Booking Through Thursday: Winter

Booking Through Thursday, December 25, 2008
“What are the most “wintery” books you can think of? The ones that almost embody Winter?”
(Personally, “A Winters Tale” by Mark Helprin pretty much nails this for me, and “Smilla’s Sense of Snow” was right up there…)

I thoroughly agree — “Winter’s Tale” came to mind immediately when I read the question. I have never read anything that made me feel winter as I did when reading that book. But I also remember my young imagination conjuring the frozen Alaskan wilderness while perusing “Call of the Wild” by Jack London in grade school.

More recently, Van Reid’s “Daniel Plainway: or the Holiday Haunting of the Moosepath League” brought the deep snow and low temperatures of 19th-century Maine in December to my armchair here in Texas. Third (of four) in the series of comic historical mysteries and equally as enjoyable, oh how I wish there were more to come!

Maureen Jenning’s series of detective mysteries set in turn-of-the-last-century Toronto feature not only wonderful characters but an incredible atmosphere. “Poor Tom is Dead” is the third in the series with Detective Murdoch, and the Canadian winter is described in all its merciless glory.

Here’s to staying warm with a good book!