Thankfully, we have not had to endure endless weeks of gray skies like we did last winter, but the cold, snowy weather of the last few weeks has still managed to drive me inside. When this happens, I generally resort to one of three occupations:

1. I undertake a new project in the house which generally involves remedying something that has never bothered me before but is suddenly disturbing enough to lose sleep over.
2. I start thumbing through my gardening books and seed catalogues while wondering if it is too early to start my seedlings.
3. I devour the piles of books that get little attention during the warmer months when I am battling weeds and doling out water.

I do not recommend the first option. I have discovered that husbands rarely like to come home from work and discover that their wife has eliminated all plastic from the kitchen or stripped the dust covers off of all of the books and rearranged them by color. They also tend to become unsettled when they wake on a peaceful Saturday morning and find that their wife has moved out all of the furniture and is in the process of striping wallpaper or applying paint tape. Additionally, such a flurry of activity can only be sustained when hormones produce hypomania and they inevitably result in a crash due to the depletion of energy. This may cause the task at hand to remain incomplete but more often causes a backlog in the laundry. The second option is less disruptive to housemates, but it can lead to frustration when you realize that it really is too early to plant seeds and all you can do is look at pictures. You may be able to stretch out the thrill by cutting up gardening books and placing your favorite pictures into a scrapbook or mapping out a new garden bed, but even these thrills have their limits.

Thankfully, the third option is absolutely delightful, socially acceptable (even admired in many circles), and enriching. For this reason, I will not offer you advice about home renovation projects or garden lust, but I will offer my family’s suggestions for books to pick up if you want to do some winter reading.

Family Recommendations

1. Dune by Frank Herbert

This book works miracles. Not only has it kept my husband from watching the news before bedtime, I have discovered him choosing to read instead of play video games. Amazingly, this has happened on more than one occasion. If you like science fiction, warring households and intrigue this is a good read. As a plus, you can watch the Hollywood adaptations once you finish and remember the days when you looked as youthful as Timothee Chalamet.

• Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer

I am forever in debt to these books because they finally got my daughter to read something besides Wings of Fire. These are cozy mysteries that are meant for young readers but are enjoyable for adults. They follow the adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ little sister (Sherlock and Mycroft both make appearances at times). Enola is spunky, curious and all together not the kind of girl she is supposed to be but that is precisely what makes her so delightful.

• The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney

This is another book that has moved my family away from something that has grown significantly less enjoyable over ten years of non-stop reading. This book has replaced The Magic Treehouse books as my son’s latest go-to bedtime book. It is creative, cute and a feel-good read for little kids. Afterall, who doesn’t feel warm and cozy when reading about a hamster?

My Recommendations – Historical Fiction

• Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict

I found this book in the young adult section but I thoroughly enjoyed it myself. It is a fictional account of a young Irish immigrant who, through a series of events, ends up working as Andrew Carnegie’s mother’s maid. It is interesting to read about the era from both the perspective of a new immigrant and that of a family that, while recent immigrants themselves, were unbelievably wealthy.

• Killingly by Katharine Beutner

I met the author at a writers’ conference and knew from the way she described her research that her book would be good. Set in the late 1800s, the story provides a fictional explanation for the real-life disappearance of a young girl from Mount Holyoke College. It is compellingly written and kept me guessing until the final pages. It is definitely worth a read.

• The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks

Another historical fiction book, this one explores the abduction and murder of Charles Lindbergh’s young son. It is very well written and the characters are interesting, but the setting and story are captivating.

Dark Mystery

• Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Abike-Iyimide

To be honest, this book is about as dark as I can take. It also strays beyond conventional topics and pushed some boundaries, but it was very good. The story is set at a boarding school that is populated by many extremely wealthy students. From the beginning of the book, something is clearly not right and I could not put this one down as I tried to figure it out.

• The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

This book was fascinating from a psychological and feminist perspective. It highlights the problems inherent in the “rest cure” that was historically used to treat “hysterical” women and involved forbidding any physical, mental or emotional stimulation for long stretches of time. It is said that the author wrote the book after she suffered from being prescribed the rest cure herself and that, after she wrote it, she mailed a copy to the doctor who had prescribed it. That spunk alone is reason enough to read it!

Fiction

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

You might be a little late reading it this year, but this is easily one of my favorite books. I read it aloud to the kids each advent and the beauty of the words flowing off of my tongue and the wonderful story they tell fill me with delight every time.

1. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

All of these books are great to read for your own entertainment or as family read-aloud books, but the final book, The Last Battle, is extremely relevant and yet incredibly hopeful. If you want to read something that will get you pondering what our future eternity will be like, this is the book for you.

1. The Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkien

If you have never read this book, do it. It is long – very long, but worth the read. The world of Middle Earth that Tolkien builds is engrossing and will take you away from reality while the story will bring you hope when you come back to it. Definitely take the plunge and get started on this one.

1. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

My husband and I simultaneously recommended this at our couples Bible Study last week and we would recommend it to anyone (we’ve even had our kids listen to it a dramatized audiobook version). The book consists of a series of letters from a major demon to a more minor demon. Each letter contains suggestions about how to get the lesser demon’s human to turn away from his faith. It is convicting each time I listen to it and has become a frequent point of reference in our family conversations.

Non-Fiction

1. The Autumn Ghost: How the Battle Against a Polio Epidemic Revolutionized Modern Medical Care by Hannah Wunsch

There are few books about polio, despite its being the most recent societal disruption caused by illness that occurred prior to COVID. This book is fascinating and details the way that treatments progressed from manual ventilation to ventilators. If you want to better understand polio and its impact on our not-so-distant history, this is worth reading.

1. Nazis of Copley Square: The Forgotten Story of the Christian Front by Charles R. Gallagher

If you want to better understand the political environment of the United States, this book is essential. Reading it helped me to identify the current echoes of pre-WWII politics in the United States as well as to place my own family mythology into its historical context. It is a chilling account of a group that embraced evil and ended up on the wrong side of history due to their fear of a different evil.

1. Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

This is another must read if you want to understand American politics, particularly if you identify as a Christian. While it is painful to read about how the evangelical culture that I love in so many ways has been coopted to teach lies and false doctrine, it is helpful to have a sensible explanation for a phenomenon that seems to make no sense.

1. Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright

This book was helpful in understanding the pre-war and WWII years in the Czech Republic. It weaves together the familial stories of Madeleine Albright, historical events, and the insights of the former Secretary of State.

1. Why Christian Kids Rebel by Tim Kimmel

This book offered an easy explanation for why so many children leave their faith as they get older. I was particularly drawn to the idea that the lives parents live do not reflect a faith in a powerful, good God who is worth believing in.

1. Lasting Ever by Rebecca St. James and Cubie Fink

In full disclosure, I got this book prior to its release so that I could preview and review it. I recommend it if you grew up listening to Rebecca St. James. It is interesting to hear the story behind the music and the ways that God has continued to work in the artist’s life since she stepped back from music to focus on her growing family. It is also always reassuring to hear from couples who face everyday challenges because it reminds us that we are not alone.

1. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

This will always be on the top of my recommended reading lists! This is the incredible true story of a remarkable family who sacrificed everything to rescue their Jewish neighbors during the Holocaust. If you want to be challenged, inspired and buoyed by giants of faith, this is the book for you.

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