Books to read near an open window in spring

In which our heroine fills your shelves with inspiration and imagination

Happy spring, my sweet friend!

A quick note - this overflowing bouquet of books will likely get cut off in your inbox. You can see the whole thing in your browser or the Substack app, just click the title of the post above.

I’m starting to panic slightly about abandoning my seasonal TBR piles this year and not having a stack of books with floral covers waiting for me. But overall, my goal to follow my heart when it comes to my reading is going extremely well. I know the springy books are there on my shelves, I just have to find them when I’m ready.

However, I still am deeply committed to making spring TBR lists for all of you! Now that the sun is shining (some days, it’s raining as I write this) and flowers are starting to peek out of the ground, it feels like time for a fresh start. That’s the idea that guides me when I think about spring reading. If we think of the spring bookshelf as a garden, I want some books that have deep roots and make me think about myself and the world around me in a new way. I want books that feel like soft ground cover to lay upon on a sunny afternoon. And I also want books that simply delight me like the tulips and daffodils waking up in my neighborhood.

add a book and this is the spring vibe to which I aspire

I recently found this Spotify playlist that has been the perfect background for my springtime reading - it feels like that scene in Alice in Wonderland when she’s lying in the meadow with her cat making daisy chains.

Before we begin: Please note that all books are linked in my Bookshop.org storefront, which helps support my work at no extra cost to you. If you don’t want to shop there, I’d love you to order them from your local bookstore or library. Both are magic and it’s so important to me that we keep them in our communities.

If you read only one book this season, make it this:

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - This is one of my favorite books of all time, even though I only read it a couple years ago. As discussed in my recent spring dreams newsletter, Anne Shirley is my ultimate soul character. When I read about her she just feels so real. She’s the queen of romanticizing life and looking for magic in the every day. Plus, nobody does seasonal descriptions like Lucy Maud Montgomery. You will feel absolutely transported to Prince Edward Island on a gorgeous spring day.

It’s giving growth

Spring feels like the perfect time for self reflection and personal growth. For me, novels tend to make me think about myself more than self help books do. These are a few of my favorites when it comes to character development and introspection.

• Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler - This is one of my favorite books, with one of the best depictions of mental health challenges that I have ever seen. It’s a story about growing up and finding yourself while navigating challenges of friendships and relationships. It feels sort of like a British rom-com that also addresses serious themes.

• Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak - This is a family saga by the author of The Book Thief centering around Clay, one of five brothers. Clay is building a literal bridge in the book, but he also is a bridge between his family members. It’s a beautiful story about the roles we play and how we hold each other together.

• Swimming Lessons by Clare Fuller - Gil’s wife, Ingrid, disappeared twelve years ago, thought by everyone — except her daughter, Flora — to have drowned. Flora comes home to take care of her father and finds letters her mother left hidden in books around the house. The letters expose the truths of a turbulent marriage and the imperfections of the people we love.

A season for dreaming & fairy tales

Spring is for dreaming and welcoming magic that has felt asleep back into our lives. What better way than with some sweet fantasy books?

• A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon, translated by Anton Hur - This is the perfect read-in-one-sitting book for a rainy spring day when all you want to do is cozy up on the couch and listen to the rain pitter patter on the windows. If you loved Sailor Moon as a kid, this story of a millennial who suddenly finds herself to be a Magical Girl is for you.

• The Girl from Earth’s End by Tara Dairman - A sweet little middle grade book that I picked up at a bookshop in Toronto a couple summers ago. Don’t sleep on middle grade books, my friends! They are so rich! Henna lives on an isolated island with her dads, content to stay there cultivating her plants. But when one of her papas gets sick, she embarks on a journey across the sea to a magical school in search for a magical healing seed.

• Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan - First, a moment for this book’s cover. Spectacular!! I love myth retellings, especially when they are not from Western traditions. This book transports you the the colorful, magnificent Celestial Kingdom where Xingyim has fled her home, the moon, in order to hide her magic. There’s romance, political intrigue, dragons, archery, tea ceremonies, and a very intense but satisfying love triangle!

A spring step into magical realism

Magical realism is one of my favorite types of storytelling because it makes me feel like the magic in my imagination could just burst alive at any moment like it does in these stories.

• The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Córdova - This book starts out as your classic family drama with secrets and mysteries to be revealed, but then it becomes a magical adventure that I couldn’t put down! Each of the characters have a power within them that they must discover as they navigate how their family fits together.

• Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan - Full disclosure, I read this book probably fifteen years ago. While I don’t remember the plot exactly, it’s one of those moments where I remember the feeling of being completely swept away in this story. It’s a fable peppered with ghosts, magic, and, of course, secrets.

• Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen - This is another of my favorite books of all time. If you love the cozy side of Practical Magic and the ways the aunts help people in the town with their magic, you will absolutely fall in love with this book. The Waverley women of Basom, North Carolina each have their own magical gifts, from plants to prophecies. I feel a reread coming on so I can return this secret garden escape.

Shall we step back in time?

I used to read almost exclusively historical fiction and tried to branch out in genres a few years ago. Writing about these books, I really want to get back into it. Will you leave me some of your recent favorites in the comments?

• Things in Jars by Jess Kidd - Let’s go to Victorian London with Bridie Devine, detective extraordinaire working to solve the disappearance of a young child. But the girl isn’t all she appears, reported to have mysterious powers making her a token of desire for unsavory collectors in the city.

• The Glittering Hour by Iona Gray - I love a dual timeline narrative with family mysteries unfolding in the shadows of a manor house in the English countryside. Maybe that sounds niche, but once you start reading the genre, you’ll find so many of them. This one is full of the glitz and glam of the 1920s, but also the pain of the Lost Generation.

• The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys - Speaking of pain… this might be too close to home for our current situation — or maybe it’s just the right time for it. It’s a gorgeous story about the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War under a fascist regime. Through a story of young lovers and family secrets, I learned so much about a period in history I didn’t really know much about before. You’ll be running to Wikipedia often to see what’s actually true (spoiler: most of it)!

Let’s get historical (in a spicy kind of way)

Okay, those last three were a bit intense. Perhaps you want a historical vibe more in the sense of Bridgerton or The Buccaneers filled with romance and a bit of spice? I think historical romances are perfect for spring, but looking through my Storygraph I realized I have only ever read two?! I’m working on correcting that as it seems like a gap in my reading — I just bought this book! — but I called in my friend Taylor from my book club to give us a third recommendation.

• The Heiress Gets A Duke by Harper St. George - If you are a fan of The Gilded Age or always wondered what Cora’s romance was like on Downton Abbey, this is for you! It’s about an American railroad heiress who wants nothing more than to run her family's iron works business. When her sister is offered up in marriage to the highest bidder, she does everything she can to stop it. But when a handsome Duke sets his sights on her…. You can imagine the rest.

• Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore - Want your romance mixed with a bit of women’s suffrage and political intrigue? Annabelle is working to recruit men of influence to the suffrage cause and sets her sight on the Duke of Montgomery as her target. But she must not give in to the deep attraction they have for each other. Intrigue!

• The Duchess War by Courtney Milan - Recommended by Taylor! A shy girl committed to being a wallflower catches the eye of a handsome Duke. But Minnie has secrets of her own. Bridgerton, season three vibes, anyone?

Cozy vibes only

Light a candle, fling the windows open, and let these books warm your heart after a long winter.

• The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander - If life has ever taken an unexpected turn and you feel you need to start over, this book will resonate with you. After her grandmother dies and she loses her job, Jess packs up her grandmother’s library and moves to a small town in the English countryside where she starts a library inside a red phone box. She heals the village — and herself — through books. What’s more magical than that?

• Shady Hollow by Juneau Black - Picture this: a cozy, small town mystery series, except the townspeople are woodland creatures. I mean, how much cuter could you get? Our main character is Vera Vixen, an investigative reporter — and fox. She stumbles upon a murder and is determined to solve it with the help of her cozy friends and neighbors.

• The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin - Beware, this one might cause tears, but in a healing kind of way. My friend Sara gifted this book to me and I just recently finished it. It’s about Lenni and Margot, both of whom are in the hospital facing the end of their lives. Lenni is 17 and Margot is 83 — a combined 100 years. They embark on a project to document each year of their lives in a series of 100 paintings. It has such a heartwarming cast of characters and is ultimately brimming with hope.

In the garden on a golden afternoon

These three books are each quite different, but each of them helps us to find magic in the garden, whether in the ways gardens shape our lives, how to grow something beautiful, or where to look for fairies.

• Spring Rain by Marc Hamer - This book tells the story of a professional English gardener, newly retired and planting what will be the last garden of his life. At the same time, he takes us through the gardens and outdoor spaces that shaped his life. It’s a beautiful memoir about the transformative power of nature.

• Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein - One of my favorite hobbies over the last couple years has been my cut flower garden. I can’t tell you how magical it feels to watch dozens of blooms fill my little plots that I started as tiny seeds. Erin’s book is an incredible practical guide to caring for all the flower varieties I want to grow.

• The Complete Book of Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker - Little girl me was obsessed with flower fairies. I recently found this book in my childhood bedroom and brought it home with me. I love to look through the beautiful illustrations and read the sweet poems, dreaming of the fairies that flutter around my own garden.

Finally, your cozy inspiration for the week:

These days, when I’m watching things on my own, it’s much more likely to be on YouTube than any streaming service. One of my ultimate comfort creators is Nancy Chalmers aka The Rambling Rose. She’s a self described hedge witch who takes us around her fairy tale cottage garden in Australia. Her videos never fail to transport me to a cozy state of being and inspire me to live a life that’s just a bit more magical. She’s also an artist and gives a behind-the-scenes look into her painting process!

Thank you, as ever, for reading Cozy Pursuits with Kylin Anne. If you’d like to support my work, please give this post a heart, leave a comment, or share with a friend. To help keep this newsletter going, you can become a paid subscriber or — if you don’t want to make a monthly commitment — buy me a coffee.