Comfort Fiction
what do you read when it's cold outside?
February is a fickle friend. One week, it’s placidly still winter then, suddenly, it’s 80* and I’m sweating in my studio. Now, it’s barely 50* and I need to cover up my roses before the evening because the forecast claims the mercury will drop to right around 25* before sun-up.
I love Winter. I love the biting cold and the frozen fingers. I love to feel my nose tingle and my cheeks raw from the wind and delight in the glistening frost at dawn. I love to settle down inside with a warm cup of anything, a thick blanket at my knees and a well-loved book at my finger-tips now thawed thanks to the aforementioned cup of something warm.
While I adore discovering a new favorite, I’m always pulled back this time of year, back to those half-memorized tomes that are as dear to me as family members. The pages worn soft from countless thumbing, the covers bent and tatty from being tossed on the sofa, the rug, the floor as I get up to brew another pot of tea.
There’s something just so right about rereading in the Winter. Favorite books are comfort food for the soul and should come in care packages alongside chicken noodle soup and chamomile tea. Here’s a (short) list of some of my favorites. Do you see any of yours listed:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
(the book, for heaven’s sake, NOT any of the theatrical versions)
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
Moonwise by Greer Ilene Gilman
Here There Be Dragons by James A. Owen
Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Dracula by Bram Stoker
I also lean towards cozy mystery books when the wind howls and the only sane thing to do is toss another log on the fire. Cozies especially lend themselves to a large pot of tea and a hot, buttered, blueberry scone. The Classics call for coffee and everything else is hot chocolate or bust. Of course, feel free to mix and match. There’s really no hard or fast rules here. Only that you’re comfy, cozy, and well padded against the elments.
Oh, and make sure you have at least three books within reach. I’d hate for you to finish one and have to peel yourself away from the couch just to find another. Nothing worse than that rush of cold to the legs, is there?
Tell me: What are some of YOUR favorite books to read and reread when the temperatures plummet?
Happy reading!