Life Entertainment 12 Good Books to Read in Winter What should you read over winter break? Curl up with one of these winter reading suggestions. By Rebecca Renner Rebecca Renner Instagram Twitter Website Rebecca Renner is a lifestyle and travel writer with nearly a decade of experience in print and digital media. Highlights: * Book reviewer at Publishers Weekly * Senior web editor at Aiport Revenue News * Founder of Renner/Barnes, a marketing and design company * Content writer at Leaf Group * Writer for Real Simple, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Outside Magazine, and National Geographic, among other publications Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Updated on December 14, 2022 Fact checked by Isaac Winter Fact checked by Isaac Winter Isaac Winter is a fact-checker and writer for Real Simple, ensuring the accuracy of content published by rigorously researching content before publication and periodically when content needs to be updated. Highlights: Helped establish a food pantry in West Garfield Park as an AmeriCorps employee at Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center. Interviewed Heartland Alliance employees for oral history project conducted by the Lake Forest College History Department. Editorial Head of Lake Forest College's literary magazine, Tusitala, for two years. Our Fact-Checking Process Share Tweet Pin Email When colder days arrive, it's time to stock up on tea, break out the quilts, and deck the halls. Our heads can't help but be full of design ideas to make our homes feel cozier. It's also the perfect time of year to cancel plans and grab the best books to read in winter—those with chilly settings and preferably with tons of snow. Some are funny. Others are tragic or mysterious. No matter the genre, books set during winter are often full of mystery. Maybe that's because the days are getting shorter, and darkness seems to reign. Or perhaps it's because of the eerie quiet that snow brings. With books like these, you won't have to don your snow gear to get a taste of winter. Pick up one of these twelve chilly reads and experience the season from the warm comfort of your reading nook. 34 Great Books to Suit Any Mood or Interest 01 of 12 What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand Courtesy of Hachette Still reeling from the death of her husband and the realization he'd been living a double life, Irene Steele is back on the island of St. John to learn the truth about the man she thought she knew for so many years. While this sounds a little dark, the novel, which is a follow-up to Winter in Paradise, takes place in the Caribbean during the sunny and festive winter months. Expect romance, drama, and some holiday touches—just don't hold your breath for any snow in this island escape of a novel. Buy on Amazon 02 of 12 Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips Courtesy of Penguin Random House If you're looking for a thrilling, dark novel with the literal chills of the tundra, look no further than Julia Phillips's Disappearing Earth. A finalist for the National Book Award, Disappearing Earth begins as two girls go missing on the shoreline of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. What follows is a gripping, tightly woven story of mystery and grief as friends, neighbors, and law enforcement grapple with the loss of these children. Buy on Amazon 03 of 12 Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi Courtesy of Penguin Random House Gingerbread has a special place as a holiday treat in many cultures. Helen Oyeyemi's novel by the same name explores the treat's role in folklore, where it sits at the intersection of sweet and unsettling. This mysterious and magical story follows Perdita Lee, a seemingly ordinary British schoolgirl, and her mother, Harriet Lee, as they make peculiar gingerbread and navigate the politics of jealousy, wealth, and ambition in modern-day London. Buy on Amazon 04 of 12 The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton Courtesy of HarperCollins It is 1936, and the Nazis are on the rise in Europe. Truus Wijsmuller, a member of the Dutch resistance, has already begun smuggling Jewish children out of Nazi Germany. As her mission becomes more dangerous, she finds help along the way. A timely and historical novel, The Last Train to London is lyrical and full of feelings. Readers who enjoyed All the Light We Cannot See will fall in love with this book. Buy on Amazon 05 of 12 We Met in December by Rosie Curtis Courtesy of HarperCollins Jess has moved to London after years of dreaming of life in the city. In her new Notting Hill house-share, Jess and her new roommates come together over a Christmas dinner. She's drawn to Alex, the man who shares her floor, and as the winter holiday progresses, they grow closer, even while the most inconvenient love triangle stands in their way. For a light, wintery read, pick up a copy of Rosie Curtis's We Met in December. Buy on Amazon 06 of 12 The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey Amazon.com Welcome to Alaska. The year is 1920. Jack and Mabel have recently arrived as homesteaders on the unforgiving land. In this harsh place, the line between fantasy and reality bends. Jack and Mabel build a child out of snow, and they wake the next day to find that she has come to life. But nothing is as it seems. If you're a fan of literary magical realism, grab a copy of this book and a blanket to protect you from the cold. Buy on Amazon 07 of 12 Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson Amazon.com Set in the Pacific Northwest in the 1950s, this atmospheric novel tells the story of a man wrongfully accused of a crime. Not only is the subject of this novel important—it examines the racial tension between Japanese Americans and their white neighbors after World War II—its lush description gives the story a vivid sense of place. Buy on Amazon 08 of 12 Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris Amazon.com Have you ever had a terrible job? Like, hilariously terrible? If you have, then you'll relate to Sedaris's stint as an elf at Macy's in New York City in "Santaland Diaries," the hysterical essay that launched Sedaris' career. Make this essay and the rest of Holidays on Ice a winter tradition. Buy on Amazon 09 of 12 The Child Finder, by Rene Denfeld Amazon.com Naomi, a private investigator, has a knack for finding missing persons—particularly young ones. Called on by the Culver family, whose daughter Madison disappeared in Skookum National Forest three years before, Naomi searches the wintry landscape, searching for clues to Madison's disappearance, all the while remembering the pieces of her own dark past. Buy on Amazon 10 of 12 The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold Amazon.com This book was a big bestseller, but if you haven't read it yet, it's not too late. In the aftermath of her murder, Susie Salmon watches her family and town cope with her disappearance. The setting is wintry and cold, and the climax is downright icy. Although this book is incredibly popular, the hype is well-deserved. Buy on Amazon 11 of 12 The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield Amazon.com The Thirteenth Tale is a novel for book lovers, but it's anything but cozy. Biographer Margaret Lea is tasked with telling the life story of the enigmatic author Vida Winter, whose lauded collection of stories is missing the eponymous 13th tale. As Winter unravels her life's story for Lea, her mysterious past of Victorian-gothic proportions unfolds. Buy on Amazon 12 of 12 The Winter Garden, by Kristin Hannah Amazon.com Kristin Hannah is the queen of tugging at heartstrings, as you know if you've read her much-beloved novel The Nightingale. If you're expecting heartache, The Winter Garden won't disappoint. In this novel that alternates between past and present, you'll learn about the lives of two sisters, Nina and Meredith, and their mother's life in war-torn Leningrad. Buy on Amazon More Winter Book Suggestions Can't get enough winter book recommendations? Add these additional titles to your collection, with selections from a variety of genres. Mystery If you're a mystery reader, you're no stranger to books with snowy backdrops. Scandinavian crime novels, like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the rest of the Millennium series by Stieg Larsson, pair cold settings with icy-hearted villains. Jo Nesbø, another author of Scandinavian noir novels, writes dark crime novels in a similar vein. Literary Fiction For fans of classics and literary fiction, there is a wealth of wintry tales. Much of Russian literature, from War and Peace to Doctor Zhivago, features ever-present snow falling in the background. American literary fiction leans on snowy settings, too. Winter's Bone, by Daniel Woodrell, paints a frigid picture of the crime-riddle Ozarks, and Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson, is a luminous coming-of-age story set near a glacial lake called Fingerbone. History If historical books are more your speed, there are plenty to choose from. Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier, gives a chilly portrait of the South during the Civil War, and Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, drops readers into King Henry VIII's court. How to Read More Books (Even If It Feels Like You're Too Busy) Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit