Friday, January 25, 2019

Discussion: Winter - Embrace or Escape?

This Week’s Topic: Winter - Embrace or Escape

It's winter here in the US, and as I write this post, the wind in howling and the mercury barely rose to 5°F (-15°C). They say it "feels" like -17°F. As I struggle to keep warm under my electric blanket, I am wondering how you approach your winter reading. 

Me, as I write this post

Every year, I try to look on the bright side of things and attempt to embrace the good parts of winter. I even wrote a guest post about it. I mean, aside from those things, there are lots of people, who enjoy winter. There are all the winter sports enthusiasts, as well as these cute animals.

SNOW!!!

WHEE!!!

Nope! I think he's team winter-go-away

I have never been a seasonal reader, but I have considered it from time to time, especially when I see a bunch of teamed reading challenges or read-a-thons floating around. I have considered wholeheartedly grabbing onto winter, and diving into those frosty themed books. The thought has crossed my mind, that perhaps, reading about people enjoying the cold and snow could make me see it in a more positive way. 

But, then I remember my constant quest to get warm. There's the layers and layers of clothing necessary to keep my core body temperature up when indoors. 


And, let's not forget the mummification that is necessary, when I venture out of doors. 


And, then there is the danger of trying to drive in the snow and the ice. 


That's when the escape seems like a much better idea. I want to forget about the cold, and take a "trip" somewhere warm and cozy. I want to go to a place where it isn't dark when I leave for work AND when I return from work. I dream of  being able to feel my toes, my nose, and my face again. 


I feel like I am more compelled to pick up a "beach read", than a winter themed book, and just let myself bask in the sunshine of that story. Since I can't afford to actually go somewhere with warmer weather, I will attempt to get it via my books as I try to maintain my sanity until spring. 

Now it's your turn!

Do you prefer to embrace or escape the winter weather? 
Let us know in the comments!

44 comments:

  1. Haha - I typically hardly read any contemporaries, so I'm neither team winter nor team summer when it comes to my reading. But though we pretty much never drop below 0°C where I live, and though the highs of summer drain me, I feel the cold as well. (Yes, I'm complicated 🙄). Snow is aesthetically pleasing and all (and look at the dog in the first gif! He's an Olympic champion! Where do you find such hilarious gifs BTW?), but I hear you...probably best getting cozy with a summer read LOL.

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    1. Snow is beautiful to look at, and I will look and smile, unless I have some place to be. It just makes getting anywhere harder, and when I am traveling in it, I end up a wet mess by the time I get to my destination, which is usually work. Being cold and wet all day makes me super cranky. I love gifs and have no idea how we properly expressed ourselves before they were a thing.

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  2. I like winter-I don't mind it cold and snowy if I'm not going out in it! I wasn't keen on winter when I had to go into the city to work in it!

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    1. And that is exactly how I feel. It's fine, if I have no where to go. We lived in Florida for a little over six years, and my father always complained about the heat and humidity, which is present for the bulk of the year. I personally didn't mind it, because I really didn't do much outdoors, and it didn't interfere with me getting to and from work. Up here, I use mass transit and work far from home. The weather impacts me a lot more these days.

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  3. Okay, the panda rolling in the snow is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen and I want to sit here and watch it all day. :) But since I can't... I guess feelings about winter (and winter reading) are largely relative to where you are and what kind of winter you experience. If I was with you in the 5 degree weather, I'd probably want a beach read, too. But here in FL when just a few days ago it was 75 degrees, I can honestly say winter has little to no impact on my reading. *sigh*

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    1. I know. I had to include the panda, because it has given me so much happiness. I remember the days of not owning a winter coat, and yes I miss it and am jealous.

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  4. Those animals are so cute! My current dog (and my previous 2 dogs) loved snow. I like winter if I don’t have to go out in it. We have several feet of snow on the ground right now, and it makes everything slow and difficult. I’m not a seasonal reader, so I don’t think winter has any impact on my reading.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. You get some interesting weather in your neck of the woods. My last dog was not a fan. I had to put out newspaper for her to go to the bathroom, because she hated the feeling of snow on her paws, but my dog before her loved it. I even have pictures of that dog sledding with us. I acknowledge, that there are fun things to do in the snow, however, when it comes to the day to day, it just makes it harder to do what you need to.

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  5. ESCAPE! Been there, done that, I'll look at the lovely pics. BUT, even in Florida it is cold. Frost on the grass this morning.
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    1. All my reading is an escape, but the colder it gets, the more I crave a sunny romance.

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  6. The animals in the snow are the best. I hate winter though. It is the worst. So I say escape!

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    1. I am right there with you, Grace, but at least we have cute pics of animals in snow to make it easier.

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  7. I don't really do seasonal reading either way, but I hate being cold, so I probably wouldn't want to read about snow and ice when I'm already feeling chilly.

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    1. I feel like I am trying to escape the weather more and more lately. I think it's largely in part to the fact that spring and fall seem to have disappeared. It goes from being unbearably hot to teeth chattering cold. No real in-between.

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  8. Oh I hate winter. I like being warm and would much rather be sweating in the sun than shivering in the winter. I am not a seasonal reader at all. You'll probably catch me reading a summer YA novel in December or a Christmas book in June. I just read whatever I am in the mood for :P

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    1. I am just a moderate about everything. I want temperatures to be between 50 - 80°F (10 - 26°C). Not only do I usually not read seasonally, but I rarely tag in for holiday books. I don't know why. I think my ARCs drive my reading a lot, and we are reading them prior to release. Sometimes they coincide with the seasons, but more often they don't.

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  9. I'm not much of a seasonal reader nor holiday themed one! My books don't tend to focus on those!

    I much rather enjoy the colder weather myself, as I did a post on that recently too! Basically where I live it's either cold or boiling hot and I'd rather be cold and layer up to my comfort levels as you can't do anything to stay cool when it's really freaking hot out with humidity. It's just miserable and it's like that for half the year it feels like! Possibly longer! Lol.

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    1. NJ is the same - hot or cold. Doesn't seem to be an in-between these days, and that's my favorite. I didn't complain as much about the weather when I drove to work, but now that I walk/bus/train/shuttle, it affects me a lot more.

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  10. I would say I prefer winter over summer - I'd rather be cold than sweating all the time. I like snow as long as I don't have to drive in it! I don't think the weather has too much effect on what I'm reading though.

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    1. I choose neither, thank you. I found that a sunny, warm book did make me feel a little better the other day. It warmed me up from the inside out. And, yes! Driving in the snow is THE WORST! The one small storm we had in November added an extra two hours to my commute.

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  11. 100% escape. I don't understand how anyone can love the winter. The dry skin, all your pants being wet and salty at the bottoms from the damn snow and ice. The only plus is days off from work tbh. I will take all of those. Funnily, I don't love hot weather either so maybe I am just a terrible complainer, who can tell?

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    1. Wet feet are my nightmare, and I feel like I can never get warm. I hated teaching, but I do miss snow days. My company almost never closes when there is weather, and worrying about getting there or home stresses me out. I hate all extremes. I am just not an extreme person. I like 50 - 80 F -- all the time. Thanks!

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  12. I'm glad I live in Southern California after reading your post, but maybe we should revisit when the temps are 118 F in the summer? Yeah, I'm not all that thrilled with So Cal then. I wouldn't want my "real feel" to be -17 F, though! Yikes! I will say I love winter themed books and I'm currently listening to a winter Christmas book, and loving it! I can understand why you'd gravitate toward warm temp books, though, especially now!

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    1. I think most places come with some pros and cons, but I feel like the NE is all extremes when it comes to weather. It's really cold and really hot and humid. Though, we are not ravaged by fires, mudslides, or earthquakes, which is something that scares me about California, and the hurricanes we had to worry about when I lived in Florida were stressful too. I am looking for that Eden, where the temperatures stay between 50 and 80 F, and there are no natural disasters. I want to do more holiday books, but it never works out for me. Maybe HoHoHo for me next year.

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  13. The snow animals are so cute! We do get cold, well you might not consider it ‘cold’. But we only get a puff of snow every decade or so. If I had to choose between snow or heat, I would take heat. ❤️❤️

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    1. Cute animals are the saving grace of the internet. Really, it's why I keep coming back. We don't get a ton of snow in NJ. We have a few good storms, but it's cold. My daughter did four years in Syracuse. They get a LOT of snow up there. She was wearing snow boots until almost May. That's just crazy. Honestly, if the threat of snow was removed, I would take the cold. You can always put more clothes on, but the same can't be said for taking them off.

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  14. I actually tend to avoid books that even remotely have anything to do with the depths of winter. I haaate winter, and I refuse to spend my time reading about being cold -- I totally agree about using reading to escape the cold

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    1. I read a book set at a warmer time, and I have to say, it temporarily improved my disposition. There is something to be said for escapism.

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  15. Ah those animal gifs! 😍
    I embrace winter. Especially now I live in a house that isn't old and drafty and has heating that actually works efficiently! Huh... I think my answer to this question would have been very different if I'd answered it last year! 😂

    As for the reading, I'm a mood reader, not a seasonal reader, but I have to admit that reading a beach read while it's howling a gale outside and threatening to freeze my pipes is not something I'm likely to do. *shrugs*

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    1. I mood read to some extent. I am always trying to keep up with my review books, but I have been known to rearrange books, when my mental health is at stake. I read this book the other day, that destroyed me emotionally. So, I skipped around on my TBR and picked a book I knew would be light, cute, and fun. BUT, recently, I tagged in for a summery read, and I did find it also improved my attitude a little as I battle this frigid weather.

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  16. Well...it depends of the day! If it's a bright day with beautiful snow and I don't have to take the car or go to work (and get stranded on the gate as trains are always late when there is snow, or ice, or rain, or ...) then I love it. If the day is gray, cold and I have to move outide the house, not so much! Sophie @bewareofthereader

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    1. We all seem to agree, that snow is pretty and nice, as long as we don't have anywhere to go. People always look at me crooked, when I am happy about a weekend snowstorm, but really, I don't need any additional obstacles with my commute. And the grey skies are just sad.

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  17. It's summer this side currently but I prefer winter. I embrace it with open arms. I love the cold because you can actually do something about being cold but what can you do about the heat other than burn? I find that I read more during winter too

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    1. I don't mind the cold (that much), but when the temperatures and precipitation start making my life hard, I am far from happy. I think summer always seems more appealing when I am cold and winter always seems better when I am hot.

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  18. Oh my gosh is it awful that I like that car crash GIF? I'm a terrible person. Anyway I'm not a huge fan of winter but I don't like the super hot summer either (the temps that is- summer itself is fine if it's not 85 and humid) but winter just drags on too long an d gets too darn cold! Plus I'm with you on the darkness/ short days. I'll say escape!

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    1. That gif was a mild one. There are some really devastating accidents out there. Maybe you are a moderate type person like me. Hmmmm, not humid. I don't think I know that that is during the summer. The darkness really does get to me. Today, it's below freezing, but really sunny, so it doesn't seem that bad.

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  19. I really will read whatever whenever...lol. Before blogging, I would be just as likely to read a holiday book in the summer as I would in December. I try to post reviews of holiday books near the holiday but that is the only reason for the change. A warm and sunny book might help take some of the chill out of the air :)

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    1. I pretty much am the same, though lately, I have noticed that summery reads are helping with my mood as I drag myself through this winter.

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  20. RED ALERT - ESCAPE!! I like to think of warmer things in the summer, winter, fall and spring. But, no it really doesn't matter to me I pick up what I feel like and doesn't have to be a holiday themed read during a holiday or beach read in the summer etc. Just has to be good.

    Mary

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    1. Hmmm, I love fall and spring, and never want to escape, but both winter and summer make me miserable. I do agree though, I just want the book to be good, and usually, I also want it to leave me feeling happier than when I started it.

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  21. It took me only two decades but I think I'm finally embracing New England Winter LOL! It's the best time to write. Since I write dark fantasy the Gothic somber New England winters are super inspiring.:)

    I know it will sound a little lunatic but I read dark and somber in the winter. A "beach read" would make miss summer too much :) but that's me. It totally makes sense to escape to a warmer place via a book :) Great post Sam! :)

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    1. I love that it inspires you! That wonderful! I don't really like summer. I mean, when I was teaching, it was nice, because I sat around all day, but I am not a hot weather person. Though, I vacationed in my youth in New England, and the summers were pretty nice there.

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  22. To be honest, I don't really think about the weather in a book when I pick it up. I do hate Winter myself, I hate the cold, so if there was a book on my TBR that was obviously Wintery, I would probably put it off. It's bad enough that I actually have to deal with the cold when I'm outside, lol. Don't need it in my books. But if I was to pick up a book that wasn't obviously Wintery, I don't think I'd put it down just because it's set during Winter. I guess I'm not too bothered, really?

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    1. I feel like I share your approach. Most of my books are read by release date or availability, but if a wintery one showed up during the polar vortex or any other time I was struggling with getting warm, I would probably skip it for the time being.

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