Rainy Season Reads: 8 Perfect Books for Costa Rica’s Cozy Afternoons
Let’s be honest. Rain in Costa Rica is not a drizzle—it’s a symphony of thunder, mist, and relentless downpours that rewrite your daily plans. From May to November, afternoons become a different kind of sacred: mist curls around the mountains, frogs sing in chorus, and puddles turn the roads into rivers. What to do, then, when the jungle becomes a showerhead and your beach hike is suddenly a myth? You curl up. You listen. And you read.
This is not just a list. This is a response to rain-induced restlessness, a curated collection built for hammocks on porches, cafés with foggy windows, and guesthouses where the rain pounds so hard you can’t even hear yourself think—unless you’re lost in a page.
According to a 2023 survey by Costa Rica’s National Library System, book borrowing in the rainy season increases by 37%, especially in regions like Monteverde and Turrialba. People are reading. And now, so will you.
1. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
There’s Barcelona. There’s fog. There’s a cemetery of forgotten books. No, it’s not set in Costa Rica, but the tropical gloom outside pairs strangely well with Zafón’s moody, baroque mystery. One chapter in and the thunder feels intentional.
Why it works: for readers who want complexity, poetic mystery, and a book within a book within a secret within a chase.
2. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Yes, it was made into a movie. But the novel? Still richer. Marshes. Solitude. A girl raised in nature. Sound familiar? Many expats and locals in rural Costa Rica will resonate with the novel’s deep connection to the natural world.
Pair it with: a warm blanket, guava tea, and the sound of cicadas turning up their static just before dusk.
3. The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton
Let’s say you’re in Costa Rica, but a storm has locked you inside for hours—or days. This book’s blend of philosophy, travel anecdotes, and dry wit helps you rethink what it means to wander. Ideal for travelers who want to turn introspection into entertainment.
A favorite line: “The pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to.”
4. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
It’s a beast. A labyrinth. A storm inside a book. But let’s not pretend this isn’t the perfect companion to a Costa Rican thunderstorm. Magic realism bleeds into reality as naturally as cloud forest mists sneak under door frames.
If you want to find a hidden gem among romance novels or fantasy, you should go on your own journey. The vast unexplored world of FictionMe will help you with this. FictionMe has books from both famous authors and aspiring writers, both with filters or selection by genre, and search among random books that other readers liked.
5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Narrated by Death. Set in Nazi Germany. But somehow, weirdly, comforting. Maybe it’s the innocence of the girl who steals books. Maybe it’s the sense of holding on to stories when the world falls apart.
It’s not about escapism—it’s about holding something precious when everything else gets wet.
6. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Okay, maybe not everyone’s favorite. But in Costa Rica, where yoga retreats and spiritual awakenings come with the territory, it fits. Don’t be afraid, go now to Fictionme and you won’t regret it. Even if you roll your eyes at the start, you might find yourself underlining things by chapter ten. Or planning a week in Nosara.
Also, it answers a question you didn’t ask: how to entertain yourself in Costa Rica when everyone else is surfing and you’re just… not.
7. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Because sometimes the jungle makes you question things. And sometimes the rain makes you nostalgic for rebellion. Chris McCandless’s story is tragic, yes—but also deeply moving. And relatable for anyone who’s fled the system to live closer to nature.
Costa Rica’s expat communities are full of former bankers, marketers, coders—people who read this book and said: yes, please, less asphalt.
8. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
If you haven’t read it, now’s the time. If you have, read it again. It’s short, simple, metaphorical, and it lands differently when read from a bamboo rocking chair overlooking foggy jungle slopes.
Is it cliché? Yes. But guess what: clichés become clichés for a reason. Especially in the rain.
The Bonus Chapter: You, a Chair, and the Storm
Here’s the truth: rainy afternoons in Costa Rica are not an interruption—they’re an invitation. And books are not escape hatches, they’re entry points. Entry into what? Whatever you need. Stillness. Reflection. A good cry. A laugh. Or just a distraction from the power going out (it will).
If you’ve wondered how to entertain yourself in Costa Rica when the clouds won’t lift, don’t overthink it. Your answer might not be a trip, a surf, or a party. It might be paper, spine, ink—and the sound of rain framing every page.
Statistically speaking, Costa Rica receives an average of 100 to 200 inches of rain per year in its wettest regions, with Limón hitting record highs. That’s a lot of reasons to pick up a book. And even more reasons to not feel guilty doing absolutely nothing at all.
Final Thought: Let It Rain, and Let It Read
The rainy season isn’t the off-season—it’s just the quiet season. The thoughtful one. The perfect excuse to say no to the volcano hike and yes to chapter five. To brew a strong coffee, drag the armchair closer to the window, and lose yourself—on purpose.
After all, the rain in Costa Rica doesn’t stop life. It slows it down just enough for books to matter again. Which one will you start with?