The longest night of the year is December 21. Historically, cultures around the world mark the winter solstice with fear and trepidation: creating celebrations of light to banish the dark; or with an attitude of hope and renewal: observing the gradual beginning of longer days. We feel the dichotomy of endings and new beginnings. So, carve some time from the hustle and chaos of the holidays and embrace the intrinsic yearning to slow down and savor the quiet moments with a cozy quilt and a good book.

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher tells the interweaving story of five characters together in “a large, neglected estate house in Scotland and the strange rippling effects of tragedy that brings them together,” explains the description on Amazon.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey is a transformative story of grief and love set in the Alaskan frontier of the 1920s. A childless couple struggles to homestead but the appearance of a small girl – a child of the woods – changes everything.

The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner is a winter’s story that feels like a Russian fairy tale, complete with dark woods, a mysterious troupe of traveling men, danger and magic. It is ultimately a book about sisterhood and courage.

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May is “a moving personal narrative shot through with lessons from literature, mythology and the natural world. May’s story offers instruction on the transformative power of rest and retreat. Illumination emerges from many sources: solstice celebrations and dormice hibernation, C.S. Lewis and Sylvia Plath, swimming in icy waters and sailing arctic seas,” states the book blurb.

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman is also titled The Golden Compass. It is a young adult fantasy novel and the first of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Set in a parallel universe, the story revolves around a half-wild 12-year-old, Lyra, and her daemon, or spirit animal, as she searches for a missing friend. Adapted into a feature film in 2007, HBO released a three season TV show that originally ran from 2019-2022.

A Winter Book: Selected Stories by Tove Jansson is a collection of 13 short stories. The tome spans most of the 20th century and includes some of her best-loved tales. This book is her first for adults, but she is better known for her children’s hippo-like character, Moomin.

North Child by Edith Pattou is based on the Norwegian fairytale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Young Rose is destined to wander far from home in this young adult fantasy. The story follows Rose through superstition and into prophecy as she loses her heart and travels to find it again in a land east of the sun and west of the moon.

A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella weaves three parallel narratives into one “beautiful and profoundly moving novel,” states the book blurb. Three neighbors, caught in winter’s clutches, each contend with deep loss to find wisdom through their grief.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman is a microcosm of the world set in a small, forested town in Sweden. Hockey rules in Beartown, but when one of the players cracks underneath the pressure of the national semifinals, the fate of the town and everyone in it could be unequivocally changed.

One by One by Ruth Ware is a suspenseful locked room mystery set in the French Alps. The ski trip was meant to be a corporate retreat, but everything goes terribly wrong when an avalanche stranded eight coworkers with fraying nerves.

 

By Celeste McNeil; courtesy photos