6 Stories to Cozy Up to During the Holidays I Published December 27
By: Sarah Rosales
The frigid weather can beat down relentlessly, so what better way to spend your time inside than cracking open a novel by the nearest warmth-inducing device? From light children’s novels to horrifying icy tales, these six stories will have a way of enchanting anybody during the holidays, lingering in your head like heat after a day out in the cold.
- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
“It was a singular sensation to be held so gently and yet so fiercely, to be stared down at with so much love.”
“The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” by Kate DiCamillo tells the adventure of a fragile toy rabbit named Edward Tulane who is trying to find his way back home into the arms of his little girl. Along the way, he learns what it means to lose and to love.
This story is targeted for middle grade readers, so it’s perfect to read aloud to younger family members. However, the lessons learned in this book can be things that even adults can enjoy and relate to. People grow up and can forget what it means to be kind to others, but DiCamillo has a way of connecting us through her prose.
- Piranesi
“The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.”
Susanna Clarke’s “Piranesi” is an enigma packed into only a mere 200 pages or so. The titular character, Piranesi, narrates his day-to-day life within a never-ending house with corridors upon corridors and staircases that lead to labyrinthe hallways.
What seems to be a paradise at first quickly turns into a mystery where the reader suspects that there might be something more sinister going on within Piranesi’s home.
Beyond that, Piranesi’s story thoughtfully explores themes of memory, love, and humanity. This novel is great for fans of mystery and magical realism.
- The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
“He was not poor – he could afford ten candles & two baths a week. He wasn’t going to throw himself in the Thames for the misery of it all and God knew most of London was worse off. All the same, he had a feeling life should not have been about ten candles and two baths a week.”
“The Watchmaker of Filigree Street” by Natasha Pulley centers around an English clerk named Thaniel Steepleton who one day finds a pocket watch that inevitably saves his life from a bomb attack. He is tasked with spying on the suspected bombman, a lonely Japanese watchmaker named Keita Mori, whom he finds out is more than he seems.
Pulley’s sets up a delightful and charming story that tackles the immensely confounding theme of whether we are in control of our own destiny, or if everything we do is predestined. Her characters have a way of sticking in one’s mind even after the reader turns the last page. This novel is recommended for fans of historical fiction and mystery.
- The Warm Hands of Ghosts
“We were born together, we died together. I cannot live without you.”
Many pieces of media center around the horror that is World War I, but none so soft as Katherine Arden’s “The Warm Hands of Ghosts”. What makes Arden’s story stand out from the sea of WWI stories is her speculative take on memory and grief, her telling of a journey of two siblings trying to find their way back to each other, and of love so abounding it befuddles the demon trying to steal memories in his magic speakeasy.
“The Warm Hands of Ghosts” is perfect for readers looking for a gentle historical fiction and fantasy tale.
- The Secret History
“Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it.”
Donna Tartt’s “The Secret History” is probably the coldest novel you could read snuggled up under the blankets in the sense that this is not a story about love or friendship. It is about hatred and superficiality and snobby rich kids getting what they deserve.
Richard Papen is accepted into a prestigious liberal arts school in New England, and he finds himself intertwined with the elusive and elite Greek class. It’s not a spoiler to mention that the book opens up with the murder of one of the students of said Greek class, and so “The Secret History” tells us the story of how the characters came to that point, and what they’ll do afterwards.
It’s no wonder Tartt’s novels do numbers on TikTok. The dark academia and thriller aesthetic enticingly invites many readers to find out how Richard will fare in his life as he navigates how to handle his incisive classmates.
- The Shining
“Sometimes human places, create inhuman monsters.”
Stephen King stands to be known as one of this century’s greatest horror writers, and “The Shining” is a classic that any horror fan worth their salt should know. Whether you saw the movie or read the book, the story centers around the Torrance family and Jack Torrance’s job as caretaker to the Overlook Hotel over the winter.
The Overlook Hotel is not what it seems and Danny, Jack’s son, knows this because of his power aptly named as the Shining. Danny and his mother, Wendy, have to find a way to survive the winter before Jack fully succumbs to the Hotel’s dangerous desires.
The novel tackles themes of alcoholism and violence, but also love and family despite all the horrors.
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