Books to Keep Us Warm This End of Winter

As we move into the last few weeks of cold temperatures in some parts of the world, you may be longing for a good comfort book to delve into as you wait for flowers to bud and display winter is officially over. So here is a list of some of my favourite cosy stories I recommend to you.

By Catherine Gregson

@_xcatherinex_

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

This fiction book tells the most heartwarming story of a 100-year-old man (named Allan Karlsson) who escapes from his care home and embarks on an adventure. As he goes on the adventure, he reveals his colourful and unexpected history which includes events such as partaking in the Spanish Revolution, becoming friends with General Franco, helping create the atom bomb, becoming friends with Harry Truman and meeting Stalin. Yet, as his history is told, the reader follows the current story of him becoming entangled in a robbery involving a drug gang, which is gripping and will keep you turning the pages long past you intended to stop! All throughout this, he remains calm and logical and retains a sense of humour. He responds to the events told in the story unlike anyone else, acting like no one else would in these situations. As Allan is wise and has experienced so much, he knows worrying is useless, but to act isn’t. The book will take you on a great adventure all over the world as Allan tells his deeply intriguing and inspiring history. From the first page, you are reassured that everything turns out alright, as he survived to one hundred with a lot of wisdom to share.

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

‘Do believe the hype, buy into it, curl up with it, savour every sentence, then turn around and reread’, said The Times about this book. I believe that review to be a good summary of how it feels to read this book. It’s an incredibly clever and well-thought-out story told as you follow the lives of six different key characters. The characters’ stories intertwine and link with each other, as the years the stories are told jump forward and back in each section, so pay attention to the year in each section of the book, as this helps with context. Some of the characters are more naturally loveable than others, yet there are certainly reasons to empathise with them all. Through this story you will go on a journey through time, culture, ethnicity and age as the characters develop.

Is It Just Me? and Peggy & Me by Miranda Hart

I have read and reread these books many times, simply for how much they make me laugh. The things you read in these books you cannot just smirk at; they make you laugh out loud in an uncontrollable response due to just how funny the content is. Miranda Hart is a much-loved British comedian, famous for her BBC series Miranda. In these books you gain an insight into her life and her experiences with her dog (Peggy). She details many mishaps and embarrassing experiences throughout her life which are, often, all too relatable. I recommend these books if you need a really lighthearted laugh-out-loud novel.

How To Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran

This book tells the fictional story of Johanna Morrigan as she develops through adolescence, from the age of 14 into a young woman. She leaves her large family and goes to London to become a music journalist, in the hopes of finding herself and becoming more confident. On this journey she attends plenty of rock concerts and ends up meeting members of the bands, and even befriending some of them. Johanna thinks she has achieved everything she wanted within herself, until she realises she has to reconsider. This book will take you on a wildly exciting and invigorating journey as you follow Johanna’s life. It’s a hard book to put down.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote

This is a beautiful short story told from the perspective of an unnamed narrator about Holly Golightly. She lives alone in an apartment in New York and is a socialite. The story follows the narrator as he meets her and befriends her. Many unexpected chaotic occurrences happen to the narrator as he spends time with Holly and becomes entangled in her complex life. He becomes fascinated by Holly and how, when she feels great sadness, the only thing that helps is for her to go to Tiffany’s and observe in awe the jewellery for sale. The story will immerse you in Holly’s life and encourage you to feel great sympathy for her. She is a loveable yet troubled and chaotic protagonist.

Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart

Arguably, also a read suited for summer holidays (yet it might help distract your mind from the cold, dark nights some are currently still under), this travel diary tells the true story of Chris Stewart, the former drummer of the band Genesis as he moves to Andalucia. It’s a heartwarming read as he moves with his wife to a remote farm, El Valero, which they discover has no access road, supply of water or electricity. Yet, in his own words, he is an eternal optimist and is never disheartened by the challenges he and his wife encounter to build their home there. On their quest, they befriend the local farmers and neighbours who help them and provide them with advice. At times, their task seems impossible with so many drawbacks faced, yet with Stewart’s sheer determinism and hope, they succeed. This book is a joy to read and will make you feel happy and optimistic.

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres

A beautiful novel set on the Greek island of  Cephalonia during the 1940s surrounding the local doctor’s daughter, Pelagia. As readers, we follow her life as she helps her father with his work and plays a key role on the island. She falls in love with a fisherman named Mandras and they become engaged. However, things change when Italian soldiers are posted to the Greek island and Pelagia meets Captain Antonio Corelli. The soldiers stress they wish to be as peaceful and as least disruptive as possible to the civilians on the island. The doctor offers to house Captain Corelli in return for medical supplies, thus he moves in with the family. Captain Corelli and Pelagia grow close to one another as he helps out on the island, but this is tainted with a constant fear of developments in the war. This story will transport you to island life in Greece in the 1940s, as you take in the scenery through the eyes of the characters. It’s a heartwarming novel, with a story which will leave you feeling satisfied and content.

Grown Ups by Marian Keyes

I’ve chosen this book in particular as it’s probably my favourite Marian Keyes novel, yet I recommend reading any books by her (for example, Rachel’s Holiday, The Other Side of the Story, and The Break) during the winter months when you may crave a cosy novel. All her stories are wholesome, end happily and with all conflict resolved, which leaves you feeling warm and satisfied. In Grown Ups, you are thrown into the messy lives of a large family of Casey’s and Kinsella’s. Within this family, there are many complicated characters with colourful histories, including those who have married into the family or are involved as partners with someone in the family. As occasions take place, which means all the family has to congregate, you witness the dynamics between members change and develop, which entices you to keep reading. When you’re in between chapters, you’re left wondering how the situations with the family members progress and why. There are some incredibly strong personalities, and interesting characters within the family who play a key role in the dynamics. For example, Jessie Parnell, who married into the family, always aims to play the role of the conflict resolver and the organiser, much to the annoyance of some characters. When you close the book, you will be left feeling satisfied that all issues have been solved and each character has been awarded the fate they deserved. It will evoke many emotions in the reader: from happiness to excitement, laughter and grief, but the overarching message the fiction tells is wise and is a testament to human character.

Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud

This is a charming story, told through the lens of an, initially, four-year-old girl as she travels, with her sister and mother, through Morocco in the 1960s. It is a beautifully written story as Freud brilliantly depicts the scenery and atmosphere in Morocco, so much so that it almost feels as though you’re there yourself as you immerse yourself in the pages of the novel. The little girl’s mother is what some may describe as a ‘hippie’, and they live on only enough money in order to survive, as they mostly receive payments from the girl’s estranged father. Through their travels, they go on many adventures and meet different people. Their mother develops a temporary relationship with a street performer, Bilal. It’s refreshing to read fiction through the lens of a young person because throughout the book, you have the experience of witnessing seemingly mundane things with a childlike joy, wonder and awe. Moreover, she doesn’t quite perceive or spot danger as an adult protagonist may, and thus, she is contently naïve. This book will immerse you in Morocco and its beauty and socio-economic state in the 1960s through the blissfully naïve perspective of a child, happy to be having adventures with her loving mother and caring sister. 

I hope that these book recommendations appeal to you and help you to keep cosy towards the end of winter, as we move into spring. Some of these stories, such as Captain Corelli’s Mandolin or Hideous Kinky may be appealing to read in the summer months also, perhaps as holiday reading as you are transported to warmer climates through the pages you turn. 

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About me:

Catherine is a Politics and International Relations graduate. She is passionate about all things political and social justice related and is also a keen traveller and reader.

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