What to read in winter: 12 books for inspiration, family evenings and culinary experiments

If you are looking for inspiration

Fannie Flagg "Christmas and the Red Cardinal"

If you want to read something touching and warm, take any book by Fanny Flagg from the shelf - you definitely can't go wrong. The protagonist of the novel "Christmas and the Red Cardinal" receives unpleasant news about his health. And also - a recommendation to change the climate. From damp Chicago, he moves to the town of Lost Creek, where he enjoys birdwatching and begins to paint. One day, one of the residents finds a small bird - a red cardinal, whom he calls Jack. The appearance of a feathered one changes the life of the inhabitants of the town.

By the way, the book has recipes that you can repeat if you wish. For example, make a sweet potato casserole or a lime pie.

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Sean Bytell "Bookseller's Notes"

Sean Bythell is the owner of a bookstore in the Scottish city of Wigtown. He mainly sells old books - both ordinary second-hand books and antiques. In his memoirs, the author shares witty and ironic observations about the daily life of the store. They cover the whole year - from January to December 2015. The book will appeal to those who want to notice the unusual even in everyday routine.

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If you like to read with the whole family

Sven Nordqvist "Christmas at Petson's House"

A cozy tale about a middle-aged eccentric Petson and his kitten Findus, who put things in order before Christmas. The couple has a lot to do: they need to decorate the Christmas tree, clear the snow in front of the house and bake gingerbread cookies. The story is written for preschool children, but parents will also like it. If you don't feel like parting with the characters after reading it, take a closer look at the other books in the series. For example, "Mechanical Santa Claus" and "Petson and Findus. Christmas puzzles.

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Philip Pullman "Northern Lights"

The book tells about a world where fantastic creatures live side by side with people. Here, every person has a daemon - a part of the soul that takes the form of an animal - and witches and sentient armored bears live in the north. Twelve-year-old Lyra Belacqua and her daemon Panteleimon are sent to this part of the planet to find their missing friend. Northern Lights is the first part of the Dark Materials trilogy. The work is written for teenagers.

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Tove Jansson "Moomin's Winter"

Decent Moomin trolls in the cold season should sleep. But something woke up the protagonist of the book, and he could not fall asleep again. Moomintroll saw snow for the first time, rode down a hill, met the wise Too-tikki and met an old friend Baby Myu, who was awakened by a squirrel. It turned out that winter is also full of adventures and you can fall in love with it. A few years ago, the entire series of books about Moomin came out in a new translation. It seems like a great opportunity to reread them with your child.

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If you want to improve your English

JK Rowling "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"

A book about the adventures of a wizard boy is associated with winter and New Year holidays for many. If you decide to re-read, combine business with pleasure and take a volume in the original language. You should not worry - the novel is written for children, so you can master it even with average English. Such a reading will help to appreciate the author's style of JK Rowling and the richness of the images that the writer used.

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Lee Bardugo "Shadow and Bone"

The debut novel by an American writer, which tells about the world where the Grisha live - magical creatures that look like people. The main character Alina Starkova learns that she has a rare gift - she is the Sorcerer of the Sun. From that moment on, the girl's life changes dramatically, because she is accepted into the elite Second Grisha 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.

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If you plan to tickle your nerves

Agatha Christie "Murder on the Orient Express"

A classic novel about the adventures of Hercule Poirot. This time, a private detective is on a journey on a luxury Orient Express train. On the way, one of the passengers is killed. In addition, the train is caught in a snow storm and gets stuck. Poirot takes on the investigation, but the evidence points to almost all travelers.

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Stephen King "The Shining"

If you want mysticism and psychologism, you can't do without Stephen King. According to the plot of the novel, not too successful writer Jack Torrance gets a job as a watchman in a mountain hotel for the winter. He moves there with his wife Wendy and five-year-old son Danny. The boy is endowed with an unusual gift and can see otherworldly forces. Ghosts begin to take over Jack's mind and make him aggressive, which eventually leads to tragedy.

The book is worth reading, even if you have seen the famous film with Jack Nicholson (by the way, Stephen King this film adaptation does not love). In the novel, the main character can reveal himself from a different side.

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Yu Nesbo "Snowman"

Atmospheric and creepy Scandinavian novel about a serial killer. Every year in Norway, when the first snow falls, married women go missing. And snowmen appear near the victims' houses. Detective Harry Holle undertakes to find out who is behind the crimes. The killer, who was nicknamed the Snowman, teases the detective and gradually gets close to his relatives.

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If you do not know how to fill the house with a festive atmosphere

Emma Mitchell "While away the winter. A cozy guide on how to spend the cold season"

If you prefer non-fiction, but want to create a New Year's mood, take a closer look at this book. It contains ideas on how to drive away winter melancholy. The publication contains recipes and step-by-step instructions for needlework that will help make your home more comfortable. Together with the author, you will bake a chocolate cake and apple-caramel buns, learn how to make watercolor sketches, and, perhaps, be inspired to create jewelry and knitting.

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Nigel Slater "The main dishes of winter"

The English food writer and columnist for The Observer has collected holiday recipes and stories about why he loves winter in one book. The author tells how to choose a Christmas tree and sign postcards, shares other tips for preparing for the holidays. The book will help you see the advantages of the cold season and inspire you to create culinary masterpieces. In total, it contains 100 recipes - from delicious minced meat dishes to poppy seed cake with oranges. Each recipe has illustrations.

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