The best thing to do in the winter is to curl up with a good book. A cup of tea, a blanket, the fire on, and cold rain pounding on the roof (snow works too)-- my perfect winter day. Here are some of the books I would pick up if I was sinking into that plushy armchair by the fire, settling in for "a cold winter's night"...
1. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
I always love reading a good mystery during the winter. The Mysterious Benedict Society is a 4-book series about a group of extraordinary children who are brought together to save the world. Trenton Lee Stewart effortlessly weaves fun and humor with puzzles and suspense to create a series that I have read multiple times (and was adapted into a tv show; my dad and I are currently watching it on YouTube :)
“You must remember, family is often born of blood, but it doesn't depend on blood. Nor is it exclusive of friendship. Family members can be your best friends, you know. And best friends, whether or not they are related to you, can be your family.” -The Mysterious Benedict Society
2. Greystone Secrets by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Greystone Secrets is another good mystery series, but it is quite a lot different than The Mysterious Benedict Society. For one, it deals with alternate universes, which I always find it hard to wrap my head around, but Margaret Peterson Haddix does multiverses very well in this series. She also wrote another series, The Missing Series, which deals with time travel (another concept I hate reading about because it's so very confusing), but once again she writes it very well.
“Scientific discoveries usually aren’t good or evil just by themselves. Science is neutral. It’s what people do with their knowledge that matters.” -Greystone Secrets
3. The Time Quintet by Madeleine L'Engle
Ah yes, A Wrinkle in Time. This was one of those books that I had heard of time after time after time, and never read. To be completely honest with you, I was not ready for what I read. It threw me off guard in a very good way. These books are just weird enough to be captivating, without getting too weird and the plot line disappearing. The Time Quintet is a good series to read when you're looking for some good in-between books-- short reads that are worth your while. (There's also a movie on A Wrinkle in Time, which I haven't seen, but in my opinion, A Swiftly Tilting Planet is the best. Time travel once again, written in a way that even I can understand it :)
"You don't know how lucky you are to be loved." -The Time Quintet
4. The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron
The Dark Unwinding. I have no words for how much I enjoyed this book! It was a summer reading book for me, and I didn't expect it to be so good that I had to read the second one (A Spark Unseen, if it can be done it was even better). A little bit of steampunk, a little bit of romance (enemies to lovers, for those who love that trope like me:), and a lot of unknowns wrapped up in a heartwarming, heart wrenching (yes, a book CAN be both) story of family and belonging. Sharon Cameron is a master storyteller, so I definitely recommend you read this book AND it's sequel!
“Instead of moving backward in time, I felt as if I’d moved forward, and to a place that was mine, where all was as it should be.” -The Dark Unwinding
5. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Preface: this book is intense. But it is so. well. written. My parents recommended this one to me (I actually think it's a second in a series, but I read it as a stand-alone). It is another good mystery book to read during the winter; full of twists and turns and jaw-dropping plot twists. Imagine a murder mystery (with actual murder), throw in the smallest pinch of romance, add a secret society involving real historical figures, and you've got The Da Vinci Code. Dan Brown writes like a researcher, like a historian who knows what he's talking about, and yet still manages to tell a gripping story. My fictional journey through this book took me all of a few days or so-- I had to know what happened next.
“When a question has no correct answer, there is only one honest response. The gray area between yes and no. Silence.” -The Da Vinci Code
Thanks for joining me this December! See y'all in 2025!
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