Certain types of books seem to surge forward into the bookish hive mind throughout the year. Juicy, breezy summer reads. Campus reads in the fall. Gothic melodramas and witchy rom-coms for October. A deluge of holiday romance novels starting in September and going all the way through December. But the first few months of the new year, especially in the depths of an East Coast winter, often feel muddled and hazy for me. This January, I’ve found myself alternately reaching for chunkier books that take their time with their characters and worlds or for shorter novels that I can gulp down when my reading time is limited. I’ve been in the mood for everything from English country house mysteries to speculative fiction with fantastically imaginative world building to doorstopper historical fiction. (Although finding the time for said doorstopper historical fiction has been a bit more challenging. Right now, there’s a copy of The Whalebone Theatre staring accusingly at me from my TBR basket.)
I think what I really crave is a couch book, best enjoyed underneath a blanket with a hot beverage. The winter equivalent of a beach book. Like the best beach books, it draws you in completely. The atmosphere is perfect, the world so real you can almost taste it. It’s dense and rich but not in an impenetrable way. And ideally it’s long, with a satisfying heft to it. (Again, The Whalebone Theatre stares at me accusingly.)
If you’d like to join me in some couch reading—blanket and beverage optional, but encouraged—here are five titles that I think might be perfect for the season:
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai, for when you want to have your heart broken and put back together again. Especially good for couch reading because you can dry your tears with your blanket.
The Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas, for the absolute best kind of slow burn. The romance shimmers with intensity, the historical setting is meticulously described, the mysteries are wonderfully clever, and Charlotte herself is my very favorite version of Sherlock Holmes.
The Last Binding series by Freya Marske, for when you want to simultaneously swoon at two people tentatively finding their way to each other and be concerned for the state of magical Britain. I like to call it queer magical Downtown Abbey and you can catch up now before the third book comes out this fall.
Anything by Louise Erdrich, but I think The Sentence might be especially perfect, for when you want to sit in stunned silence after finishing a book and marvel at it. The Sentence is the perfect blend of funny and heart-rending and the way that Erdrich weaves sentences together is nothing short of magical.
The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary, for when you need a warm bath for the soul. This book brims over with compassion, humor, and heart. I also love O’Leary’s The Switch, which contains one of my favorite eccentric grandmothers in all of fiction.
Let me know what you find yourself seeking in your reading this time of year and what you think might be a perfect pairing with a blanket and steaming cup of tea.
Currently reading: Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan. Once again, I have found myself on buzzy book outlier island. I like Nora herself and the reflections on family and moving on. But the book is so short that I feel like the romance doesn’t get much time to develop. I’m willing to buy into a romance that takes place over a short span of time as long as I get the rich character work and moments that make me fall in love with the central couple. For me, this one hasn’t quite delivered on that yet.
What’s bringing me joy this week:
So much figure skating to watch! It’s Europeans and US Nationals this week. Although my number one beloveds, ice dance team Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker, are out of US Nationals due to health issues, I’m still looking forward to seeing a lot of my other favorites and the unique blend of stress and delight that only figure skating gives me. (The men’s free at Europeans today was a time but the podium ultimately brought me such joy? It’s a roller coaster of emotion.)
Bodega Cats of Instagram. Exactly what its name promises. Do you need to see a cat napping in a box or ferociously guarding jars of pickles today? Bodega Cats of Instagram provides.
The new writing group I joined this week. I love the idea of being part of a little creative community and getting to hear about the projects everyone’s working on…and I’m also hoping it’s the accountability jolt I need to pick up speed on the second draft of my book.
Natalie! How have we never talked ice dancing before! I also love Kaitlin and Jean-Luc!