Settling in for cozy season? Pick up these reads for winter.
There’s something about winter reading that just feels cozier than any other season. For me, it’s a time of ritual and tradition, homemade knit hats and hot cocoa, down comforters and embroidery projects, movies like Single All The Way and, maybe best of all, thick spine-cracked paperback novels.
You can feel it, can’t you?
Since this is the first issue of Shelf Stories and we’re just getting to know each other, I thought it’d be the perfect time to introduce you to some of my favorite books by genre. So, grab a hot beverage of your choice and your favorite chenille blanket, and let’s get to it.
Essay Collections Worth Reading
Execute the Office by Colin Rafferty
As someone who loves reading weird literary niches and also attended her first political rally around the age of seven, Execute the Office ticked all the right boxes for me. Rafferty uses a variety of literary forms in order to examine the office of the presidency and each of its last 45 inhabitants in this collection of micro-essays. He often writes these short, unknown and often humorous accounts of the presidents as hermit crab essays, borrowing inspiration from movie scripts, doctor notes, postcard reflections, dance steps and much more. Outside of his creative use of form, I was most impressed with how Rafferty makes the presidency seem personal again and how he shows that when it comes to politics, nothing is ever new under the sun.
You might also like: Be With Me Always by Randon Billings Noble (you can read my full review in the Kenyon Review); The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison; The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit.
Cozy Mysteries Worth Reading
Murder Offstage by L.B. Hathaway
Recently, I put a call out on Twitter asking for cozy mystery recommendations and was rewarded by my pal Cara with a suggestion for the Posie Parker mystery series. And guess what: It’s an utter delight.
When Posie’s longtime friend is robbed of the (cursed) Maharajah diamond and becomes a suspect in a murder case, she must race against the clock to prove his innocence and discover who the true murderer/theif is in the glittering underbelly of London’s 1920’s theatre district.
I’ve seen this series described as Agatha Christie x Downton Abbey, and they’re not wrong. *chef’s kiss*
You might also like: Death in Soho by Emily Organ (the second book in this new mystery series comes out in March and can be preordered on Kindle for $1.99 right now!). Set in the 1920s, Augusta Peele is a quiet, no-nonsense book binder with a mysterious past and amatueur (?) sleuthing skills. I personally imagined her having some serious “I-don’t-care-what-people-think” Zelda Fitzgerald vibes.
Literary Fiction Worth Reading
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
I think I cried (sobbed?) my way through at least two-thirds of this beautiful, heartbreaking book.
Named after Shakespeare’s son who died in 1596 from an unknown illness, O’Farrell pens a fictional account of the boy who inspired his father’s masterpiece, Hamlet, and the subsequent unspooling of a mother’s grief. The book toggles between two different timelines — the first beginning on the day the plague falls upon the Shakespeare family and the second telling the history of William and Agnes’s unconventional relationship. I found myself especially drawn to Agnes in this story, and her scenes in the book were some of my favorite.
This book is one of the most honest portrayals of grief that I’ve ever encountered. It’s not a light read, but if you’re in the right place, it is a worthwhile one.
As Vision said, “What is grief if not love perservering?”
You might also like: Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters; There, There by Tommy Orange; Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.
Contemporary Romance Worth Reading
People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry
If you’ve asked me for a book recommendation before, chances are good that I’ve told you to read something by Emily Henry. She’s one of my favorite contemporary authors — her writing is smart and funny, the character banter is incredibly witty, and 10/10 she writes the best book boyfriends.
Alternating between flashbacks and present day, this book introduces us to Poppy and Alex. Best friends for 10+ years, Poppy is a wild child, free-spirited travel writer and Alex, a quiet, buttoned-up English teacher. Every year, they take one vacation together until something happens that drives them apart — and Poppy has one chance to make things right.
PWMOV is perfect for fans of enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine and slow-burn romances. Also perfect for people just looking to read a good book: I read this one three times in 2021.
You might also like: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood; Jasmine Guillory’s The Wedding Date series (Party of Two my favorite); Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes.
Feeling very proud of my new distinction, btw.
So, in that spirit…
A Bonus Holiday Romance Rec: A Cross-Country Christmas by Courtney Walsh. So far, this has been my favorite holiday rom com of the year. It’s wholesome and sweet like a Hallmark movie, but with a little added depth (TW: childhood divorce and substance abuse). I loved the witty banter between the two main characters and watching their relationship bloom. Also, the scene with the cake at the end? A++
Creative Nonfiction Worth Reading
Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth Rush
A couple months ago, I picked up this book when I wanted to read more about the climate crisis. I expected the book to be a little dry, if I’m being honest, but I couldn’t have been more surprised. Rush’s writing is beautiful and poetic (it reminded me very much of Rebecca Solnit’s voice), and she consistently poses thoughtful questions to both the reader and her interview subjects.
A combination of lyrical reportage and the author’s meditation on what it means to lose someplace you love in real time, Rising made me aware of the world around me in a way I haven’t felt in a while. As far as I’m concerned, it should be essential reading for everyone.
You might also like: Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker; The Bling Ring by Nancy Jo Sales (which was based off her Vanity Fair article, The Suspects Wore Louboutins).
Historical Fiction Worth Reading
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
If you are on #booktok or are a big fan of TJR or are part of the #penpalooza community on Twitter, you’ve probably already read this book. But for some reason I can’t figure out, so many people I talk to haven’t even heard of it. What?
The setup is great. An aging and reclusive former hollywood starlet, Evelyn Hugo decides she’s finally ready to tell her side of the story. Decision made, she hires a yet-unknown young journalist to write her biography. They talk through it all — from her start in 1950s Los Angelos to her disappearance from the public eye in the 1980s to the seven husbands she hitches along the way.
There’s glamour! Steely ambition! Forbidden love! Tenderness! And so much drama! It’s the kind of book you stay up until 4 in the morning reading because you have to know what happens in the end.
You might also like: A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams; The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab; The Paris Apartment by Kelly Bowen (which is on sale for $2.99 on Kindle right now).
Ok, friends. That’s it for now! But I’d love to here what you’ve been reading. What book most surprised or delighted you in 2021?
Thanks for subscribing to Shelf Stories. I’m so glad you’re here.
Until next time,
Stefanie
Stefanie- Thanks for these recommendations. I'll now be looking into these pieces of literature for my weekend reading. But the Vision quote stood out, too: “What is grief if not love perservering?” I think the first time I heard this I balled my eyes out. So true. And so dark and light in all the right places. A keen description of the human condition and spirit.
I loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I wasn't so much a fan of Evvie Drake starts over. Books I loved this year: Riley Sager's Home Before Dark, Verity by Colleen Hoover, and Circe by Madeline Miller, thanks to your recommendation!