Hello,
Tonight, I have a very special guest on the True Stories Book Club - the venerable Diana Henry will be talking about midwinter eating and her reissued classic Roast Figs, Sugar Snow (reading guide here) at 7pm UK time.
Diana is an enthusiastic winter reader, a connoisseur of the crisp, icy prose that abounds in the literature of this season. This is a woman after my own heart. Every year, my winter bookshelf swells with just one more book (maybe two) to complete the collection. When I settle down to read at this time of year, everything must be sprinkled with snow, or else it doesn’t seem worthwhile.
As a special treat, Diana has sent us a copy of Christmas reading list - the books she turns to every year - and you can browse it below or take a deeper dive here on Bookshop.org. All of these books would be excellent for Jolabokaflod (‘Yule book flood’), the Icelandic tradition of giving a book to each member of the family on Christmas Eve, so that everyone can sit down for an hour with a hot chocolate and find a little peace. It’s a firm favourite in our household, one of the many small beats in the big, complex rhythm of midwinter. If you fancy giving it a go this year, I’ve also compiled a list of the books that I’ve given in the past few years - but do go and browse in your local bookshop. They’re always full of inspiration.
Seeing as it’s Christmas, I’m opening up the event with Diana tonight to anyone who’d like to join us - just register here, and password is below.
Password: hawfinch
Ayway, without further ado, here’s Diana’s list - tell me your favourite midwinter books in the comments below!
Great books to read at Christmas
Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson
Advent by Anja Dunk
Village Christmas by Laurie Lee
The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater
Snow books and books that feature autumn, as well as winter books that inspired Roast Figs, Sugar Snow
The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
Hans Brinker/The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge
Complete Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
Death Of A Naturalist by Seamus Heaney
Collected Poems by R.S. Thomas
Selected Poems by Robert Frost
Collected Poems by Edward Thomas
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (This one is a picture book)
Take care - hope to see you tonight,
Katherine
If you think a friend or loved one would enjoy The Clearing by Katherine May, gift subscriptions are available here | Website | Buy: Enchantment UK /US | Buy: Wintering UK / US | Buy: The Electricity of Every Living Thing UK / US
This newsletter may contain affiliate links.