5 Winter Reads to Cuddle Up With

Bored of the endless hours of Youtube and Netflix? It’s time to mix it up by going old school and reading a book! Brooke Teehan has curated a list of five must reads for these indoor months to save your eyes from some screen time and get you cosy. 

Books can often be pretty hit or miss and finding good ones can feel like hard work. So I’ve taken on the challenge, trawling through a bunch of duds, to deliver to you some hidden gems that’ll entertain you.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith 

This is the PERFECT warm and fuzzy feeling book that I come back to again and again. Set in the 1930’s in a shabby castle on the English countryside, we read from the perspective of Cassandra’s diary. At 17, she provides a funny, honest and probably the most relatable voice I’ve ever read. She’s unabashedly smart whilst youthfully hopeless at the same time. Expect some comedic shenanigans involving a fur coat, some family drama and a visit from a wealthy American family with two handsome sons. By no means is this a predictable or traditional romance but rather a protest of the genre, one subtly clever, self-aware and offering the best kind of coming-of-age tale.

Blankets by Craig Thompson 

Ok, this is not a novel in the traditional sense but if staring at dense pages of black and white text sounds more like a headache than entertainment to you, this is a great compromise. ‘Blankets’ is a graphic novel and autobiography of Thompson’s battle between his faith and his creativity. The art style is constructed from stunning freeform black ink brushstrokes that really stand out from the snowy landscape. This is a book is visually gorgeous but is backed up by a sensitive portrayal of a young man’s journey through childhood, first love and religion. ‘Blankets’ is a read best saved for one-sitting on an overcast day with plenty of tea and soft blankets.

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

This one is a tad basic but by no means does that diminish from how much I love it. I picked “Perks” up in a school library when I was 13 and was quickly wrapped up in Charlie’s story. When I read it the first time, so much of its content was new and scandalous, giving me a sense that I was somehow breaking a rule by reading it. As I got older, I kept coming back to the book when I was feeling down and began to appreciate a deeper quality. This book makes you feel like you know Charlie and his friends intrinsically like real people. If you haven’t read “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” already, you should, and if books really aren’t your thing, the movie is an extremely faithful adaptation directed by Chbosky himself.

Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

This book is a rollercoaster from start to finish. Written in 1872 by a former French soldier, the book is surprisingly modern with strong themes of feminism and sexual freedom. Don’t be fooled by the publication date, no punches are pulled in terms of details of these escapades and despite the language being old timey, it’s easy to follow and doesn’t distract from the content. ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ provides a fascinating insight into the behind closed doors reality of the 19th century French aristocracy with characters, often led by boredom, who commit cruel acts with severe consequences.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

A fantasy novel that manages to perfectly balance magical themes making it accessible to new readers of the genre as well as aficionados.  A friend had recommended it to me but I was a bit sceptical at first. The long-winded opening act is a bit slow but I’m glad I persevered. Once “The Name of the Wind” gets into the swing of things it becomes a real page turner and my respect of my friend’s literary taste was restored. Kvothe – and I had many debates on how to pronounce it, you decide – is the poor version of Harry Potter. He’s a magical prodigy that’s low on cash, struggling to afford his tuition fees and paying for dodgy tavern rooms with even dodgier deals with mystical pawn shop owners. It’s truly worth a read.

Brooke Teehan is a first-year journalism student. Despite the nature of journalism as a hard-hitting truth sleuthing career path, she has a major passion for fiction on the side and would love to find a way to combine the two.