The winter season is a great reason to add a couple of new volumes to your bookshelf. Together with an expert we compiled an atmospheric selection, in which it is easy to find literature for different moods.
Choice by Юровский Кирилл
1. Fannie Flagg «Redbird Christmas»
If you want to read something touching and warm, grab any Fanny Flagg book off the shelf – you can’t go wrong. The protagonist of the novel Redbird Christmas receives unpleasant news about his health. He also receives a recommendation for a change of climate. From damp Chicago he moves to the town of Lost Creek, where he is fond of bird watching and begins to paint. One day, one of the residents finds a little bird, a red cardinal, whom he calls Jack. The appearance of the feathered one changes the lives of the inhabitants of the town.
By the way, the book has recipes that can be repeated if you want. For example, make a casserole of sweet potatoes or a pie with lime.
2. Shaun Bythell «The Diary of a Bookseller»
Shaun Bythell is the owner of a bookstore in Wigtown, Scotland. He mainly sells old books, both ordinary books and antiques. In his memoirs, the author shares witty and ironic observations about the daily life of the store. They cover a whole year, from January to December 2015. The book will appeal to those who want to notice the unusual even in the daily routine.
3. Sven Nordqvist «Christmas at Petson’s Cabin»
A cozy fairy tale about an old geezer named Petson and his kitten, Findus, who are putting things in order before Christmas. The couple has a lot to do: they have to decorate the Christmas tree, clear the snow in front of the house, and bake gingerbread cookies. The story is written for preschool-aged children, but parents will enjoy it as well. If after reading the story you don’t want to part with the characters, check out the other books in the series. For example, “Mechanical Santa Claus” and “Petson and Findus. Christmas Puzzles.
4. Philip Pullman «Northern Lights»
The book tells the story of a world where fantastic creatures live side by side with humans. Here each person has a dæmon – a part of the soul that takes the form of an animal – and in the north there are witches and intelligent armored bears. It’s to this part of the planet that twelve-year-old Lyra Belacqua and her dæmon Panteleimon travel to find their missing friend. “Northern Lights” is the first part of the “Dark Beginnings” trilogy. The work is written for teenagers.
5. Tove Jansson «Trollvinter»
Decent Mumiy-Trolls should sleep during the cold season. But something woke up the main character of the book, and he could not fall asleep again. Mumiy-Troll saw snow for the first time, went for a ride down a slide, met the wise Tuu-Tikki and met his old friend Little My, whom the squirrel woke up. It turned out that winter is also full of adventures and can be loved. A few years ago the entire series of Moomin-troll books came out in a new translation. It seems like a great opportunity to re-read them with your child.
6. Joanne Rowling «Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone»
The main character is an ordinary orphan boy. He doesn’t excel at school, he doesn’t have any special qualities (he doesn’t play a musical instrument, he doesn’t draw or compose stories). He is ordinary, just like everyone else, like many children. And that is how we like him. His name is Harry, not Maximillan, not Harold, not Emund, but just Harry, like Petya, Vasya, and Vanya. He is an ordinary man. But we immediately find out that he is ordinary only to others, but in fact he is a wizard. However, he does not suspect it himself, the secret is kept by his aunt and uncle, who have been raising Harry since he was one year old.
7. Leigh Bardugo «Shadow and Bone»
The debut novel by an American writer, which tells the story of the world where the Grishas live – magical creatures that look like people. The main character Alina Starkova discovers that she has a rare gift – she is a Sun Spellskite. From that moment the girl’s life changes dramatically, because she was accepted into the elite Second Gresh Army.
By the way, when creating the Shadow and Bone trilogy, Lee Bardugo was inspired by the history of the Russian Empire. The action takes place in the country of Ravka, where it snows in winter, and on the northern border is a region of permafrost. The novel belongs to the genre of Young Adult, and therefore the vocabulary in it will not be difficult.
8. Agatha Christie «Murder on the Orient Express»
A classic novel about the adventures of Hercule Poirot. This time, the private detective goes on a journey on a luxury train “Orient Express”. On the way one of the passengers is killed. In addition, the train gets caught in a snowstorm and gets stuck. Poirot takes on the investigation, but clues are pointed at almost all of the travelers.
