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Brrr! After an unusually warm autumn, the temperature has dropped and today I woke up to a chilly -4ºC morning. However, the sun is shining brightly and while there is a nip to the air, there is warmth in front of the fire and what better day to list my top 10 winter reads for those frosty days of winter.
1. The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
2. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (I’m reading it right now and try to read it each year)
3. Master and Man by Leo Tolstoy
4. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
5. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
6. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
7. Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson
8. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
9. Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome
10. A Maigret Christmas by Georges Simenon
Whoo, I squeaked right under the Tuesday wire and what a list I came up with! Can’t wait to read some of them and for the next Top Ten Tuesday hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl!
My last Top Ten Tuesday was Books to Pull You Out of a Reading Slump
Dr Z as a cosy read? Ughhhh.
How much of Tolstoy have you read? Scattered or have you methodically gone through most of his stuff? I’m curious.
On a side note, I can “like” your posts here from my feed but when I come to the actual page there is no “like” button. I don’t know if that matters to you, since there never was a like button on blogger, but just so you know…
I’ve read Dr. Z three times and he kind of grows on you. 😉
With regard to Tolstoy, I’ve read War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Master and Man. I do want to read his other works too, as well as re-read what I’ve already read. What about you?
I kind of thought the like button would just be another thing for people to do but I know some like it so I’ll see if I can find it to turn on. If you see anywhere else I could make improvements, please just let me know!
Oh, and if you know how I can get a blogroll on this blog, I’d be forever grateful. Apparently there is an option on .com but on the self-hosted .org, they’ve taken it away and I can’t find anything to help but changing my global template and I am NOT nearly computer-savvy enough to do that!
3 times? I guess you do love it. Once was enough for me.
For Tolstoy, I do know I would like to go through some of the russian authors (tolstoy included) and read their stuff in a bit more methodical manner, kind of like what I’m doing with Dickens right now. I know I have W&P and Anna K and that appears to be it.
As for the like button, I have found it a way to show support for a post even when I don’t have any comments to write. But it all comes down to what YOU want. Does getting likes on your posts do it for you or not? If it doesn’t, I wouldn’t worry about it. I also suspect you get a lot more “statistic” info from using the dot org as a host than I do from the dot com and “likes” is one of the ways I can kind of judge traffic…
Honestly, I don’t know why I read it three times. It wasn’t that I loved it but it’s a book that I don’t seem to mind reading again and again. Weird … 😉
Let me know if you want to do a read-along of any Russian author. I’d be interested after I get through this Christmas season and part of January.
“Likes” don’t do it for me but if visitors would like to see the button, I don’t mind putting it up. I did look for it and couldn’t find it with a cursory search but I know I’ve seen it somewhere. And yes, I get TONS of statistical information, much of which I don’t understand. 😀 It is interesting to see where the referrals are coming from …. places I never expected, like an old homeschool forum I was on. I have no idea how they’re coming from there. It would be interesting to investigate.
I’ll have to think hard about a buddy-read. I burned out on them in ’17 and didn’t do a single one in ’18. Not sure if I’m recovered or not. I’ll let you know either way sometime in February 🙂
If likes don’t do it for you, I wouldn’t bother one bit trying to add them to the page. I remember that your food blog never had them 🙂
I kind of burnt out on them as well, but I must admit, I do miss them. In any case, no pressure with whatever you decide. With some books that might be challenging, a buddy read is effective but with some, while it might be nice to read together, there’s not really much benefit other than that.
I’ll definitely keep it in mind and let you know when I get around to my Russian author read. I should probably get that all those books gathered before I go thinking about a buddy read 🙂
as i sink into my second childhood, books like Moomin seem to have a special gravity… memories of Freddie the Pig have been occurring more frequently lately….
Oooo, I LOVE Freddie the Pig! Now you have me thinking ….. 😉 The Moomins are in my top two favourite children’s reads. I’ve got to dig this one out.
Woo, I love most of those! I do have to ask about Ethan Frome though; I’ve always understood it to be incredibly depressing. Is it cozy? (Asks the woman currently bashing her way through Crime and Punishment, so far distinctly NOT cozy)
Ethan Frome is somewhat depressing, but it’s interesting and of course, because it’s Wharton, it’s well-written. I suppose I equate cozy with a good read …. it doesn’t necessarily have to be positive. I think we can learn many positive things from negative circumstances, so depressing has never really put me off. Well, to be honest, except for Hardy. I find his books truly depressing.
That’s a great list. Just thinking about the White Witch from Narnia or the plot of Ethan Frome makes me shiver. 🙂
Thanks, Lark! I feel like reading both now. Oh, for uninterrupted quiet time during this Yuletide season ! ….. sadly, not happening, but I hope to get to at least one of these and a good amount of my Literary Christmas list.
I had a couple of these on my TT Cozy Reads, but I never posted it. So I had A Christmas Carol and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, anyway. But Dr. Z, I never considered, although it would work b/c Russia = winter, and that works for me; though I cannot call it cozy. However, it’s also a favorite one of mine, as wicked as it is. Then again, I might throw Hardy on to my cozy list, and that’s just as bad. LOL!
Your liking of Hardy surprises me but I do agree that his descriptive prose is quite amazing. I’d definitely read him for a cozy read even if I didn’t like the book. Any time to curl up on a cold winter day/evening to read is time well spent!
I’ve never read Inspector Maigret, but that sounds like a fun read. And I’ve been meaning to re-read Narnia “soon” for the longest time now.. 😛 Enjoy your wintry reading!
I haven’t read Inspector Maigret either but I’ve seen a T.V. series on him and it was excellent. I can’t wait to read some of his books. Yes, a Narnia re-read would be just the thing!
Brr! We had a warm autumn but an early winter – it really has felt more like January at times starting in November. But at least it feels like the right weather for Christmas! 🙂 Not familiar with all of your choices but the ones I am are, I agree, perfect for winter reading. Now I want to read some more Moomin-stories…
Yes, us too. We don’t usually experience -6ºC until at least January. I wonder if we’re going to get lots of snow this year. Usually we only get a dump or two but who knows with this cold weather.
The Moomins are perfect for reading any time of the year!!!
sorry I missed this one! I will try to post for TTT this week. I have read Ethan Frome; I did not like it much but it wasn’t all *that* depressing, it seemed rather detached, compared to a really depressing book (like Crime & Punishment).
I agree about Ethan Frome but I like Wharton’s writing so much that I want to read it again to see if I like it better. Can’t wait to see what your top ten will be!
I’m looking forward to Master and Man next year 🙂
And you’ve made me want to read the Ransome. I have to read Peter Duck first, however, but I am fine with that! As soon as I’ve finished Hunchback I’ll go to PD then Winter Holiday 🙂
Peter Duck was fun! I’m going to try to get to Winter Holiday and then continue with the whole series. I don’t know why I stopped. I love Ransome’s books!