Your cosy winter reading list

Also applicable to summer, wherever you are in the world.

Hello! I’m Celine and I write about books, cooking, gardening and surviving life in the city, with a wild heart. Need some reading inspo? Paid subscribers get access to monthly round-ups of recommended reads.

Dear Reader,

Well, winter is finally here, in the southern hemisphere. I don’t know about you, but all I feel like doing is curling up under a blanket, with my dog at my feet and burying my nose into several fine books.

In summer, I crave lighthearted literature, aka ‘beach reads’ or zingy thrillers. Yet, in the cooler months, where my brain is naturally feeling a bit sluggish, I like to make it work a little harder – basically with multi-layered family dramas and books that have the potential to make one cry in the bathtub.

Kinda matches the general wintery mood, y’know?

So below, I’ve rounded up some of my favourite cosy winter reads, to see you through to spring.

PS. - This is a long one. For the best viewing experience, I recommend reading in browser.

General fiction

Let’s start with a few fun fictions that aren’t too heavy, but aren’t exactly light either. They’re just right.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

The COVID-19 pandemic sees the Nelson family ensconced on their family farm – Joe Nelson, his wife Lara and their three daughters Emily, Maisie and Nell. Together, they harvest cherries from their Michigan orchard and to pass the time, the girls cajole their mother into telling the tales of her own youth; a brief romance she had with a now famous movie star, and her decision to give up the profession after landing a career-changing role. Expect revelations and brutal betrayals, intricately woven by a master storyteller.

Highly recommend listening to Tom Lake as an audio book; you can keep your hands free for some winter knitting or wildcrafting, while Meryl Streep croons into your ears.

The Work by Bri Lee

New Yorker Lally has thrown everything into her art gallery, Gallery Lally – and at long last, is finally experiencing success. Her talent lies in elevating young and diverse artistic talent, a move that is slowly but surely making her rich in the process. Across the globe in Sydney, Pat is trying to find his footing in the overpriced city’s antiquities scene, but is unable to completely shake the dust of his regional Queensland hometown from his RM Williams boots. The two cross paths at New York’s Armory Show, where a shared love of art and instant chemistry sees a meeting of mind and body. Can their easy found intimacy survive the distance between their respective cities and time zones, the demands of their work lives and their own insecurities?

Bri Lee’s smart, sexy and sweary fiction debut doesn’t hold back in examining art as an industry where power, misogyny and privilege is rife. This is a compulsive page turner, with a stunning cover that will sit pretty on your own bookshelf.  

Hello, Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

After a thick family drama to see you through the winter months? You’ll find it in this book. Set in Chicago, it follows the lives of the four Padavano sisters. When the eldest, stylish and ambitious Julia meets and marries talented but tragic star basketball player William Waters, the family welcomes him into the fold. However, William’s dark past has the power to upend the future Julia has oh so carefully planned out for them, bringing catastrophic rifts and decades of drama upon once tight-knit family.

What the heart desires

Winter is still a time for romance, especially when it’s just too darn cold to get out of bed.

Without Further Ado by Jessica Dettmann

Ok. We can squeeze in one lighthearted romantic comedy.

Willa watched the film Much Ado About Nothing when she was sixteen, and it subsequently ruined her. She longs for a love like that of Beatrice and Benedick, not helped by her job as a publisher of romance books for a small, family business. A family member gets mixed up with her employers and her life itself begins to resemble that of a Shakespearean play.

I love books that are funny, not matter what genre they may be, and Jessica Dettmann just nails it, every time. Her dialogue is fun and fresh and her characters totally lovable. Without Further Ado is book three from an author who has become a must-read for this gal.

The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements & Onjuli Datta

If you like your romance novels delivered soap style, then this might be a book for you. British Indian actor Whitman “Win” Tagore and socialite/rich boy Leo Milanowski have the world fooled. They use their ‘on-again/off-again’ love affair to distract the public from whatever scandal may be hitting usually Win, at the time. Yet Leo, who is rapidly falling for Win, has a secret that may threaten to undo everything. This is not an ‘easy’ romantic read, exploring many Themes such as gender, race, celebrity culture and the pressures of a life played out in the public eye. Plus snaps for an ace cover.

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

Yeah, sorry I keep banging on about this book, but I really enjoyed reading it and you may too. It’s a rom-com at heart, but deals with some really emotionally heavy subjects.

Helen Zhang is a bestselling author, who moves to LA to work on the screenplay of her first book. It’s here in the writer’s room that she is reintroduced to screenwriter Grant Shepherd, a former classmate who she hasn’t seen since tragedy struck in their hometown. A slow-burning chemistry begins to meld them to each other, but they have to find a way to reconcile their past, if they have any hope of a future.

Literary fic at its best

Dive into these literary lovelies, written by awarded and in some cases, divisive authors.

Earth by John Boyne

John Boyne is in the middle of publishing four short, sharp stories themed around The Elements and Earth is the second in the series. The tale revolves around disgraced professional footballer and Irishman Evan Keogh. Charged with being an accessory to sexual assault, this novella jumps between the present day, as Keogh awaits to hear the verdict of his and his teammate Robbie’s trial and reflects upon the events that led him to this day; as a gay, wannabe painter, who grew up on a farm, on an island off an island and whose talent lay not in his hands, but in his feet. It’s a short story at under 170 pages, but unfolds slowly, as Evan reflects on whether he is growing into the man he always hoped to be. I’ve somewhat upsettingly read these out of order (it doesn’t really matter), so Water is very much next on my list.

The Country Life by Rachel Cusk

Like many, I’m never quite sure how to feel about Rachel Cusk (am currently reading her newest novel Parade and will report back on findings and feelings next week), and do tend to prefer her earlier work. The Country Life is certainly up there with her best, and the modern cover gets snaps from this total horse girl. This rather bizarre novel sees our gothic heroine Stella Benson leave London to take up life in the Sussex countryside. It’s basically a hilarious parody of an 18th century novel, as Stella enters the strange world of the Madden family, bit by bit revealing her own questionable emotional state.

Body Friend by Katherine Brabon