5 Cozy Winter Books To Read By The Fire
Photo by Pavan Trikutam on Unsplash
The holidays are over. New Year goals are in full swing. Depending on where you live there may be varying levels of snow outside. All three of these things put me in the mood for a good book more than any other time of year. The delightful break from the sprinting pace of December to the leisurely days of early January always has me reaching for my (admittedly lengthy) “To Be Read” list.
If you have the goal to read more books this year, or if you are simply looking for some atmospheric literature to keep you cozy in this winter season, any one of these books might be the perfect option for you. After all, is there any pleasure greater than curling up by a crackling fire with a steaming mug of tea and a good book? I certainly don’t think so.
01 | The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Based on Russian folklore, this book quite literally makes Frost one of the main characters. The setting is frigid, the prose is beautifully written, and the plot drifts along through different points of view until its incredibly compelling climax. I read this book years ago while still living in a very warm desert and I found it to be the perfect escape for the winter I was longing for. The beautiful details of the setting still stick out in my memory to this day.
02 | The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
This book is a given for this season, though it’s arguably just appropriate for Christmas itself. My childhood was filled with winters reading about the Pevensies traipsing through the snow in their fur coats. It always made me eager to get outside and pretend to do the same. I find myself reaching for this book this time of year even in adulthood. I find new treasures and meaning in this story through almost every reread. But aren’t all the best books that way?
03 | North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Don’t tell Mr. Darcy, but I think Mr. John Thornton might be my favorite curmudgeonly hero of all time. This British classic is a must read but I find the experience to be richer in the winter. When the heroine of the story has to move from her idyllic life in the English countryside to the unfamiliar terrain of a mill town in the north, she finds the locals and the weather to be equally cold. While North and South may be considered classic literature I actually found it to be quite the page turner and couldn’t seem to put it down. (For the record, the 2004 BBC adaptation of this book is one of my all time favorites and is well worth the watch.)
04 | A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas
In this compelling Sherlock Holmes universe reimagining, the book’s heroine, Charlotte, sets out to solve a mystery in order to clear her sister and father’s name. With the same mix of fascinating sleuthing and the coziness we have all come to feel at Baker Street, this book is best read when the weather outside is at least a bit dreary. Something about Holmes’ London always seems cold to me, and though I’ve never owned a smoking jacket, I would don the equivalent to read just about any book based in Authur Connan Doyal’s universe.
05 | Wildwood by Colin Meloy
I’m willing to admit that I picked this book up solely because of its cover. Though this isn’t a practice I (or anyone) would recommend, it paid off in this instance. With a secret world, talking animals, and a forest so wild it’s practically a main character, this book reads like many of the classics I grew up loving. Discovering the setting of the Wildwood alongside the main characters of Prue and Curtis is thrilling and the setting is simply magnificent. This is the perfect book to read aloud with the whole family on a day so snowy you just can’t stand to stray too far from the fireplace.
