I read A Christmas Carol every Christmas… which seems really obvious and boring but it’s actually very funny and there’s something about the comfort of revisiting it annually that sort of brings me back down to earth when I’m stressed by the season
My winter and Christmas recommendation is Miss Marley by Vanessa LaFaye and Rebecca Mascull. It felt so right on the money as a prequel to one of the most beloved stories ever. And yes, if A Christmas Carol made you cry, so will Miss Marley. It’s brilliant. I adored Cold Earth! I know it didn’t work quite as well for you, but it was in my top 5 books last year. I’ve been on holiday in London for the past week and man, have I been book shopping! I picked up Still Missing in Persephone gray (but sadly didn’t make it to Bath) and Daddy’s Gone A Huntin’ too! Memoirs of a Polar Bear is a great winter recommendation! I will pull it out of my stack when I get home!
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey gave me great winter vibes, very atmospheric with a hint of fairy tale. Also, the Gormenghast trilogy by Mervin Peake radiates wintery vibes, it is an amusing dark tale of an old enormous castle and its inhabitants.
Oh I love Isabel Greenburg graphic novels, that one is a beauty, I should reborrow it from the library. Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping, has some really evocative cold weather writing, almost to the point of a sort of Narnia wonder. Speaking of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe has to have some of the best snowy stuff in the world of books as do many fairy tales. I keep meaning to read some books on my shelves along a winter theme but 35C here in Australia today so it doesn't feel like it's quite the time to 😀
Isabel Greenberg is brilliant. Loved her One Hundred Nights of Hero and Encyclopedia of Early Earth. The latter is a bit of a winter book as a lot of it takes place in an Arctic setting. I would add Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik to my own winter list, and Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Not sure why Piranesi, I think it's the isolation, and the cold white marble setting of the House perhaps (and I tend to assiciate books with the season I first read them in).
Thanks for recommending Quicksand, I would never have found it and I adore Carol. I admit I've also never read Northern Lights so I think this is my prompt to give it a shot. Thanks Jen
I guessed three right! (Smith, Pullman and Nicci French) I was expecting that one magical wintery children’s book to be on the list as well, but I was happy to be surprised by Philyyaw and Kohda, they are both in my recent year’s favourite reads, both obviously recommended by you, and I wouldn’t have guessed them to appear here. Always a joy to find your sunday upload, thank you for this
I read a lot of queer scifi and space opera in december and januari. Some other books that I recommend to read in winter are: Moon of the crusted snow by Waubgeshig Rice, Amatka by Karin Tidbeck, Small beauty by Jia Qing Wilson-Yang, Drive your plow over the bones of the dead by Olga Tokarczuk and The blue fox by Sjón
Currently in bed sick with C*vid, and reading Blue Monday bc of your recommendation. I am still at the beginning of the story but so far so good. I am very intrigued by Frieda…great video, Jen! 🙏🏻❤️
Cheers, Jen! Great video to watch after waking up from a haunting nightmare. I guessed „Names for the sea“, „Christmas Days“ and „His Dark Materiels“. Maybe the first two count as half of a point each, if we’re generous? 😄
My TBR for Dec is called «Xmas-y, cozy and murder » 😂 Currently reading Santa Klaus Murder (the one you recommended a while back), have more on the list: Mystery in White, Christmas Days (your recommendation), The Winter Spirits (short stories), Bookshops and Bonedust, Bandit Queens, started a queer mystery The Bell in the Fog (set in San Francisco in the fall, not very wintery and snowy, but it won’t be due to location).
Last year at Christmas I read "The Appeal" and had a really fun time with it. This year I'm planning to check out "Greenglass House" by Kate Milford and also "The Twyford Code." I loved the "Glass Town" graphic novel, really interesting tale and fun art style. Hope you like it if you read it!
As it’s got colder , I’ve started reading lots of Australian crime fiction. I read my first Daniel Mason in October The Winter Solider A great read. 🍀👋☘️📚📖☕️📕🇮🇪
Silent Night is indeed a good one but, as it’s the second one in the series, I decided to go for other books instead. Still very much recommend, though! x
Highly recommend, ‘A Woman in the Polar Night’. I’m not generally a nature memoir reader but it was so immersive and tense due to the time period- only rudimentary technology to get them out if things went wrong- and the descriptions of landscape were beautiful. I’m not from the northern hemisphere but I imagine it would be even better read in a snowy winter!
Have you seen the movie adaptation of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit from 2019? I think it’s wonderful! I haven’t actually read the book, but I will at some point.
Hi From Dublin and thank you for your always interesting videos and good book advice. Off the top of my head here are 5 great winter reads.the Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. wolf Border by Sarah Hall. Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekback. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson. Small Things like these, a novella by Claire Keegan. All bring evocative winter environments to life and all spin a good yarn.
