Hoping everyone’s having a lovely holiday season and got to spend time with family and friends — for me, the latter definitely includes some beloved books that I want to revisit, so here we go!
I originally wanted to make this a list of seasonal reads, but then I realized that I haven’t read very many winter-specific novels; so I’ve done my best to pick reads that are set in winter or that I feel are particularly cozy, and hopefully I’ll be able to make a more specific list in the future. If you have recommendations for any season-themed reads, please let me know in the comments!
- The Night Circus is one of my all-time favorites. It’s about magic, an all-consuming duel of skill, found families, love in all its incarnations, and so much more. Erin Morgenstern is a terrific writer, wrapping you up in the story just as if you were really there with Celia, Marco, Poppet and Widget and their kittens, and all the rêveurs. It’s a cozy book, and one that holds up to rereading time and time again — in fact, it was my first read of 2019!
- Listen, I love everything Maggie Stiefvater has ever written, but Shiver (and its sequels) is especially seasonally appropriate. It’s one of very few werewolf stories I really enjoy, with the urgency of settling in for cold weather interlaced with soft warm moments between Grace and Sam.
- Nancy Farmer’s The Sea of Trolls is a thrilling adventure based on Norse mythology, with berserkers and changelings and heroes in the making. And it’s the first in a trilogy, so if you enjoy it, there’s more 😉
- The Long Winter is probably a self-explanatory addition to this list, so I’ll just say that I love Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books in general. This one’s less playful and carefree than the previous books, but it’s still a wholesome story about a pioneer family doing their best to survive blizzards and rationing. (And yes, you can absolutely read these out of order. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, but they should make perfect sense.)
- Something about winter makes me want to return to the classics, and two of my favorites are Little Women and Jane Eyre. The former actually starts out with the March sisters planning for Christmas, though it spans years of their lives; the latter has bleak and heartwarming moments in equal number, and will definitely make you appreciate your hot drink and warm bed.
It’s a great time of year to catch up on good books, and I know that I’ll be trying to reduce my backlist TBR in preparation for all the exciting 2019 releases. What are some of your favorites?
Nine Tale Vixen 
I think my all time favourite is Ready Player One. I absolutely love treasurehunts and the addition of games and tvshows (even if they were from the 80s and I wasn’t born yet) makes it so much better. I don’t usually reread books, but I think I have read Ready Player One at least 5 times :). I’ve only read The Night Circus and Shiver from your list, but have come across the other ones before, except The Long Winter. I had no idea Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote books! I know the story and have seen the tv series, which I really liked so maybe I should check out the books aswell ^^
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I don’t know why, but in January, i have the urge to reread Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell so for me that novel is perfect winter book!
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ooooh it’s more of a back-to-school book for me (so autumn) but I can totally see it as a winter book too! there’s some really cozy cute scenes 💕 (actually come to think of it, it’s kind of an anytime book since it spans almost the entire year and I love it so much 😅)
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Shiver is soooo underrated!! I loved it to death. Also Little Women is wonderful.
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I never seem to see people talking about Shiver, but I love it as much as her other books! 💕
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This year I’m going to read her Faerie books, but then I think I’m caught up to her back catalogue of YA.
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oooooh nice! I actually have no idea which books of hers I have left to read … I’m pretty bad at keeping up with specific authors or the publishing cycle 😅
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I have read Jane Eyre and also Little Women and I like both of them! I have read Shiver but unfortunately I really hated that book DD: I actually own book two but I am thinking of unhauling it… I really want to read The Night Circus as well. Great list 😀
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thanks Olivia! if you haven’t read Maggie Stiefvater’s other books (especially The Raven Cycle) I’d still recommend giving them a chance, they’re completely different from Shiver 😉 no pressure of course, I’m sure your TBR is as packed as mine 😅
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I LOVED The Raven Cycle!! Read it for the time this year. I fully intend to read some of her other books too. It just surprised me that an author I loved could write something I also really didn’t enjoy (I actually read Shiver first but wanted to try her other books as well.)
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ahhh that’s awesome! and that’s definitely always a huge surprise, but a pleasant one 😊
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I wasn’t the biggest fan of Shiver myself, but I’ve heard amazing things about The Night Circus and will definitely read it at some point. I’ve loved/enjoyed all the circus-themed books I’ve read so far (The Weight of Feathers, Caraval, etc). The atmosphere’s definitely cozy and magical. ♥
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ooooh yes! The Weight of Feathers is on my TBR and I adored Caraval. I hope you enjoy The Night Circus too! 💕
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I’m a bit embarrassed to share that the only book I’ve read on this list is The Night Circus. Not even the classics! But I’ve read two different Nancy Farmer books, The House of the Scorpion and The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm. I enjoyed both of those quite a bit, so I’m certain I’ll enjoy The Sea of Trolls. It sounds quite different from her other books, however!
Thanks for sharing this cozy list, Isabelle. Will you be re-reading any of these this winter?
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I started off the year with a reread of The Night Circus, just to guarantee my first 2019 book was a good one 💕 I just reread all the Little House books last year. but I may dive back into Shiver and Little Women, they’re both great comfort reads and it’s been a while for me 😊
hope you enjoy any of the others that you decide to check out!
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That’s a brilliant way to start the new year! I love it. The Night Circus is a classic.
As I now live in Wisconsin, it’s probably a requirement that I read at least ONE of the Little House books, hm?
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I definitely highly recommend them! preferably all of them, read back to back … and maybe the extended collections by other authors 😉
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XD I do love to binge read series. Perhaps one of these awful snowy weekends I’ll jump right in and read as many as possible, hm? That seems like a great way to beat these -64 degree windchills!
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