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By Rachel Mininger
When you think of the winter season, cuddling up next to the fire, wrapped up in a blanket with a good book sounds pretty cozy. We love that while sometimes we are stuck in the house during the winter season, you can always get out on adventures in your imagination with a good book. Maybe you have been reading for years or your New Year’s Resolution is to read more, here are some great titles we wanted to share. Whether you enjoy the classics, contemporary, fantasy, or historical fiction, there’s something here for you.
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
This book is set in Alaska in 1920 and follows Jack and Mabel, whose relationship is beginning to fray due to the weight of living on a brutal homestead in isolation. During the first snowfall, they decide to build a small snowman. However, by the morning, the snow child is gone, replaced by a young girl, Faina, who runs through the trees and hunts with a red fox. Jack and Mabel do not understand where this child came from, but they soon come to know her as their own daughter. This story follows what they learn about Faina and the world they now live in and how it changes them.
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
This classic is based on London’s true experiences in the Canadian wilderness and struggle to survive. The story follows Buck, a dog that is shipped from his comfortable home in California to Alaska. He learns to adapt to the wilderness and work as a sled dog in the midst of the Klondike Gold Rush. This story is all about resiliency and the unbreakable spirit in the fight for survival.
City of Thieves by David Benioff
Lev Beniov is arrested during the Nazi’s seige of Leningrad for looting. He is put into a cell with Kolya, a deserter. In order to keep from being executed, Lev and Koyla strike a deal to steal a dozen eggs for a Soviet colonel for his daughter’s wedding cake. The city is starving so in order to find them, they must go to great lengths and behind enemy lines in order to find the eggs. This story is an insightful, thrilling coming of age story that will have you laughing and sitting on the edge of your seat.
A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig
This book, recently turned into a film, follows a young boy, Nikolas, whose father goes missing. He travels to the North Pole to Elfhelm to find him, making friends with a reindeer and troll on the way. In Elfhelm, Christmas spirit is low and Nikolas may be the only person who can help them. This story is filled with magic, adventure, and impossible things and how Nikolas brings hope to Elfhelm.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Another classic, Wuthering Heights was written in 1847, inspired by Romanticism and Gothic fiction. The story follows two families of the gentry, the Earnshaws and Lintons, in the West Yorkshire moors. It details the relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, the family’s adopted son. It is wild, intense, and passionate and widely acclaimed as a masterpiece of English Literature.
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
This stream-of-conscious style novel follows Stevens, a butler at Darlington hall in the summer of 1956. After many years of faithful service at Darlington Hall, he finally decides to take a six-day motoring trip through the West Country of England. On this trip, he explores his past, detailing aspects of both World Wars and an unexplored love with his old housekeeper. This is an easy read, perfect for a calm evening at home.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Le Cirque des Rêves, a circus filled with breathtaking amazements, appears only at night and without warning. Celia and Marco, two young magicians have been trained since childhood for a fierce competition that they currently are engaged in. However, without their knowing, only one will be left standing and the circus is their stage. Despite their competition, Celia and Marco fall into a magical love. The competition must go on, and the fates of all the performers and patrons of the circus hang in the balance.
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida comes across an image of a book, The Book of Lost Names. This book was taken from France during the raiding of libraries by the Nazis in World War II and researchers are working to get it returned to its original author. But, it seems to contain a code that has left researchers bewildered. Only Eva knows the meaning of this code. She wrote this book after being forced to flee France as a graduate student in 1942. In a small mountain town, she forged identity documents for Jewish children fleeing from Switzerland. But, she wished to preserve their identities since the children are too young to remember their true names. This story follows Eva and Remy, a forger who works with her, as the resistance cell they work for becomes betrayed and their work becomes vital. This is an engaging and riveting novel that will keep you reading till the last page.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Evelyn Hugo, an aging and reclusive Hollywood Movie icon has kept her glamorous and scandalous life private for the duration of her life. She finally calls on Monique Grant, an unknown magazine reporter who many considered to be failing in life, to tell her story. Grant is determined to take full advantage of this opportunity to jump start her career. As Grant sits with and writes Hugo’s story, she is fascinated by her story that began in Los Angeles in the 1950s and goes through the decades. Of course, the tale of Hugo’s seven husbands is told along the way. This is a story of friendship, forbidden love, and ruthless ambition.
We Met in December by Rosie Curtis
This easy to read romantic comedy follows Jess, a new London Resident following her dreams. She moves in with four strangers as her flatmates. On her first night, she meets Alex, another resident on her floor. She instantly feels a connection, but after Alex returns from a Christmas holiday, she finds him dating another girl, Emma. Now, Alex is in the middle of a love triangle and Jess is trying to find her way to the man of her dreams.
Rachel is part of our Bear Creek Marketing Intern Team. She loves to use her writing skills to share great ideas with the community to help maximize their outdoor spaces. She attends Virginia Military Institute, studying English with concentrations in Rhetoric and Literature. After VMI, she aspires to attend graduate school for a Masters of Education in English.