Winter time is the time to cozy up and read, it always was, it always will be.
What can be better than watching the snowflakes fall and get sucked into a good book? Last month I shared my reading list with you, and even though there were a million things going on in November, I actually read them all (if you’re interested – I loved Sweet Tooth and the Virginia Woolf biography and would definitely recommend it – I didn’t really enjoy The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime – it was okay – and As I Lay Dying was a little too depressing for my taste as well ;).
I have some new books I’m really looking forward to reading (hopefully there’ll be lots of time over the holidays), so here goes:
***
James Joyce – Dubliners
I’m already on the last pages of this book and I can’t recommend it enough! I was a little sceptical about James Joyce at first (Ulysses isn’t really the most enjoyable and easy read in the world), but this one totally changed my view of him. It consists of 13 short stories, from a young woman’s dilemma over whether to elope to Argentina with her lover, to a dance party at which a man discovers how little he really knows about his wife. Those stories are melancholy and beautiful and it’s so easy just to read one before going to bed in the evening. Perfect for this time of year.
Julian Barnes – Flaubert’s Parrot
This one is next up on my list. I’ve been told it’s really good and I really enjoyed reading The Sense of an Ending by Barnes, so I’m really looking forward to reading this one as well: Geoffrey Braithwaite is a retired doctor haunted by an obsession with the great French literary genius, Gustave Flaubert. As Geoffrey investigates the mystery of the stuffed parrot Flaubert borrowed from the Museum of Rouen to help research one of his novels, we learn an enormous amount about the writer’s work, family, lovers, thought processes, health and obsessions. But we also gradually come to learn some important and shocking details about Geoffrey and his own life.
Cecelia Ahern – One Hundred Names
Yes, I’m a bit embarrassed to put this book on this list, but I can’t help myself – the story sounds just so cute! And I must admit that Cecelia Ahern novels have always been a dirty pleasure of mine, especially around the holidays. I’m still not sure if I should actually buy it or rather wait until it’s available at the library, but I guess I’ll definitely be reading it! Journalist Kitty Logan’s career has been destroyed by scandal, and she now faces losing the woman who guided her and taught her everything she knew. At her mentor’s bedside, Kitty asks her – what is the one story she always wanted to write? The answer lies in a file buried in Constance’s office: a list of one hundred names. There is no synopsis, no explanation, nothing else to explain what the story is or who these people are. Kitty is assigned the most important task of her life – to write the story her mentor never had the opportunity to. And, in the process of hearing ordinary people’s stories, she uncovers Constance’s – and starts to understand her own…
***
And some other Christmas favourites
1 | A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
2 | Auggie Wren’s Christmas Story by Paul Auster
3 | The Man with a Load of Mischief by Martha Grimes
4 | Findus at Christmas by Sven Nordquvist
5 | Christmas in Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren
***
What are you reading at the moment? And do you have any special stories or novels you like to read every year around the holidays?
Oh thanks for the recommendations, Hanna!! I’m a huge book lover and am going to add these to my list!! xo
I have to say that I am loving your graphics! Also I should really read the Dubliners as Joyce actually wrote most of it when he lived in Trieste.
Hanna’s Places is a green lifestyle magazine written by Hanna Ulatowski. It’s all about slowing down in a fast-paced society and finding ways to live a more sustainable, simple lifestyle.
December 12, 2013
Thanks for the recs! I love Cecelia, my favourite book by her is Can You See Me Now :) and she’s one of the better ‘chicklit’ writers imho, I feel like she’s a bit deeper?
and yessss I want to read Dubliners, I only read one of the stories, Araby! I loved it so imagine my surprise when I started reading Ulysses – it was so different! Still pretty good though. And As I Lay Dying, it was so depressing but pretty hilarious at times :p I actually really liked it but it’s not something I would reread…
And Dickens! Love him! Probably going to try and finally finish A Tale of Two Cities this winter…