12 Books to Cozy Up with this Winter

Posted by Staff

Winter is the perfect time to grab a book, curl up in a comfy chair with a blanket (and maybe a cat and something warm to drink) and read. Here are some books that we'd recommend for you to cozy up with this winter. 

Tirzah - Any books from Adventures of the Northwoods series by Lois Walfrid Johnson.
This is one of my favorite book series that I began reading in middle school. They are full of fun adventures and valuable lessons about family and friendship. The first few books are during the winter/Christmastime in northwest Wisconsin, which I think helps set the mood to make it a great cozy read.  

Amanda - Anne of Green Gables is my go to cozy read. At some point during the winter I spend a grey Sunday morning cuddled up in my super soft bed with my super soft cat friend Homer re-reading this heartwarming boisterous classic. Anne’s story is feel good and clean and classic with just enough spit and vinegar so that a jaded old soul like myself doesn’t get turned off by the goody-two-shoes-ness of it all.

After I read the first few books in the series, I usually find it necessary to re-watch the Megan Follows Anne mini-series and movies. It makes for a nice couple of days.  

Sally - I am going with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. This is the first in a series of sleuth novels featuring Flavia de Luce, an 11yr old amateur detective who has a penchant for Chemistry. She has a delightfully sophisticated vocabulary and an extraordinary sense of humor. It can be read in an afternoon while sitting by the fire with a cat on your lap. Guaranteed to hold your interest and make you smile. 
 
Katherine - Uprooted by Naomi Novik
This is my favorite type of cozy read. It's a great story that's wonderfully written and has the ability to transport you away from wherever you are into a magical world.  It will make you forget what's going on around you. 

Cary - The 4:50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie
Many of you Anglophiles are already familiar with Christie’s Miss Marple series. Nothing says “cozy” like an English village murder. I’ve chosen this title because it has all the components that I love: village life, English trains (hence, the title), a country manor house, and enough red herrings to keep you guessing. And, of course, the incomparable insight of elderly Miss Marple. Her looks are deceiving, with fluffy grey hair and a pink wooly shawl, but her mind is still as sharp as ever. What keeps this series beloved are the great characters and the truly creative, twisting mystery, and the satisfying conclusion at the end. Agatha Christie still endures. 

Jake - For me a cozy read is Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block. To me a cozy book is a book that leaves you with a warm and happy feeling and this book certainly does. Not only is the language amazingly inspiring but the messages of love and family within it are always incredibly uplifting. To quote one line from the book "I may not know happily ever after, but I do know happily" 

Kristen - The world of Harry Potter always makes me feel warm and cozy, so I would recommend curling up under a blanket and reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which is a collection of short stories by J.K. Rowling that are supposed to be the folktales or fables from the wizarding world. They are all fun, sometimes creepy, reads and will bring you the magical joy of Harry Potter without having to commit to reading 500 pages or more. (Side note: In my opinion, if Warner Bros. is going to continue to bank off of Harry Potter, I wouldn’t be mad if they made film adaptations of some of the Bard’s tales). 



Mary B. - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
It was a very enjoyable read with a better ending than I expected! 

 
Kelcey - The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel
I can vividly remember my mom reading this book to me as a kid. Its full of rhyming and it reminds me of the classic story of the woman who swallowed a fly. This is one book that I managed to save from my childhood library and I can't wait to share it with my future family! 
 
Joyce - One of my favorites is the Tea Shop Mystery Series by Laura Childs. The series is set in Charleston, S. C. with lots of descriptive material about the city. It features a tea shop owner who gets involved in local events and mysteries. There is lots of information about the different blends and types of tea - recipes are included. 

Jill - Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
My interpretation of “cozy” is the book I feel is most like an old friend. A book can leave with you with a deep & lifelong impression based on the story alone, but I think the time of your life when you read it for the first time is also a big factor. I love to read, but I typically don’t re-read. I believe this is the only book I have ever read more than twice.

The Angle of Repose begins with a down-on-his-luck retired historian who is writing about his frontier-era grandparents. His grandmother, Susan Ward, leaves her life on the East Coast to move to the western frontier in the 1870s with her new husband. She considered it her exile. Her story is sad yet beautiful, and I will never forget it. The title is also perfect as the Angle of Repose is defined as the angle on the slope face where everything is stable but just on the verge of sliding down the slope.

The downside to the book is that the present day storyline with the historian is a bit tedious at times, but if you keep going – it is very worth it! 


Stephanie - The Baxter Family Christmas by Karen Kingsbury
I recommend this book mostly because it occurs in the winter and I read it over Christmas break. I enjoy reading inspirational fiction with a positive message at the end and this book was a great reminder that even though we all suffer loss, the true spirit of Christmas is about giving.