Winter Reading Recommendations (or books to escape with when you're fed up of family time over the holidays)

Resident bi-brarian (bisexual librarian) Chriz is back on the blog with his winter reading recommendations! Curl up in front of the fire, grab a hot chocolate and let's get reading!

As morning frost curls over the leaf litter, and we gently turn our smart metre display units to face the wall, we have reached one of the best times in the year for curling up with a good book by some variety of heating device. But which book? There’s so many to choose from!  Well fear not, gentle readers, for Chriz is here to provide six (well technically seven) recommendations for whiling away these chilly evenings. 

Winter by Ali Smith 

What better way to start than with a book called Winter? The second stand-alone book in the seasonal quartet, it’s essentially a story of a family gathering for Christmas. It’s also another example of Ali Smith’s mastery of ‘state of the nation’ novels, consistently nailing the atmosphere of modern Britain with unsettling precision. (Read Autumn for a spot-on depiction of the immediate aftermath of the 2016 Brexit vote).

Not a lot happens but what does is extremely engaging. The characters are very human in their choices, and often unlikable but in a very readable way. The lack of speech marks can take a little getting used to if you're unfamiliar with that style, but honestly the language and narration is just divine. Smith’s writing crosses into prose poetry at times, and makes for some of the most beautifully written books I’ve ever read

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

The ‘fairy-tales revisited’ genre can be a bit of a mixed-bag, but when people get it right, they get it right. Spinning Silver is a loose reinterpretation of Rumplestiltskin, set in an imaginary Medieval Eastern Europe with a dollop of slavic folklore mixed in. The characters are compelling, and the prose delivered in a classic storytelling style that’s perfect for when you’re cuddled up in a blanket. 

I’m not quite sure whether I’d call this YA or not. It certainly has one foot in the genre and flirts with a few of the typical tropes but avoids the pit-falls of bad YA. In terms of the wider Russian-inspired fantasy YA brand, I’d honestly recommend it over Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow & Bone series which, though enjoyable, navigates the aforementioned pitfalls a little less successfully. 

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, 

Okay, so we all know nothing is ever going to top The Muppet Christmas Carol, but the original is worth revisiting. Apart from anything else, as a novella, it’s a lot more digestible than many of Dickens’s long-form works. (I tried reading Hard Times. I really did. I wrote an essay on it but barely got through two chapters. I ended-up just going through a pdf using Ctr-F with keywords. But I digress). 

If you’ve ever wanted to try and read more Dickens, A Christmas Carol is actually a good place to start. It’ll ease you in with quotes you’ve already heard from a felt frog, rat, and whatever Gonzo is. It’ll also provide you with a nice snapshot of Victorian London, and some indulgent description of classic Christmas traditions (many of which become codified during this era, with the help of Dickens’s writing). 

Monk & Robot (A Psalm for the Wild-Built & A Prayer for the Crown-Shy)  by Becky Chambers

Slight oddity in this list, having nothing much to do with Winter, these two solarpunk novellas (with non-binary leads btw) earn their spot by just being extremely cosy. Both are only about 150 pages, very easy-going, and overall quite positive in their story and setting. A little existential perhaps but strangely comforting at the same time. They can be a nice break from the often grim futuristic speculations you see in a lot of Sci-Fi. (Though I still love to both read and write these kinds of stories too). 

The plot is what it says on the tin, following a travelling “tea-monk” who meets and befriends a robot. You’ll probably get through it very quickly, but it’ll also probably put a smile on your face. They’ll also be a great introduction to Becky Chambers. Having now just read her first novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, she’s fast becoming one my favourite modern Sci-Fi writers. 

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde

Back into the explicitly wintery now. Jasper Fforde is master of what’d call “alternate history but ridiculous”. His Thursday Next series, for example, is primarily about going inside books. But it’s also set in an alternate history where England is a Republic with George Formby as President, the Crimean War is still going on, there’s pet dodos, importing strong cheese is banned, and the duck is extinct. 

Early Riser’s setting is Wales, but a Wales still in the grip of an Ice Age where most of the population hibernates during Winter (but apparently Shakespeare, Jaffa Cakes, and Tom Jones all still exist). It follows Charlie, a new member of the Winter Consul Service who stays awake during Winter to look after the sleeping. It’s often funny, endlessly creative, and sometimes rather touching. 

The Gloaming by Kirsty Logan

Another book that is not particularly wintery, but possesses an ethereal, mesmerising tone that I think vibes with the season. It’s a coming-of-age story of a girl living on a remote Scottish island, with a touch of magical realism. Oh and it’s gay. Very gay. It’ll probably break your heart a little but you’ll be glad it does. 

I think that’s all I need to say. If I haven’t convinced you to read it yet then I don’t know what else I can do. 

Here ends my Winter Reading Recs. Give at least one or two of them a go, and feel free to chime in with your own suggestions through your prefered medium of communication. I haven’t had a good book-recommendation via carrier-pigeon in a while. Would love one of those. 

Enjoy whichever, if any, holidays you might be celebrating this season, and keep on reading