20 books to cozy up with this winter

One Day in December

by Josie Silver

This premise is great: Laurie doesn't believe in love at first sight. But then one snowy December day, through a foggy bus window, she locks eyes with a man on the sidewalk and she knows he's The One. But before either of them can do anything, the bus drives away. She spends the next year searching for him, but she's unsuccessful ... until her best friend shows up at a Christmas party with her new boyfriend in tow—and it's Bus Boy. Over the next ten years, we watch the characters navigate love and friendship, stew over missed opportunities, and hope for second chances.

Murder on the Orient Express

by Agatha Christie

It was supposed to be the perfect crime. But an avalanche stops the Orient Express in its tracks just before a passenger is found murdered in his berth, foiling the perpetrator's getaway, and trapping 13 potential suspects—each with an airtight alibi—in the train car with Inspector Hercule Poirot. If you've seen the movie, take note: Branagh changes Christie's ending. Hot tip: Dan Stevens's audio narration is fantastic.

The Terror

by Dan Simmons

Imagine yourself a crew member on the 1845 Franklin Expedition, searching for the legendary Northwest Passage. Now, imagine that your ship is fully surrounded by thick, unyielding ice. The men on board the HMS Terror feel trepidation at the thought of a second summer with their ship stuck in the Arctic Circle, hoping for a thaw that will allow them to continue on or go home. As time passes, their supplies dwindle, tensions rise, and the men realize that there’s something out there, a predator that they are unequipped to handle. Desperate, the men take to walking across the ice as a last attempt at survival. At 700+ pages, this novel is full of suspense and icy chills.

The Winter Sea (Slains #1)

by Susanna Kearsley

Carrie McClelland is an author looking for her next story when she ventures to Scotland. She settles near the ruins of Slains Castle to write, drawing inspiration from her own family history and the events of the Jacobite uprising. With parallel storylines in the 1700’s and present day, a romantic subplot, and paranormal elements, it’s no surprise that readers recommend Kearsley as an author worth binge reading. If you love The Winter Sea and want more, pick up the sequel, The Firebird.

Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I

by Hazel Gaynor, Heather Webb

For fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, this epistolary novel tells the story of a great romance. When the Great War begins, Evie believes (as do many others), that it will all be over by Christmas. As her brother Will and his friend Thomas leave for the front, they make plans to meet for a holiday in Paris when the war is resolved. As time passes, Evie feels helpless and struggles to find a way to help the cause, while Will and Thomas experience the trials and terrors of war. The letters between Evie and Thomas are candid and heartfelt. Though the title is Christmas-y, this book is actually wonderful for any time of year, so add it to your reading list at any time.

Winter Solstice

by Rosamunde Pilcher

In this quiet novel, five individuals, each dealing with their own painful personal tragedy, are unexpectedly brought together during the Christmas season in the Scottish countryside—though they've decided not to celebrate the holiday; it's too painful this year. But redemption is found in surprising places, and in the midst of so much loss, love and redemption emerge. This book was a delightful surprise; I enjoyed it so much.

Chirp

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street

by Karina Yan Glaser

It’s just a few days before Christmas when the five Vanderbeeker children find out their landlord will not renew the lease on their Harlem brownstone apartment. The thought of leaving the home (and neighborhood) that they love puts a damper on their Christmas spirit, but the siblings come together with a plan: convince their Scrooge-like landlord to let the family stay. This perfectly heartwarming middle grade novel with diverse characters and a charming setting will bring the spirit of the season into your home.

The Snow Child

by Eowyn Ivey

It's Alaska, 1920, the night of the first snowfall, which inspires a typically serious couple to indulge in a bit of silliness: they build a child out of snow, just for fun. In the morning, the snow child is gone, but, in a way that eerily mirrors a much-loved fairy tale, the couple spies a young girl they've never seen before running through the trees. I loved this magic-infused story about love, loss, and the wildness of nature.

The Children’s Blizzard

by David Laskin

From Publishers Weekly: "In 1888, a sudden, violent blizzard swept across the American plains, killing hundreds of people, many of them children on their way home from school. As Laskin writes in this gripping chronicle of meteorological chance and human folly and error, the School Children's Blizzard, as it came to be known, was 'a clean, fine blade through the history of the prairie,' a turning point in the minds of the most steadfast settlers: by the turn of the 20th century, 60% of pioneer families had left the plains. Laskin shows how portions of Minnesota, Nebraska and the Dakotas, heavily promoted by railroads and speculators, represented 'land, freedom, hope' for thousands of impoverished European immigrants who instead found an unpredictable, sometimes brutal environment, a 'land they loved but didn't really understand.'"

Beartown

by Fredrik Backman

This was a hard read because of the content but so, so good. Backman's latest novel is set in a backwater Swedish town whose glory days are gone—except when it comes to hockey. In Beartown, hockey is everything, and the players on the boys' A-team have god-like status. But this isn't just a hockey story. One night after a huge win, the teens throw a raucous party to celebrate—and what happens there splinters the community. Part coming-of-age story, part community-in-crisis, completely fabulous. (And I don't care a bit about hockey, so that's saying something.) Heads up, readers: triggers abound. If you've read and enjoyed Backman in the past, you'll recognize his skillful prose, but not the tone: this novel bears none of the whimsy of his previous work.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia

by C. S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis's timeless classic. Many kids read this one again and again and again. (*raises hand*)

Peace Like a River

by Leif Enger

An MMD 2017 Winter Book Club selection. This was one of my favorite books of 2014, although it was published back in 2001. A gorgeous novel that takes you on a journey across the frozen Badlands of the Dakotas in the heart of the frozen winter. Read it for yourself and see why so many readers call this their favorite book ever written. A tragedy, a romance, a coming of age story.

Chirp

The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy #1)

by Katherine Arden

A trip to Moscow left such an impression on Katherine Arden that when she sat down to write her book, "Russia came pouring back out." In this reimagined fairy tale, set in medieval Russia amongst snowy landscapes and magical forests, a young girl with a special gift attempts to save her family from the evil lurking in the woods. This spin on the Baba Yaga stories reminded me of Naomi Novik's Uprooted and Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus

Greenglass House

by Kate Milford

It's Christmas vacation at the smuggler's inn Greenglass House, and Milo finds himself with a mystery to unravel. While I couldn't help but wonder if the author was tipping her hat to The Phantom Tollbooth, the story reminded me of The Mysterious Benedict Society. An engaging read for kids and adults alike, and a perfect choice for cozy winter evenings.

In the Midst of Winter

by Isabel Allende

In Allende's new release, a traffic accident caused by a horrible Brooklyn snowstorm gets the ball rolling, bringing three very different people together to carry out a common mission. As they travel together through the frozen landscape, each character's story is revealed, as Allende takes us from present day New York City to recent events in Guatemala to forty years ago in Chile and Brazil. Not my favorite Allende, but she sure makes you want to know what happens next.

Snow Falling on Cedars

by David Guterson

This lyrical and heartbreaking first novel is set in an isolated, snow-covered Washington State island town in the 1950s, where a Japanese man stands trial for murdering a white fisherman. The trial brings the town's painful history and many citizen's long-submerged sense of guilt and shame sharply to the surface; Guterson skillfully unfolds both the history of the town and that of two star-crossed lovers layer by layer.

The Great Alone

by Kristin Hannah

A MINIMALIST SUMMER PICK. One of the best books I’ll read all year; my husband loved it, too. It’s 1974, and Leni Allbright’s father Ernt, a former Vietnam POW, suffers from terrifying PTSD. The family moves to Alaska in search of a fresh start, but they're utterly unprepared for the harsh reality that greets them. As Large Marge says, “Alaska herself can be Sleeping Beauty one minute and a bitch with a sawed-off shotgun the next…. Up here you can make one mistake. The second one will kill you.” But she doesn’t yet know Leni fears the violence in her home more than the landscape. As winter draws near and darkness closes in, Ernt’s mental health deteriorates, with disastrous consequences for the family and community. Yet Leni will survive—and maybe even thrive. A riveting coming of age story featuring a fabulous setting, amazing female leads, and ultimate redemption. But wow, is it tense in the meantime.

Still Life (Chief Inspector Gamache Mysteries, No. 1)

by Louise Penny

In the idyllic small town of Three Pines, Quebec, where people don’t even lock their doors, a beloved local woman is found in the woods with an arrow shot through her heart. The locals believe it must be a hunting accident, but the police inspector senses something is off. The story is constructed as a classic whodunit but it feels like anything but, with its deliberate pacing, dry wit, and lyrical writing. A stunningly good first novel. Still Life is the first in a series that keeps getting better. Great on audio.

All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr

Doerr's characters in this World War II novel are fascinating and altogether unexpected. The book’s setting couldn’t be lovelier: much of the action takes place in Saint-Malo, France, a unique walled port city on the English Channel. Haunting story, beautiful prose, and entirely deserving of its place on 2014's best-of-the-year lists.

20 books to cozy up with this winter

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