The Beauty of a Story

In this corner of the world, it finally feels like winter. Winter is late to the party this year. He dragged his feet all through December, teasing ski and snowboard fans with a couple of days of overcast weather, a snowflake or two, before disappearing again. It was warm enough, dry enough, we began to wonder if we would have a winter at all.

He finally arrived, and seems to be here to stay. Frost decorates the fields every morning, shimmering in the first rays of dawn. The midday sun can no longer dispel the cold I feel in my very bones. There have been colder and wetter winters. But at least we have a winter at all.

In honor of the winter weather finally arriving, I wanted to give a small list of books that make me feel wintery. Not Christmas stories, but stories that chill your bones and make your grateful for blankets and hot tea.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett.

This book is set up north, where even the summers are chilly. Add in winter time, and winter faeries, and it is cold enough for even the most avid winter lover. This book is a whimsical, cozy story about a scholar who studies faeries, and decides to research the most unknown, scary faerie areas known to man. Naturally. And of course, they have to be cold. Why don’t faeries live in hot regions, I would like to know?

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton.

The entire book is set in winter. Not the cozy winter of warm drinks and fireside chats, but the deep winter that settles into and threatens to never leave. The story is a man who feels trapped in his own life, which is echoed by feeling trapped by the drifts of deep snow. It feels like a book of cabin fever gone wrong, of looking for an escape where none can be found. Which is exactly how I feel mid February, when everything is gray and cold and spring in nowhere in sight.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

I chose this one because, again, it is set in a cold place. Whether it is true or not, my memories of this story all have snow. Hiking through snow, traversing through snow, hoping the snow will let up, bundling up against the snow. Or perhaps I was just cold while reading it. This is another fantasy story, but instead of being cozy, it is a high stakes heist! The author blends heist elements with a magic system, creating a very interesting, unique story I recommend to any fantasy lovers.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy.

The cold in this book is so intense it could practically be another character. I suppose that is what happens when you set a book pretty close to the arctic circle. The characters spend many pages talking about how cold it is. How it seeps into your bones and you never feel like you will be warm again. The book is part mystery, part end of the world science fiction. The characters are a family tasked with protecting one of the last seed banks of the world. All around them is evidence that the environment is declining, yet they hold out hope that some way, they can make things right again.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.

Yes, the book covers all of the seasons in its epic scope of characters and years. However, some of the most important events happen during winter. Two characters falling in love. Russia beating back the French. A character finally realizing his place in the world. All of these things happen in the intense Russian winters which they fill with as much light and coziness as they can in an attempt to beat back the cold. In case you were wondering, this book is not that hard of a read. It more reads like a soap opera than anything else. So if you like Russia, and soap operas, I would definitely recommend.

I hope you enjoyed the list. What are some of your winter book recommendations?

Shaina Merrick