Ten Books To Read This Winter
I don’t know about you but I can’t think of anything better to do during the colder months than making a boiling pot of tea, grabbing some thick socks and settling down by a fire with a good book. Now, you might not be able to light a fire without breaking some kind of housing code but a really good book should make you forget that it’s freezing outside and you’re heating is on the blink again. These books are at the top of my to-be-read list and they’ll certainly help get you through the colder months.
The classic one
I studied English Literature at university. For some reason, this fact means that every person who learns this about me says “Oh, have you read *insert classic book of your choice*?”. Funnily enough, I have not read every book ever written but somehow people always seem to be offended when I haven’t read their personal favourite classic which they studied at school however many years ago. However, I do try my best to make sure I make time for the good old classics which have so far eluded me. This year I’m going to tackle Suite Française by Irene Némirovsky. Written during the second world war and left unfinished due to Némirovsky’s detention and untimely death in Auschwitz, the incomplete drafts for the first two of five novels were only published in 2004 and have been on my TBR list ever since. Here’s to finally discovering the classics; better late than never!
The true crime one
Admittedly, I could read true crime books all year round and be quite content. But there is something about settling down to a good crime thriller in the depths off winter that really gets me going. This year I’m pretty excited to start a different kind of true crime book. Unnatural Causes by Dr Richard Shepherd is a look behind many famous, and several unknown, cases from the perspective of a forensic pathologist. Dr Shepherd has performed over 23,000 autopsies and, much to the horror of my other half, I cannot wait to crack open what I have no doubt is going to be a fascinating and gripping account of what it’s like to be at the heart of so many tragic and difficult moments.
The next in the series
I cannot begin to explain how much I love Philip Pullman’s work or how thrilled I was when he said he would write another trilogy based on his previous work His Dark Materials. The new trilogy, The Book of Dust, began with La Belle Sauvage and has now been joined by The Secret Commonwealth. This new book takes place 20 years after the end of La Belle Sauvage and seven years after the events of The Amber Spyglass, the final novel in His Dark Materials. Lyra, now a grown woman, is facing new consequences to her actions as she journeys into the heart of Asia to, at last, find the secret of Dust. I am so excited to dive back into Lyra’s world and spend my whole winter complaining that Daemons aren’t real. I always wanted Lord Asriel’s Snow Leopard, Stelmaria.
The long awaited one
I’ve been waiting for Markus Zusak to write another book since 2005 when The Book Thief was released. His storytelling is always above and beyond and I cannot wait to get started on his new work, Bridge of Clay. Follow the moving story of five brothers trying to make it in the adult world; raising, supporting and loving each other as they discover the truth of their father’s disappearance. I bought this to read over summer but it never felt like the right time; Zusak’s plots are always so intricate and richly absorbing that it only felt right to wait for winter when I can sit and devour it while the rain comes down outside. Having said that, I’m so impatient and it’s still so warm in France, I might not be able to wait for the rain.
The unexpected one
It might seem a little unorthodox but this book of salad recipes is exactly what I didn’t know I needed. Full of healthy, heart-warming recipes, the salads are surprisingly large and hearty meaning that this winter, I won’t be sacrificing comfort and taste for health benefits. I’ve loved using this book over summer and have been keeping my eye on some of the more filling and substantial salads to try when the weather turns. I’m particularly excited to try the “Freekeh and chickpea salad with pulled harissa lamb”. Not your traditional winter cookbook but definitely one I’m not going to put down just because summer is over.
The thought-provoking one
There is something truly magical about good poetry and somewhere around my GCSE’s I lost my appreciation of that. I guess it was dissecting one too many Emily Dickinson poems, or perhaps it was the T. S. Eliot. So when my friend told me to follow a poetry account on Instagram I couldn’t work out how an edgy, modern social media platform could go hand in hand with something as dull as poetry. But I did as she asked and followed Atticus: I now own all three of his books and check his account daily for new inspiration. But I always seem to be on the go. I never sit and appreciate his work and actively consider its layers of meanings. This winter I am looking forward to setting aside some time to really read his new book properly and let the rest of the world pass me by.
The one to read before it’s on TV
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or recently decided to cut all connection to the modern world and live in a forest somewhere, you’ve no doubt heard of a TV show called Big, Little Lies. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Shailene Woodley and Adam Scott among other Hollywood greats and it’s been kind of a big deal recently. Well, the author of the book which inspired the show has written several other books which you can get your teeth into this winter. Nine Perfect Strangers follows nine strangers who spend time at a luxury retreat to regroup, recover and reboot their lives. Full of twists, turns and secrets that promise to make you both laugh and gasp, I’ll be rushing through this before it gets snapped up by big-time producers and I end up watching it on Netflix.
The one with the beautiful cover
Whoever designs the cover art for Erin Morgenstern deserves a raise! I picked up her previous novel, The Night Circus, simply because of the beautiful cover and was hooked from the first page. I’ve since re-read the book twice more trying to fully understand the many levels and intricacies of her story-telling. And now, she is back with another enchantingly beautiful book; The Starless Sea. Follow Zachary, a student from Vermont as he happens across a book which contains stories from his childhood. When he follows a series of clues, he discovers a subterranean library full of magic and mystery. Morgenstern’s writing is always beautiful, lyrical and rich so I have no doubt the contents of the book will be even more stunning than the cover art. But until I get around to it, it sure looks beautiful on my shelf!
The one to listen to
If you haven’t jumped on the hype about this book then now is the time to do so. Not only is it a fascinating and beautifully-told story of one of the most important figures of our time, it is also full of insights, inspiration and is so incredibly enjoyable. Even if you don’t like biographies, you can’t help but fall in love with her story which is so sincere, witty and surprisingly relatable. Read by Michelle herself, the audiobook is sure to make the long winter evenings fly by and leave you feeling all warm and cosy on the inside, even if it is anything but warm outside!
The one I’m still waiting for
The entire premise of this book both fascinates and terrifies me; people randomly falling asleep and unable to wake yet doctors discover that they are having particularly vivid dreams and are accessing new parts of their brains. Told by those who live in the fictional town where this strange illness is taking hold, I can’t wait to see how this plays out. Thompson Walker writes so engagingly that when it is finally released in December, I would like everyone to be aware that I will be declining all party invitations. Only once I have finished reading will I rejoin the rest of the world, thank you for your patience.
