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When the weather outside is frightful, is there anything cozier than curling up in your favorite chair in front of the fireplace, a steaming mug of cocoa beside you, and a wonderful book in hand? Let these great winter reads transport you.
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
When their beloved father is dying, two estranged sisters reunite at his bedside. His final wish: for their mother, Anya, to reveal her long-buried family history. As children, the daughters had heard snippets of the story, but assumed it was a dark fairytale. Anya, cold and withdrawn, never told them otherwise. Her full story, slowly revealed, leads from wartime Leningrad to Alaska, and not only uncovers secrets about their mother’s identity, but also at last helps the sisters understand the woman who raised them.
One By One by Ruth Ware
A remote ski chalet in the French alps. A work retreat for a tech company that launched a wildly popular music app. A proposed buyout that pits founders against each other. Tension is already building when an avalanche cuts the group off from contact with the outside world. When dead bodies start to pile up, everyone is suspect. Who will make it out alive? This mystery will keep you guessing until the final pages.
The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz
This novel is indeed a sequel to Korelitz’s best-seller, The Plot, but stands on its own. Our narrator, the cold-as-ice Anna, is the widow of novelist Jake Bonner, who allegedly killed himself after accusations of plagiarism. Now, Anna herself has become a writer, and as she sets out on her own book tour, she, too is threatened by an unknown harasser, one who could destroy her. Unlike her late husband, though, Anna will systematically knock off her antagonists. It’s a page-turner, and the added fun of this novel is how the author satirizes the literary world.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
An oldie, but such a goodie, with a pivotal scene unfolding in the midst of a blizzard in the English countryside. Orphaned as an infant, Jane is raised by a cruel aunt, shipped off to an austere boarding school and then begins her search for freedom and equality. “Do you think, because I am poor, obscure and little, I am soulless and heartless?” she cries to her brooding employer — and soulmate — Mr. Rochester. Almost 180 years after it was published, this novel still captivates.
In fact, I’m planning on curling up with this one again tonight. There’s something comforting about revisiting a favorite book, and for me, Jane Eyre is one of them. Jane overcomes adversity at every turn, never losing her moral compass and refusing to settle for a life that isn’t true to herself. The appeal of this 19th-century saga never gets old. Add to that the courage of Charlotte Bronte, who wrote under the male pseudonym, Currier Bell, because she was concerned her writing wouldn’t be judged “feminine” enough. Reader, I can’t get enough of these women.
Grandmas, here are three books to read to your grandchildren that will warm their hearts on the chilliest of winter nights.
The Mitten — A Ukrainian folktale as adapted and illustrated by Jan Brett
Nicki begs his grandma to knit him a pair of white mittens. The boy’s “Baba” warns him that he’s likely to lose them in the snow. But she agrees to knit them for the boy, and soon enough, Nicki loses one mitten. The mitten is found by a series of increasingly larger forest animals who nestle into its warmth in the snowy forest. The detailed and whimsical illustrations bring the story to life with gentle humor.
A Thing Called Snow by Yuval Zommer
“Fox and Hare were born in the spring, grew up in the summer and were the best of friends by autumn.” So begins this charming book about two woodland creatures who hear about winter — and the snow it will bring - from other animals. But what is snow? Every description is different: white, sparkly, cold, fluffy. The fox and hare search everywhere until they finally experience their first snow fall.
Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd
There’s a reason this 1947 book became a classic. Its rhythmic verse and repetitive word play has lulled generations of children to sleep. Gently, the everyday items around the room — a pair of mittens, a lamp, a picture — are wished a good night. The illustrations — a quiet pallet of deep blues, muted orange, greens, soft yellow — add to the sense of calm. Sometimes it’s all a grandma can do to keep her own eyes from closing during this sweet story.
What book are YOU reading at the moment? Let us know in the comments below.
