The Snow Child
Eowyn Ivey
A childless couple in the Alaskan wilderness meet a girl who seems to come from the snow. A fairy tale for grown-ups.
All moods
Winter evenings
When it gets dark at four and the snow keeps falling, you want a book with weight and atmosphere. These are wintry stories and absorbing reads to sink into, some chilly, some thoughtful, all good company for a long night.
Books to start with
The Bear and the Nightingale
Katherine Arden
A girl in a snowbound Russian forest village sees the old spirits others have forgotten. Folklore at its most atmospheric.
Snow Falling on Cedars
David Guterson
A murder trial on a wintry Pacific Northwest island, and the secrets of a close-knit community.
The Secret History
Donna Tartt
A circle of classics students at a remote Vermont college, and a murder we learn about from the start. Dark, bookish and hard to put down.
Wintering
Katherine May
A memoir-led essay on resting and retreating through hard seasons. Thoughtful reading for the dark months.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis
Four siblings step into a land where it is always winter. A classic to revisit by the fire.
How to choose
This list is for readers who want atmosphere and are happy to stay with one book for several evenings. Choose by how much darkness you want. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a children's classic, is the easiest way in. Wintering is nonfiction about resting through hard seasons, for a quiet, reflective mood.
The rest are not cozy. The Snow Child is a fairy tale, but a melancholy one: the couple at its center has lost a baby. The Bear and the Nightingale is folklore with real menace. Snow Falling on Cedars is a murder trial that also deals with prejudice against Japanese Americans and their wartime internment. The Secret History is dark, centered on a murder among students.
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