Sydney has had a very wet, very miserable winter this year – which has given me lots of opportunities to contemplate the perfect rainy day reads. I guess that’s a silver lining on one of these clouds that’s been hanging overhead… I’ve put together this list of rainy day reads to suit all kinds of readers: wherever you are, whatever the weather, I guarantee you’ll find a book here that tickles your fancy.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
“There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.” The first line of Jane Eyre will put you right into the titular character’s shoes, and you’ll certainly be able to relate if you’re reading it on a rainy day. Charlotte Brontë’s proto-feminist protagonist has to overcome much more than miserable weather, though. Her parents are dead, her guardian dies, her bestie from boarding school dies – and that’s all before she’s forced to take on the role of governess, only to be sexually harassed by the dashing/darstardly? master of the house, Mr Rochester. Read my full review of Jane Eyre here.
Bonus recommendations: Charlotte wasn’t the only Brontë sister writing amazing rainy day reads. Read my full review of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë here, and my full review of The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë here.
Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil by John Berendt
If your own rainy day is of the humid, swampy variety, you’ll be perfectly placed to read Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, John Berendt’s account of a murder in Savannah, Georgia. The first 200 pages sketch the unique characters of this corner of the world, and a history of the city, setting the scene for the fatal shooting of loud mouthed sex worker Danny Hansford, apparently at the hands of respected antiques dealer Jim Williams. It’s keenly observed, and skillfully written – and even surprisingly funny, at times. Read my full review of Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil here.
A Game Of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
If you’d rather be swept away from your rainy day to a fantasy world with dragons and magic and political power struggles and (ahem) incest, pick up A Game Of Thrones. You might think you already know the story from watching the blockbuster HBO adaptation, but the book still has something to offer. You’ll pick up on details that you missed on the screen, and delve even deeper into the perspectives of each of the primary players. Best of all: if your rainy days drag on, there are at least four more books to follow in the series. Read my full review of A Game Of Thrones here.
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
In all honesty, a bit of rain would be the least of the problems faced by residents of Beartown. It’s cold, it’s insular, and it’s in a pretty severe economic downturn. The hopes and dreams of everyone who remains in the dot on the map rest on the local ice hockey team. A victory for the Junior team in the semi-finals seems like a turning point, until a young woman comes forward accusing the star player of sexually assaulting her at a party. The subject matter is a bit of a departure from the rest of Backman’s oeuvre, but it will keep you gripped until the clouds clear. Read my full review of Beartown here.
The Diary Of A Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
Most booklovers can imagine no place more perfect to spend a rainy day than curled up in a quiet independent bookstore, maybe with a hot cup of tea and a cat for company if you’re dreaming big. You can transport yourself to that exact spot with The Diary Of A Bookseller, a memoir by the owner of the largest secondhand bookstore in Scotland. Go with him on buying trips to deceased estates, chuckle along at the eccentricities of the Bookshop’s regular customers, and immerse yourself in the comings and goings of a small town seen through the shop’s windows. Read my full review of The Diary Of A Bookseller here.
Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen
There’s nothing wrong with reaching for a classic when it’s drizzling outside – often, they’ve stood the test of time in large part because they’re perfect rainy day reads. Pride And Prejudice has a lot to recommend it, not the least of which is that it’s as comforting as a warm bath when the weather is miserable. Proud Mr Darcy fights valiantly for the affections of Elizabeth Bennet, who is understandably prejudiced by his insulting her looks and her entire family. It’s a love story for the ages. Read my full review of Pride And Prejudice here.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
If you want to use your rainy day to pick up Big Books that you really Should Have Read, pull a copy of The Secret History down off the shelf – you won’t regret it. This literary masterpiece of dark academia begins with a prologue that will knock your socks off. Bunny, one of the students at an elite liberal arts college in New England, is dead, but the full circumstances of his death are only hinted at in the vaguest terms. It’s a hell of an opener, and it compels you to read on immediately. Read my full review of The Secret History here.
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
If you could know how and when you were going to die, would you want to? It’s a great question to ponder on a rainy day, but the characters in Here One Moment don’t get a choice either way. The ‘Death Lady’ has gone viral: a woman who predicted the age and circumstances of the death of everyone a delayed flight. It would just be a weird quirk, quickly forgettable, except that passengers start dying exactly how she predicted. It’s a crazy conceit, and it’ll have you gripped and perplexed all the way to the very end. Read my full review of Here One Moment here.
Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
If you want to be swept away from your rainy day to a magical alternative version of Victorian England, pick up Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell. Clarke offers a Tolkien-esque level of detail in her speculative history (though she’s far less dull in the telling of it), and it’s like a blend of Dickens and Austen with a contemporary comic sensibility. Plus, it’s long enough to get you through a whole week of rainy days, at least! Read my full review of Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell here.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Whether you’re revisiting Rebecca, or reading it for the very first time, the Gothic tale set in the Manderley mansion is the perfect escape for a rainy day. A naive young woman meets an enigmatic gentleman on holiday, and they quickly marry. She is whisked into the lavish world of Manderley that doesn’t seem ready to accept her, still haunted by the specter of its former mistress, the titular Rebecca. When the true circumstances of Rebecca’s mysterious death are revealed, our narrator is faced with a choice; will she stand by her man and make Manderley her home, or run and never look back? Read my full review of Rebecca here.
Empire Of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
Not everyone wants a mysterious or magical story to see them through a rainy day – and for those people, Empire Of Pain is the perfect pick. It’s every bit as gripping and compelling as any fictional family saga. With the precision of a prosecutor, but the even-handedness of a responsible journalist, Patrick Radden Keefe picks apart the origins of the Sackler family dynasty: a drug that has ravaged American communities with an epidemic of abuse. Read my full review of Empire Of Pain here.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Never Let Me Go is a surprisingly just-one-more-chapter-y read from the pen of a Nobel Prize winner. It all begins with Kathy H, who describes herself as a “carer”, talking about looking after organ donors. As she describes her twelve years in the role, she starts reminiscing about her days at Hailsham, a boarding school where the teachers were called “guardians” and the children’s art was selected for display in a gallery owned by a mysterious woman known only as “Madame”. You’ll forget all about the dreary weather outside as you’re drawn into this world and try to unravel its secrets. Read my full review of Never Let Me Go here.
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
Booth is an epic novel about the family of the most infamous figures in American history: John Wilkes Booth. Despite its length and heft, it’s superbly readable. The pages flow by even when nothing particularly thrilling is happening. Fowler paints intimate portraits of each family member, and the narration includes deft wink-nods to the reader and the future. It’s a provocative and timely novel that will definitely keep you entertained long past the duration of a standard rainy day. Read my full review of Booth here.
Bonus: Of course, I can’t let any opportunity to recommend one of Karen Joy Fowler’s other books, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, go by – read my full review here.
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
For younger readers – or even adult-adults who just particularly enjoy young adult novels – The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is the perfect rainy day read. Charlie is the titular wallflower: a shy, introspective, socially awkward teen, just starting high-school as the story begins. He begins writing semi-anonymous letters, addressed to “dear friend”, and through these letters the story of his life and trauma unfold. Charlie feels mostly alone in the world, but he doesn’t seem to mind so much; as he sees it, there are plenty of perks to being a wallflower (geddit?). Read my full review of The Perks Of Being A Wallflower here.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
On your next rainy day when you’re looking for something to read, dust off your memories of medieval history from high school and pick up Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize-winning account of a tumultuous period in Henry VIII’s reign, as he seeks an annulment from his marriage of twenty years so that he can wed (and bed) the younger, fertile Anne Boleyn. It’s an old story that’s been rehashed many times, but it’s the perspective that makes this one intriguing, that of Thomas Cromwell, an opportunist who climbs from nothing to become a courtier and one of the King’s most trusted advisors. Read my full review of Wolf Hall here.
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