One of the things I most enjoy about the dark season is that it gives permission for slow living and cosy days. At this time of the year it is perfectly acceptable not to stir from your living room, unless it's to put the kettle on. It's acceptable to enjoy being at home as much as possible, to draw the curtains and close out the night, light candles at noon and have the fairy-lights on all day. This year especially we have an additional excuse for all this cosiness because we are all under restrictions due to the Covid virus pandemic. Now we are forced to keep winter as it should be kept - by being as warm and toasty as can be and staying in with a nice film or a great book.
Universities always factor 'reading days' into their courses. This is time when students can catch up on any reading they might have missed, or do their extended reading around a particular topic. It's good to get into the practice of setting aside a specific day for your reading. It's isn't about being lazy, but it's essential to increase your knowledge and to give your brain fuel to burn. A reading day is also an enjoyable form of self care, but many people think that they are too busy to spend a day reading books. I would say that they are too busy not to!
I have a few reading days on my university timetable coming up next month and I am looking forward to them. In addition I have a pile of new books that I need to read and review for my blog, so that is what I plan to get to started on today. The books I've complied are all snowy, wintry books that evoke the spirit of winter, so look out for Book Nooks on them coming over the next two or three months. At this time of year, when the Christmas lights are twinkling and the fire is aglow, there is nothing better than curling up under a faux fur throw with a hot chocolate and reading a book of festive cheer, whether that's an old childhood favourite such as The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, a classic fairytale like The Snow Queen or a new festive romance you picked up at the supermarket.
Books are a part of everyday life, but never more so than in the winter months, when the imagination naturally leans towards tales of myth and magic and romance. I like to make my reading days as atmospheric as possible, playing an ambient DVD and a CD softly in the background at the same time. Today I have The Sleigh Ride on the TV, which is a long journey through the snows of Norway on a reindeer pulled sleigh and I'm playing The Box of Delights soundtrack. The two together, along with all the Christmas lights, make up an enchanting festive reading grotto.
I do encourage you to make time for your own reading days, because if you don't plan them and schedule them in you might not find the time. It's a lovely way to spend a day, during a time when we can't actually go anywhere anyway, and if you create a pretty festive atmosphere you'll enjoy it even more. So I'm off to get started on this pile of wintry novels I want to review for my blog and I'll be spending the next week or so curled up by the Christmas tree and lost in a book.
Enjoy your cosy reading days because this is what keeping winter is all about.
BB Marie x
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