15 Books For Winter Mood
The weather outside is sunny, but it is winter on the calendar. So we decided that it was time to prepare a list of winter books.
Ernest Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann. The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (1816)
Marie and Fritz are looking forward to Christmas and gifts from their godfather. Among a lot of nice toys kids find a Nutcracker, which looks like a scary doll, and it doesn’t even work. But it turns out that The Nutcracker is not just a doll… Or everything was just Marie’s dream?
Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol (1843)
It is one of the most famous stories about Christmas and a book everyone probably read at least once. The story tells about humanity and compassion for the poor, the spirit of celebration, memories, and future. Three ghosts come to rich Scrooge, and they take him for a walk through his life, helping to understand what is really important. By the way, Disney screenwriters borrowed the name of the main character for Duck Stories cartoon.
Hans Christian Andersen. The Little Match Girl (1845)
This just a short story about a poor girl who is dreaming about holiday and doesn’t want to go back home. She is wandering the streets on Christmas Eve, dreaming of perfect Charismas Eve. And after you read this book, don’t forget about The Snow Queen.
Jack London. Smoke Bellew (1912)
This story is one of the best in the series of stories about the North. An artist and writer from sunny San Francisco, Smock, is a gold digger, like most characters in Jack London’s stories. He quickly understands what freedom and real life are, and therefore does not want to come back to what is considered the civilized world. After all, so many adventures wait for him.
And then we can read Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Sea-Wolf, Klondike and other stories, filled with adventures and winter.
Maurice Maeterlinck. The Blue Bird (1912)
Winter enchanting spectacle in five actions and ten figures is a story without negative characters. Lumberjack’s children, Tiltil and Mitil, are amazed with Christmas Eve celebration in the neighboring house. However, they’ll get a great opportunity, and soon will find themselves in a fairyland, searching for Blue Bird. Adults think everything is children’s dream, just a phantom. And they still need to catch the bird to be truly happy.
C.S.Lewis. The Lion, the White Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)
I guess you know the story of how Lucy hid in the closet and got into an unknown country. This is the beginning of one adventure, which later became a true chronicle, or rather, The Chronicles of Narnia. White Witch took over the throne of Narnia and created an eternal winter without Christmas. But it won’t last forever.
Roald Dahl. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
Fairy tale tells about Charlie Bucket and his dream – to visit chocolate factory. Boy’s family is very poor, and the factory is closed. All that’s left for Charlie is to listen to his grandfather’s memories. The old man used to work there. But on a snowy day… The author was inspired by his own childhood memories. Back then, the largest chocolate factories sent sweets to the schools so that children could taste and share their expert opinions.
J.R.R. Tolkien. The Father Christmas Letters (1976)
The professor didn’t write fantasy only, but also the letters to his children. And not just any letters, but the letters from Santa. Funny old Wizard, Polar Bear with his nephews and Elf tell their stories about the North Pole and its inhabitants. Kids received letters during more than 20 years, and each was delivered in an envelope made specially for it. Later, the letters were published in book form.
Haruki Murakami. A Wild Sheep Chase (1982)
Maybe someone doesn’t want to let go this year and meet the 2016 Year of the Monkey. The novel, however, isn’t about that. It is the semi-fantastic story. First, protagonist’s wife leaves him. Then he meets a mysterious stranger, and after that something quite funny begins to happen – a sheep appears in his life. It occasionally seizes people by the other person. And the hero’s main task is to find the sheep, as it won’t ever leave him.
Philip Pullman. The Northern Lights (1995)
If you do not want to read the book just because you’ve watched the movie (The Golden Compass) and you didn’t like it, think again. The protagonist, looking for adventures, always gets involved in something. So first she gets in trouble, and then heads far north to rescue her friends. Snow, northern lights, unusual polar bears. The author was awarded the Carnegie Endowment for this work, and uttering speech, said, “here are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children’s book”. It caused a lot of arguments and definitely drove the attention of a broad audience, and not only the young one.
Jon Krakauer. Into Thin Air (1996)
This autumn, the film Everest came out and caused a lot of debate. In particular, Krakauer could not refrain from commenting either, as he was pictured a bit foolish in the movie. The novel Into Thin Air was one of the books the plot is based on. American journalist is a professional climber and he became a member of the ascent of Everest, which ended tragically. Five people died during the commercial expedition, two guides among them. You can learn what happened there first hand.
George Martin. A Song of Ice and Fire (1996- …)
Who would have reminded us that winter is coming better than George Martin does? A series of books by the British writer recently has become popular. Seven kingdoms somewhere in fantastic world are experiencing hard times. What is more, winter is really close. But that’s not an ordinary winter we know – this one will last for years. It threatens Winterfell, a city in the north, the most. There is an ice wall built not far from the city, and troops of savages are gathering behind it. However, even they aren’t the worst that could happen. Intrigued? Then take a book and start reading.
Dan Brown. Deception Point (2001)
NASA finds the remains of unknown meteorite in the ice in the north. A team of specialists is trying to examine it as soon as possible. But scientists find out unexpected things. The team is getting smaller, harsh northern weather becomes even stricter, and somewhere in the tent in the snow desert, three unknown men are trying to prevent the team from learning about something that their customer does not want to. As always, the book covers the events of a few days, and it keeps a reader in suspense without letting know who is who till the last moment.
Diane Setterfield. The Thirteenth Tale (2006)
This book has already become a favorite story for many readers. Gothic atmosphere and mysticism drive attention and keep it right to the end, never letting a reader know how the story is going to finish. The protagonist works in a second-hand bookstore. Once she gets an offer from a well-known writer, Vida Winter, to write her biography. And the writer with winter name is known not only for her books, but the fact that she never tells the truth in interviews. So what is this The Thirteenth Tale? The heroine will tell you this.
Stephen King. Dreamcatcher (2001)
Four friends have supernatural abilities. But apart from that, they have much in common. Everyone loves hunting, for example. They decide to go to Alaska for a few days. A snow-covered forest, a house on the edge, and no fuss. But the story that began so well suddenly starts to develop quite in a different way. And it threatens all of humanity on a global scale. The worst thing is that the death of millions people was caused by a good person.