Winter Reading List

Christmas break, gingerbread houses, frosty windows, crackling fires, soft blankets, and a winter reading list. Tis the season for curling up in a cozy armchair with a good book! This past month, I’ve been scouring my book shelves to try and bring together a list for you guys. So, here are some books that really stir up some quintessential Christmasy and wintery feelings for me; including (but not limited to) sacrifice, love, giving to others, humor, romance, friendship, loyalty, and a bunch of nostalgic feelings. Also, I’m pretty sure somewhere in each book a character enjoys a cup of hot tea. So, get ready for some seriously cozy vibes. If you’re still not feeling it, I’ve included a quote from each book that should help get you in the mood for the chillier weather.

CLASSICS

Jane Eyre
By Charlotte Brontë

My number one winter read. Jane Eyre is such a binge worthy book. Between the hauntingly beautiful moors, wiggling door jams and creaky halls during the night, and a broody Mr. Rochester, Jane Eyre keeps me on the edge of my seat every time. The overall moodiness of the book thrills me to the bone, and Charlotte Brontë does such a fantastic job playing up the significance of the weather in correlation with the plot of the book. I love Jane’s tenacity, loyalty and optimism, despite her miserable upbringing. Plus, she was one of the first literary heroines to demand recognition of feminine strength, wit, and desire; characteristics which previously had only been given to men. Like her author, Jane was a true heroine ahead of her time.

Set the mood: “The next day commenced as before, getting up and dressing by rushlight; but this morning we were obliged to dispense with the ceremony of washing; the water in the pitchers was frozen. A change had taken place in the weather the preceding evening, and a keen north-east wind, whistling through the crevices of our bedroom windows all night long, had made us shiver in our beds, and turned the contents of the ewers to ice.”

Read if: You want to read a book with a little bit of everything – a thrilling mystery, terrific (if not sometimes strange) love story, swoon worthy quotes, and even murder.

Little Women
By Louisa May Alcott

Little Women is the quintessential fireside read – a charming and endearing story about four sisters and their mother. This book has so much love, humor, thankfulness, and giving in it; all of which help make is a perfect winter read. At one point or another, just about every character gives up something special to them for someone else’s happiness. Also, this is a book that just gets better with age. When I was young, I keenly felt Jo’s pain when she chopped off all her hair, but it wasn’t until I got older that I realized what a heart wrenching and beautiful sacrifice Mr. Lawrence made when he gave Beth his deceased granddaughter’s piano. This book will bring on the tears, laughter, joys, and pains of growing up. Little Women is a timeless and perfect atmospheric winter read.

Set the mood: “It was a comfortable old room, though the carpet was faded and the furniture very plain; for a good picture or two hung on the walls, books filled the recesses, chrysanthemums and Christmas roses bloomed in the windows, and a pleasant atmosphere of home peace pervaded it.”

Read if: Honestly, there’s no reason not to read this book. There’s something here for everyone – love, sacrifice, deep moral lessons, humor, thankfulness, and learning to be content no matter where we are in life or what our circumstances are.  

Les Misérables
By Victor Hugo

This is one of those books that you need to hunker down and hibernate for about a week to finish, but it is entirely worth it. According to Google it’s “one of the longest novels in history” at 1,400 pages. However, if you’re not feeling up to the task of conquering all those pages, Barnes and Nobel carries a great abridged edition. I know it may seem like a dense, stuffy read – one that you were forced to read in your college Literature Class, but it’s so much more than endless metaphors and absurdly long sentences. It’s beautifully written. You can feel the coldness and bitter chill of the Paris streets, the tension in the air as the revolution draws near, and the desperate plight of the French people. Also, Hugo throws in quite a bit of tomfoolery and humor (please note chapter names like, “In What Mirror M. Madeleine Contemplates His Hair,” “One Should Always Begin by Arresting the Victims,” and “Marius Becomes Practical Once More to the Extent of Giving Cosette His Address.”). Les Misérables is one of my favorite stories and has all the good markings of an epic novel: struggles, redemption, hope, love, and triumph. One act of kindness literally sets into motion a thousand pages of a magnificent story.

Side note: I would also highly recommend you watch the 2012 movie. I fell completely in love with the characters and it made the book so much more vibrant for me.

Set the mood: “A cold wind blew from the plain. The woods were dark, without any rustling of leaves, without any of those vague and fresh coruscations of summer. Great branches drew themselves up fearfully. Mean and shapeless bushes whistled in the glades. The tall grass wriggled under the north wind like eels. The brambles twisted about like long arms seeking to seize their prey in their claws. Some dry weeds driven by the wind, passed rapidly by, and appeared to flee with dismay before something that was following. The prospect was dismal.”

Read if: You’re in the mood for an epic novel – both in length and substance. This is a great book to read after the hustle and bustle of Christmas, when it’s warm and cozy in the house and you’re sailing on the downward shift that inevitably comes after Christmas. Family members are traveling back to their homes, and it’s just you and all those yummy leftovers left. So, stoke up the fire, grab a glass of your favorite drink, and cozy up on the couch for a good long read.

FICTION

My Plain Jane
By Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

Now that you’ve read Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, promptly forget everything you know of it, because this book throws the classic story completely out the window. The Goodreads description of the book had me laughing out loud like a idiot in the middle of the Barnes and Nobel fiction aisle, so I’m going to let that take it from here:

“You may think you know the story. After a miserable childhood, penniless orphan Jane Eyre embarks on a new life as a governess at Thornfield Hall. There, she meets one dark, brooding Mr. Rochester. Despite their significant age gap (!) and his uneven temper (!!), they fall in love—and, Reader, she marries him. (!!!)

Or does she?

Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions, in which all is not as it seems, a certain gentleman is hiding more than skeletons in his closets, and one orphan Jane Eyre, aspiring author Charlotte Brontë, and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood are about to be drawn together on the most epic ghost hunt this side of Wuthering Heights.”

If that doesn’t rope you in, I don’t what will. This book was a riotously fun read and completely flipped the tables on the classic Jane Eyre.

Set the mood: “Not quite half an hour later, Jane was sitting comfortably by the fire in a spacious but cozy kitchen, sipping tea, surrounded by a dozen servants, from Mrs. Fairfax down to a young soot-covered boy, who was in charge of lighting fires in bedchambers. Cook placed a large bowl of hot stew beside Jane.”

Read if: You need a break from serious and drama reads and want to embark on a hilarious journey filled with more than a couple ghosts, an endearing and bumbling aspiring author, Miss Bronte, and a somewhat ditsy Jane Eyre.

HISTORICAL FICTION

The Orphan’s Tale
By Pam Jenoff

Historical fiction is by far my favorite genre, and World War II is one of my favorite time periods to dive into. To read about what selfless deeds were done – the love and sacrifice for others, for complete strangers, amidst a time when such evil was carried out, reminds me what good people are capable of. The Orphan’s Tale is a powerful story of friendship and sacrifice. It follows two extraordinary women from different backgrounds and throws them together amid the bustling and dangerous life of a traveling circus during World War II. The book starts out with a young girl spontaneously rescuing a Jewish baby from a boxcar bound for a concentration camp. It is an epic story of friendship and a harrowing journey of sacrifice and survival. This book will keep a hold of you until far after you turn the final page. Needless to say, I finished it in a day. It’s the perfect read for a chilly evening at home.

Set the mood:

 “I can’t do this”! I cry aloud, forgetting in my desperation that I must not be heard.

The wind howls louder in response.

I try to move forward again. My toes are numb now, legs leaden. Each step into the sharp wind grows harder. The snow turns to icy sleet, forming a layer on us. The world around us has turned a strangely gray at the edges. The child’s eyes are closed, and he is resigned to the fate that has always been his. I take a step forward and stumble and stand again.

“I’m sorry,” I say, unable to hold him any longer. Then I fall forward and everything goes black.

Read if: Well, now you have to read it after that cliff-hanger of a quote (sorry, but not really). Dive into this one if you’re in the mood for a good WW2 novel full of daring acts – both in the air above the circus crowds as an aerialist, and on the ground, smuggling a Jewish baby through the snowy forest and out of Germany.

FANTASY

Hunted
By Meagan Spooner

This thrilling adaptation of the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast will have you on the edge of your seat. It’s set in a type of medieval Russian world and has all the good qualities of an addictive fantasy read: lots of snow and icy coldness that you can feel through the paper pages, a curse (of course), a ruined castle, a Beast, and a whole other world of mystical creatures. Also, this is no Beauty-with-the-pretty-dress-and-dancing-in-the-ballroom. This is Beauty who is a hunter, and rather than the villagers out to kill the beast, it is Beauty herself. A refreshing twist on a tale as old as time.

Set the mood: “Yeva watched the sky over the far-off forest, listening to the baronessa with one ear. The air was heavy and unfamiliar. A storm? she wondered, inhaling the strangeness. In the distance the treetops swayed as if in a gust of wind, but the rest of the forest was still.”

Read if: You’re a Beauty and the Beast fan. You’re always up for a good YA fantasy read. Legends and folklore are your cup of tea. You’ve been watching too many Hallmark Christmas movies and need a fast paced, adrenaline pumping, monsters and faeires filled story. This one is for you.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
By C. S. Lewis

If only we could all find a secret world in the back of our closet. This book is such a classic. I enjoy it just as much now as I did when it was first read to me as a child. The first beginning pages really draw you into this book. It’s World War II , and four siblings have been sent out of London, for safety, to an old country manor to live with a professor. During a rainy day, when they are stuck inside the huge house, they stumble upon a secret world inside an old wardrobe – and, as they say, the rest is history. It’s frosty and wintery, there’s an abundance of mythical creatures, adventure, sacrifice, magic, and an epic battle between good and evil. The world that C.S. Lewis has made in this book is rich in atmosphere and delightfully magical. I remember being absolutely enthralled with this book as a child, but it’s definitely one that you can continue reading as an adult.

Set the mood: “Always winter but never Christmas, think of that!”

Read if: You want to escape into a different world, one that is always icy and wintery, as you sip on a hot drink. Also, it’s a shorter book, so you can probably finish it in a day!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
By J.K. Rowling  

The Prisoner of Azkaban is definitely my favorite book of the whole series. We get introduced to the Marauder’s Map, Sirius, Remus, Crookshanks, (a few of my favorite characters right there), Buckbeak, the Patronus charm, and Dementors. Oh, and Hermione punches Draco in the face! Honestly, this is such an entertaining read. Something that I love about the Harry Potter series, is that with each book the characters are maturing more as well as the themes. In this book, we still have some of the same light hearted and endearing moments, but we also start to get into deeper concepts like “fear” with the Dementors, who embody fear itself, and finding out who really betrayed Harry’s parents – leading to their death by Voldemort. This book really gives the characters so much more depth and background. We also get to find out some of the stories behind Hogwarts (the whomping willow, the shrieking shack…). Overall it’s such a great read, and perfect for curling up in front of the fire with.  

Set the mood: “The Forbidden Forest looked as though it had been enchanted, each tree smattered with silver, and Hagrid’s cabin looked like an iced cake.” (Side note: Isn’t this just the best quote ever?? I can see it all in my head: powdered sugar frosted trees and a gingerbread hut with icing dripping down the eaves)

Read if: The Harry Potter series is so perfectly nostalgic and atmospheric. It instantly takes me right back to my childhood, which (in my opinion) makes it a perfect wintertime read.

If anyone needs me, I’ll be curled up on the couch in front of the fireplace with some fluffy blankets and thick books. And since I’ve just finished reading all of these and reviewing them for you guys…does anyone have any book recommendations for me?? Also, how cool would a winter book party be? We’ll plan it for a rainy day, and we can all bring a literary inspired snack, brew up some tea, and binge read/discuss our current book in front of the fire all day. Any takers?