Discover the best spring books for adults to read this year. These books celebrate the season of rebirth, fresh starts, and a reprieve from cold weather. They’re bound to make you feel renewed. Keep reading to make your reading life bloom!
Top 3 Spring Books for Adults
Tips on Which Spring Books to Start With
Pride and Prejudice: the best classic option, set in the picturesque English countryside
Late Migrations: the best non-fiction option, weaving nature into themes of life in short essays
It Ends With Us: the best contemporary fiction option, using flowers as a metaphor for a story of rebirth
Quick List of Books With Spring Vibes
This carefully crafted list of spring books in a variety of genres is brimming with spring themes, including renewal, growth, and rebirth. You’ll also find spring-related topics like gardening, nature, and outdoor activities here.
Romance Novels
- A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey
- Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
- It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
- It Had to Be You by Georgia Clark
- Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch
- Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Classics
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
- Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
- Middlemarch by George Eliot
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Other Spring Fiction (Historical and Contemporary)
- Absent in the Spring by Agatha Christie
- The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman
- The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
- Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
- Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
- Queen Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank
- Spring by Ali Smith
Spring Non Fiction and Poetry
- An American in Provence by Jamie Beck
- Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
- Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl
- A Poem for Every Spring Day by a collection of poets
Details of the Full Spring Reading List
Below are details of each book in this spring reading list, including my reviews and recommendations for what type of person should read each one.
Absent in the Spring by Agatha Christie
Best for fans of Agatha Christie and character-driven novels
Absent in the Spring is a character-driven book about a middle-aged woman. She looks back at her seemingly happy life while stuck at a desert outpost.
As her past unravels before her, she realizes that both she and her life were not what she believed. Rather, she had been “absent in the spring” seasons of life, to quote Shakespeare’s Sonnet 98.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Best for fans of children’s fairy tales
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is the beloved children’s classic book on the Gilmore Girls reading list. It oozes springtime from the whimsical garden to the White Rabbit, tea party, and so much more.
It’s the type of book you’ll want to re-read every year. I especially recommend graphic editions to enhance your fantastical reading experience.
Related Post: Alice in Wonderland Quotes
An American in Provence by Jamie Beck
New York Times bestseller
Best for fans of coffee table books and travel memoirs
An American in Provence is one of the most visually stunning books you will ever see. And, while it covers all seasons of the year in the French countryside, it just feels the most like spring.
A busy New Yorker and photographer took a one-year trip to Provence that soon became five years. Here, it’s all documented in photos, recipes, and poetic words that blend to form a one-of-a-kind piece of art.
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
- Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
- #1 New York Times bestseller
- Over 4 million copies sold
Best for those celebrating St. Patrick’s Day
Angela’s Ashes is an unforgettable memoir that may be best read around St. Patrick’s Day for those looking to read a great Irish author to celebrate spring. It’s an unforgettable memoir about being Irish and poor in both Ireland and America.
A book everyone should read, it’s known for illustrating McCourt’s distinctly Irish dialogue, which really connects you as a reader to him. So, it works especially well on audio. Like most memoirs, you’ll easily become engrossed in his life story.
Related Post: Quotes from Angela’s Ashes
Anne of Green Gables of L.M. Montgomery
Best for fans of children’s classics
Anne of Green Gables has an energetic spirit that mimics spring. When this adventurous red-headed orphan arrives at the farmhouse, she wants to stay forever. First, she must win everyone over with her enormous imagination.
This is just one of those books that everyone should read. It works for children and adults alike. To this day, it makes me happy to think about it.
Related Posts: Best Anne of Green Gables Quotes | Anne of Green Gables Books in Order
A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey
New York Times bestseller
Best for fans of Young Adult novels
A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow is a Reese’s Young Adult book club pick perfect for an outdoor day over afternoon tea.
After Lila’s post-graduation plans fall apart, her parents plan for her to spend three months in England. She dislikes this until she meets Orion, a troubled clerk at a teashop.
He appoints himself as Lila’s tour guide. Before long, England (and Orion) start to feel charming.
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
- New York Times bestseller
- Named one of the best books of the year by NPR
Best for fans of modern romances
Evvie Drake Starts Over is a Read with Jenna book club pick about rebirth and the warm weather sport of baseball.
It’s about a widowed woman and a disgraced Major League baseball player. He becomes her roommate in Maine to escape New York and figure out how to fix his career.
If you have watched any rom-com, you can figure out where this charming story goes. It’s a real charmer, and the themes of starting over really shine through in the details of the plot.
The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman
Best for fans of bittersweet feel-good stories
In The Garden of Small Beginnings, Lilian is a single mother, widow, and illustrator working on starting over.
Her next project is to draw boutique vegetable guides, so she gathers her kids and sister to accompany her to the botanical garden. There, she’s out of her element. But, her patient instructor and charming group of gardeners help her find the sun.
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
- #1 New York Times bestseller
- 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance
Best for fans of popular books and emotional love stories
It Ends With Us by social media sensation Colleen Hoover is about a woman named Lily Bloom who owns a flower shop and must decide whether to walk away from a toxic relationship and start over.
Yes, it’s a difficult read, but it’s as good as everyone says it is. It also offers hope and rebirth — with floral metaphors. Since it’s, without a doubt, the best Colleen Hoover book, now is the best time to read it!
Related Post: It Ends With Us Series | It Ends With Us Review
It Had to Be You by Georgia Clark
An Entertainment Weekly Summer Reading pick
Best for fans of Love Actually
It Had to Be You is a wedding-themed book that intermixes love stories in a romantic comedy for those who want the magic of Love Actually to continue into another season.
It’s about several members of a wedding planning team, along with their clients (and maybe even a guest or two).
It begins at a wedding gone wrong. A middle-aged Liv learns that her business partner (and husband) has abruptly died. The kicker? He bequeathed his half of the business to his mistress. Savannah is young and full of Southern charm. With Liv, they must start over in more ways than one.
As they plan several weddings, they experience everything from second chances to secret romances and changes of heart.
The range of characters and their unique love and life stories intermingled make for a truly delightful reading experience.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
New York Times bestseller
Best for fans of modern coming-of-age stories
Former foster child Victoria uses flowers to connect to the world. An emancipated adult, she helps strangers choose flowers and works toward a second chance at life and happiness for herself.
The Language of Flowers is a powerful story of forgiveness, redemption, and rebirth.
Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl
- Named a “Best Book of the Year” by New York Public Library and more
- Southern Book Prize Finalist
Best for fans of Mary Oliver and memoirs
Late Migrations is a Read with Jenna Book Club pick. It’s also a beautiful memoir about life, death, love, and loss told through short essays containing poetic references to nature.
Renkl poignantly explores the meaning of life through several connections to nature. She provides hope in the beauty of living nature and rebirth. It’s absolutely stunning and feels like a meditative experience.
I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys connecting real life experiences to nature. It makes a really meaningful impact.
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Best for fans of classic poetry
Whitman’s classic poetry in Leaves of Grass relies heavily on symbolism, allegory, and meditation to praise nature and humanity’s role in it. It’s a lyrical embrace of all things spring.
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
New York Times bestseller
Best for fans of historical fiction
Lilac Girls is a harrowing World War II story that makes this list of the best spring books because it offers budding hope for women after their experiences in concentration camps.
Real-life American heroine Caroline Ferraday breathes life and hope into a grim tale, and the author tells this story with great reverence.
Meticulously researched, it’s one of the most impactful historical fiction books I’ve ever read. It’s absolutely shocking, yet also provides some glimmers.
Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch
New York Times bestseller
Best for fans of Young Adult books
Love & Luck is an escape read set in Ireland (and thus great for St. Patrick’s Day reading), involves a destination wedding, and imparts themes of healing.
Only a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle and its luscious green hills, expansive castles, and fairy-tale forests can set the stage for this Young Adult book of familial growth.
Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
Best for fans of historical fiction and Grace Kelly
Meet Me in Monaco is a historical fiction book set in spring. As Hollywood elites and paparazzi flock to Cannes in the springtime, starlet Grace Kelly takes shelter from British photographer James Henderson in Sophie Duval’s struggling perfume shop. There, she mixes delectable floral scents.
Their lives intertwine as Grace Kelly meets, becomes engaged to, and eventually marries Prince Rainier of Monaco in a beautiful spring wedding.
It’s a glamorous escape read with a bit of heart and hope that spans thirty years of time. It’s a light and delightful reading experience overall.
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Best for fans of classic romances
Middlemarch takes the reader on a journey to loving strolls and carriage rides in the English countryside during the Victorian era.
By way of several love stories, this epic novel explores art, religion, science, politics, self, and society. It’s delighted readers for generations.
A Poem for Every Spring Day by a Collection of Poets
Best for fans of poetry collections
A Poem for Every Spring Day offers one poem for each day of March, April, and May. Poets like William Wordsworth, John Donne, Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, and more share the scenes of spring from its first rains to the blooms of Easter.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Best for fans of classic romances
Pride and Prejudice is the classic love story of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. From the romance at the heart of the novel to the budding love lives of Elizabeth’s sisters in the lush English countryside, it just feels like spring.
I recommend listening to Pride and Prejudice on Audible, narrated by actress Rosamund Pike, who starred in one of the film adaptations.
Related Posts: Pride and Prejudice Book Covers | Pride and Prejudice Quotes
Queen Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank
Best for fans of Southern charm and Hallmark movies
Queen Bee is a quick and light read that is set in spring and is lush with details about nature, including fun facts about bees.
This book set in South Carolina takes the reader to Sullivan’s Island, where a mother and her two adult daughters (one of whom is a beekeeper), come into their own in their love lives.
It offers a full arc of the three main characters as they start new lives in the season of rebirth. It’s a sugary-sweet read that leaves you with a smile. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a charming guilty pleasure read.
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
Best for fans of classic romances
A Room with a View is the classic Victorian romance novel once discussed on The Office by The Finer Things Club.
Set in the Italian and English countryside, Lucy is a young woman on the verge of an awakening, in which she must choose between convention and passion.
It’s a short classic book to which even modern readers can relate. I also recommend the modern re-telling Sex and Vanity for a great book pairing.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Best for fans of children’s classics
The Secret Garden is a delightful classic about a young English girl who returns to England from India as an orphan. The protagonist transforms when she discovers a charming walled garden that is always locked.
The Secret Garden has elements of mystery, spirituality, and charming characters.
It’s the type of children’s book that would make a great read-aloud with kids.
Related Post: Best Quotes from The Secret Garden
Spring by Ali Smith
- a New York Times Notable Book
- Longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction
Best for fans of modern literary fiction
Spring is the third of the popular seasonal quartet by beloved author Ali Smith. It connects such unlikely people and things as Shakespeare, Beethoven, and Brexit in a time of change.
Filled with metaphors of the season, Spring tackles politics through literary fiction for those who like slow burns.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Best for fans of coming-of-age classics
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is the beloved American coming-of-age classic about the budding of a young city girl at the turn of the century.
Young, naive Francie Nolan experiences bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg as she blooms in her own time and place. Her story contains moments of universal experience that readers continue to love.
It’s a high school classic that readers actually love to read. It’s one of my own favorite high school reads.
Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Best for fans of contemporary romance fiction
Weather Girl is a fun book to read during April showers! Ari loves being a rising TV meteorologist, but her boss, the legendary meteorologist Torrance Hale, is too distracted by her ex, the station director, to mentor her.
She teams up with sports reporter Russell to get them back together, but it all backfires when cheery Ari becomes vulnerable and her chemistry builds with Russell.
It’s a very enjoyable read overall that takes you on a fun ride. It has a very light and escapist feel for the season.
Frequently Asked Questions
Some classic spring books to read are:
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
In literature, spring often symbolizes rebirth, renewal, and new beginnings. It represents a time of growth, hope, and the rejuvenation of nature. spring serves as a literary metaphor for fresh starts and personal transformation.
These spring books for adults celebrate rebirth, sun mixed with rain starting over, baseball season, nature, blooming flowers, time outdoors, growth, love, light after darkness, second chances at life, weddings, and more!
Conclusion
The best spring books for adults will enlighten and uplift your reading life in this season of rebirth. To recap and help you decide what to read first or next my top three picks are:
SHOP THE BEST BOOKS ABOUT SPRING
What Spring books are you excited to read this year? Share your top picks in the comments below.
More Spring Experiences You’ll Love
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Spring is my favorite season, thanks for the great recommendations!
I love your seasonal lists and have found many great books through your blog! Looking forward to trying some of these for spring. Thanks for sharing!!! (and p.s. a tree grows in brooklyn is also one my favorite classics!)
Hi Jill, I am so glad you find some seasonal books to read. As a seasonal reader myself, they are some of my favorite posts to create!! Happy Spring reading!!
Great suggestions! Anne of Green Gables on audio is on my list, and I loved How To Walk Away!
thanks Dara!!