Experience the thrills and chills of the winter season while staying warm and cozy inside by reading a wintry book from your favorite genre. Did you read a book from this list or elsewhere that you loved? Earn a sticker in your Wilmette Reads reading log by telling us about it here or in person at the Adult Services desk! Find out how to sign up and more information about Wilmette Reads here.
Fiction:
Dixon, Descending by Karen Outen
“Free-flying older brother Nate keeps pushing his younger brother Dixon to join him in his quest to be the first Black American to reach the summit of Mount Everest.” -Library Journal
Find copies of Dixon, Descending here.
The Light of Amsterdam by David Park
“Three insecure souls spend a weekend in Amsterdam grappling with family problems.” -Kirkus
Find copies of The Light of Amsterdam here.
Thriller:
Shiver by Allie Reynolds
“Deep in the breathtaking winter bleakness of the French Alps, revenge—and perhaps even murder—is most definitely afoot.” -Kirkus
Find copies of Shiver here.
Breathless by Amy McCulloch
“Cecily Wong is on her most dangerous climb yet, miles above sea level. But the elements are nothing compared to one chilling truth: There's a killer on the mountain.” –from the publisher
Find copies of Breathless here.
Mystery:
The Winter Guest by W.C. Ryan
“Set in 1921 during the Irish civil war, this fine mystery from Ryan takes Capt. Thomas Harkin, an IRA intelligence officer, from Dublin to the west coast of Ireland to investigate the murder of the Honorable Maud Prendeville, shot during a raid carried out by Irish Volunteers.” -Publishers Weekly
Find copies of The Winter Guest here.
The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo (translated by Louise Heal Kawai)
“One of Japan's greatest classic murder mysteries, introducing their best loved detective, translated into English for the first time.” -from the publisher
Find copies of The Honjin Murders here.
Romance:
Enjoy the View by Sarah Morgenthaler
“A grouchy mountaineer, a Hollywood starlet, and miles of untamed wilderness…What could possibly go wrong?” -from the publisher
Find copies of Enjoy the View here.
Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello
"Two London teenagers develop an unexpected connection while trying to save a Black-owned bookstore." -Kirkus
Find copies of Love in Winter Wonderland here.
Science Fiction:
Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell
“The intricate royal protocol of The Crown intertwines with the adventure of Louis McMasters Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga series in Maxwell’s gorgeously plotted LGBTQ space opera debut.” -Publishers Weekly
Find copies of Winter's Orbit here.
Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling
“Sterling’s stunning debut offers a glimpse into a climate change–ravaged future in which resources diminish quickly and new frontiers are hard to find.” -Publishers Weekly
Find copies of Camp Zero here.
Fantasy:
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
“A powerful priest, an outcast seafarer, and a man born to be the vessel of a god come together in the first of Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky trilogy.” -Kirkus
Find copies of Black Sun here.
Winter of Ice and Iron by Rachel Neumeier
“In a world where rulers hold power through their ties to the great “Immanent Powers” that inhabit their lands, peaceful princess Kehera of Harivir and the infamous Wolf Duke of Pohorir must work together to stop a mad king and a power-hungry Immanent.” -Kirkus
Find copies of Winter of Ice and Iron here.
Historical Fiction:
The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
“The rich Asian tradition of fox folklore provides the backdrop for Choo’s complex and atmospheric tale of identity and discovery set in early 1900s Manchuria.” -Kirkus
Find copies of The Fox Wife here.
To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
“A husband and wife explore separate but parallel frontiers in the wild Northwest of the late 1800s.” -Kirkus
Find copies of To the Bright Edge of the World here.
Poetry:
Blizzard: Poems by Henri Cole
“The radiant 10th collection from Cole draws from the natural world, placing human life alongside the sublime.” -Publishers Weekly
Find copies of Blizzard: Poems here.
The Trees Witness Everything by Victoria Chang
“Chang depicts the smooth, melancholic isolation of the mind while reaching outward to name–with reverence, economy, and whimsy–the ache of wanting, the hawk and its shadow, our human urge to hide the minute beneath the light.”--from Publisher
Find copies of The Trees Witness Everything here.
Nonfiction:
Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton
“Journalist Sancton debuts with a riveting account of the first polar expedition to spend the winter south of the Antarctic Circle.” -Publishers Weekly
Find copies of Madhouse at the End of the Earth here.
Winter Pasture: One Woman’s Journey with China’s Kazakh Herders by Li Juan (translated by Jack Hargreaves & Yan Yan)
“Warm portrait of stark, strenuous lives in remote China.” -Kirkus
Find copies of Winter Pasture here.