Taurus, your reliable, practical nature means you love consistency, routine and time spent in the natural world. Big changes can shake you to your core and your love for stability – paired with that famously headstrong, bull-like determination – means you prefer a life (and a book) that feels secure and rooted. But beneath your strong exterior lies a big heart and a desire for home comforts and the finer things in life.
As a rooted earth sign, you are naturally drawn to books that explore the passing of time, the meaning of home and the beauty of the natural world. If there’s a little nostalgia thrown in there, even better. So, curl up on your sofa or touch some grass – then delve into these picks.
On The Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J Haveland
In the first instalment of Solvej Balle’s seven-novel series, antiquarian book dealer Tara wakes to find herself trapped in the endlessly repeating day of 18 November. As she grapples with the realisation that she is the only person who is aware the days are resetting, she starts to navigate the strange reality of a life that never moves forward. This meditative and deeply philosophical novel embraces intricacy and repetition, making it the ideal read for a Taurus who values consistency so much that they might handle a time loop better than most.
Hermit by Jade Angeles Fitton
This unusual memoir is a reminder of the power of retreat, resilience and renewal, and was made especially for the Taurus who longs for stability and, frankly, hermitage in the woods. After years of walking on eggshells, protagonist Jade is left completely alone in the Devon countryside after her abusive partner abruptly leaves the barn they’d moved into just weeks earlier. At first, the rural isolation feels devastating, but she slowly finds a sense of relief and freedom in her aloneness. Lyrical, contemplative and earthy, Hermit is likely to speak directly to the introspective Taurus.
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Beauty, nostalgia, the allure of luxury and sweeping descriptions of the countryside – this classic offers everything that makes a story irresistible to you, Taurus. Charles Ryder thinks back on his infatuation with the charming, magnetic Sebastian Flyte, who introduces him to the intoxicating world of the Flyte family at Brideshead Castle. Charles becomes enmeshed in their world, projecting his complicated feelings for Sebastian onto Sebastian’s sister, Julia. Reflecting on the bittersweet intensity of youth and the draw of luxury, a nostalgic Taurus will long to return to Evelyn Waugh’s pages again and again.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Professor Robin Wall Kimmerer’s lyrical work of nonfiction thoughtfully explores the deep connections between humans and the natural world. It blends Indigenous wisdom with Western scientific understanding, reflecting on our responsibility to care for the land, cultivating gratitude and reciprocity along the way. Robin’s writing will resonate thanks to its rich storytelling elements, slow reflection and appreciation for nature. A gentle, poetic and contemplative read to keep you grounded.
I Want to Go Home But I’m Already There by Róisín Lanigan
This book – part cutting social commentary, part ghost story – examines the anxieties of modern renting, gentrification and that unhinged decade of your life between your mid-twenties and early thirties. When Áine and her boyfriend Elliot prematurely decide to move into a new flat together, something immediately feels off. Mould coats the walls, the neighbours’ activities are unsettlingly ghoulish and Áine suffers from a debilitating mystery illness. What’s worse, she seems to be the only one that can see or feel any of this. Grotesque, uncanny and sharply observed, this novel will remind you just how much the idea of home truly matters – something a Taurus will instinctively connect with.
