Books Based On Specific Aesthetics

Sometimes, it just works to go based on vibes. I find that the book recommendations with the most niche aesthetics are always fun to explore and look at. Whether it’s books that are good to read in a specific weather, holiday season, or time of day, it’s an entertaining way to choose your next read. So I've compiled a list of books that follow that exact description! 

1) A book for cloudy October evenings 

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is the perfect read to save for those late autumn evenings. It’s a romantic thriller that is cozy, creepy, and atmospheric. Though classic literature can be difficult to get into, Rebecca keeps you hooked. It’s the eerie Gothic novel that inspired Taylor Swift’s song “Tolerate It,” and it follows a woman who marries without knowing that she’s bound to a husband and household that is haunted by the shadows of his previous wife. It’s fascinating, suspenseful, and compelling save this one to your fall TBR! 

2) A book for nostalgic late summer evenings on a beach

Postcards From Summer by Cynthia Platt is described as a novel that mixes The Notebook and Love & Gelato. And it’s exactly that. It follows a young girl who after losing her mother as a child, goes on a whirlwind journey uncovering her past summer secrets and visiting her enchanting summertime home. She learns of her mother’s complicated love and devastatingly tragic roots in this magical getaway. This book makes you feel everything, you feel drawn to the characters and especially the setting. There’s this air of nostalgia and recollection of beautiful and simple times. I’m so glad I ended up reading it this summer. 

3) A book for the humid May days at the end of the school year

We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach follows the unique plotline of an imminent end of the earth. An asteroid is coming to hit Earth, and it’s the one chance these four high schoolers have to live life to their fullest and come to terms with their humanity. Social groups and cliches that were once unique come together, they only have two months to love and live like they never have. They have two months to feel every emotion possible and to open their minds and hearts. I feel like on those last days of school people are nicer and more open, they come together right before leaving for months. And I feel like the emotions and developments of these teenagers in the novel are really reminiscent of that bittersweet feeling. 

4) A book for long afternoons spent in museums 

Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake is an unconventional take on romance. It takes on the sadness and complexities of feeling unlovable but finding another person who changes that view of yourself. Regan and Aldo are two individuals who feel vulnerable and develop a love that they try to navigate and shield from the fractures they have in themselves and their pasts. The prose is lovely and it’s filled with literary devices and metaphors that require some thinking to interpret, just like the thinking required to properly enjoy an interesting day at the museum.