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Hello, friends!
Let’s talk about books.
Winter reading is different from warm-weather Summertime reading. Winter reading involves slippers, a hoodie jacket pulled well over our heads, and hopefully a hot toddy. Winter words don’t flit about on beaches during Summer vacation. I like a little more weight to the books I read in the cold weather, some thing that will match the heavy wool blanket I keep on my bed; the one that’s comforting despite how dang itchy it is.
Here are some reads for our Winter-selves. Aren’t you glad the holidays over so we can be regular people who flop on the couch with books instead of… running around not doing that?
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff • The twisty, uncomfortable, intimate, and beautiful story of a marriage. I’ve read this and it hurts so good. It’s beautifully written.
Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein • From Sleater-Kinney and Portlandia, tell us how you happened, Carrie.
We Are Water by Wally Lamb • It would be fair to say that everything Mr Lamb writes is worth reading. He writes very well about resilience. See also: She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb • Remember how engrossing this was?
No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale • Let’s throw in some young adult, murder mystery fiction.
It’s What I Do: A photographers life of love and war by Lynsey Addario • A female conflict photographer’s life. I’m reading this now and it’s amazing! I can’t put it down. Let’s choose our lives and live them all the way.
The First Bad Man by Miranda July • Miranda July and Carrie Browstein occupy the same space in my brain, but the way Miranda July tells the story of her characters makes me laugh and breaks my heart.
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi • A brand new book. A man goes from doctor to patient and explores what makes a meaningful life. Life and cancer and other easy topics.
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith • Let’s read a love story.
A Movable Feast by Ernest Hemingway • Hemingway invites us to 1920’s Paris where we can be broke, beautiful, and in the best company.
I hope you find something cozy to read. What’s on your reading list that I should know about?
xo Joy
MaggieToo
Stephanie’s comment led me to read that entire Kathleen Hale blogger/stalker snafu. What an utterly bizarre situation. I had no idea such twisted machinations went on.
JanetM
When my daughters were young, I Capture the Castle, was one of the books my husband would read to them at night. Thanks for reminding me of that book. I will have to look for it on the bookshelves and give it a read.
Jenn
I have A Moveable Feast on my winter list too. I just finished The Paris Wife by Paula McLain– it is historical fiction written from the perspective of Hemmingway’s first wife.
alicooks3
Gonzo Girl…… so good!
Ivana @ Macarons and Pearls
That’s a great winter list! I’ll be definitely adding a few of your picks to my own! I’ve just finished Big magic by Liz Gilbert, and it was such a lovely and fun read on creativity! And I’m currently halfway into Quiet by Susan Cain – I’m a born introvert, so it’s really an instructive read for me!
Brett
‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanigahara
Sarah M
I just recently finished Carrie B’s memoir, but let me tell you, it’s ONLY about SK. I was a little disappointed that there were maybe 2 sentences about Portlandia, but it’s not about that. I still really liked it, though!
lazyw
Excellent list, thanks! I read It’s What I Do and adored it, especially compared to a similar piece of fiction called The Lotus Eaters. Good stuff, incredible lives these women lead. Also of course Hemingway. When you read it, do you compare Paris to NOLA? I am in the midst of We Are Water now. xoxo
Tiffany
Totally agree about reading heavier books in the winter (both physically and in subject matter – I can’t concentrate on Real Issues when I’m dealing with back sweat).
I Capture the Castle is wonderful – so quaint and dreamy. There is also a film with the most gorgeous setting, though I still prefer the book.
I’m currently reading All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, which is great so far. I’m reading it for my book club. :)
Other recommendations:
– Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
– Dept of Speculation by Jenny Offill
– The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (a retelling of Achilles & Patroclus – you’ll need a lot of fortitude to read this one – I cried for a month)
– Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
– On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (one of my all-time favorite books)
Anya
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel. Every plot synopsis I read or heard about this book made me think I would hate it, but then so many people whose tastes I trust recommended it so highly that I had to give it a chance. And it was so good. I couldn’t put it down and have recommended it more than any other book in years.
Carrie
Also, “Help My Unbelief” by Barnabas Piper
Kyra
I love all of Wally Lamb’s books and We Are Water is no exception!
Mary
Winter is the perfect time to pick up that old dusty novel I grabbed at a thrift sale ‘just because’ it had an interesting cover, no description, or looked ancient. I recently finished Lorena by Frank G. Slaughter (not-so-ancient, written in the 1950’s), a haunting, short, wonderfully-written novel of a strong-willed plantation woman in the Civil War South. A fascinating perspective, and although I finished the book weeks ago, the ending is still haunting me in an intriguing way. I need a sequel! Next on the shelf is 1946’s “The Great Promise” by Noel Houston, I hadn’t ever heard of it and it was descriptionless when I picked it up at a used book sale. After reading one poor review (and finding no other info on it), I am even more determined to read it!
Danielle
I Capture the Castle makes my heart go pitter-patter. Timeless, bohemian, romantic.
I’m reading Fates and Furies now. Lauren Groff has quite a vocabulary. I love the beginning in Florida, all hot and muggy, and the characters are about my age so the timeline is relatable. I’m struggling with Lotto as a playwright, but it’s still engaging.
Thanks for all these, Joy!
Have you read A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes? A group of children in Jamaica must be sent back to England by ship. They’re captured by pirates, but it’s not a fairytale like Peter Pan. It’s brilliant and dark. I read it in one day, and it has haunted me ever since.
Considering The Radish
I read this a while back, but Housekeeping is, in my opinion, the perfect book to read in winter. It’s a slow burn but absolutely rewarding. Right now I’m reading Ripper by Isabelle Allende- a mystery novel involving a precocious teenager, a love triangle, a Victorian role playing game, gentrification, San Francisco, and astrology.