day? I can’t wait to check out your recommendations! Leave them in the comments. 🙂