Snow is a perfect character. It’s relentless, it’s uncaring, it’s destructive, it’s basically unpredictable, and under the right circumstances, devastatingly beautiful. Without a second thought, it will bury, destroy, disturb, upset and entrap. It can soften any noise, or crash like an explosion. It can freeze a person solid. Or in certain cases, protect them.
And in the midst of a real-life blizzard, it can be wonderful meta-reading when it’s snowing inside your book as well.
Think of Doctor Zhivago — who doesn’t envision the magical snow globe of that sleigh ride to Varikyno? Plus Russia. Okay, and revolution. But Boris Pasternak knew that snow could also mean romance. How about the frozen-in-immortality leopard in the opening of The Snows of Kilimanjaro? Ernest Hemingway understood that even imaginary snow could mean death. (And metaphors.)
When a character looks outside and muses “Ooh, it looks like snow,” that’s when wise readers know it’s not musing, it’s foreshadowing. And when a character flat out proclaims “winter is coming,” you gotta know that more than a blizzard is on the way. It’s a force that will change everyone’s lives. In my book The Wrong Girl, a snow squall is as powerful as any human villain. And in my newest, The First to Lie, Boston in a blizzard proves devastating.
Is the white stuff on the way to your neighborhood? Since winter is, indeed, coming, make sure all your devices are plugged in, and then, chill out with one of these.
The Snowman by Jo Nesbø
Okay, this is so creepy. Yes, it’s Norway, so it’s going to be cold, but how sinister is it that on the day of the year’s first snow, a snowman inexplicably appears in someone’s yard. And then, someone in the house disappears. Only her pink scarf remains, and the snowman is now wearing it. And if that’s not bad enough, Inspector Harry Hole discovers it’s not the first time this has happened. A terrific thriller, but if you find a snowman in your front yard, you better hope the kids built him.
Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin
This is a glorious novel, a perfect book for winter reading. Or anytime, really. But the essence-of-winter scenes of the ice-sleigh speeding across the infinitely cold and completely frozen Lake of the Coheeries will carry you off into this magical realism adventure. And there’s so much more to come. A flying horse, timelines in two different centuries, love and journalism, and justice and magic. Please don’t miss Mark Helprin’s classic.
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
It’s impossible not to be transported even at the phrase “winter is coming.” And winter in the Game of Thrones series is about as wintry as it gets, meteorologically and metaphorically. This iconic and beloved series, all eight books of it so far, will have you riveted to the pages. Not for the faint of heart, nor for the cowardly reader. But wow. George R. R. Martin takes so many risks with the plot — and that is a good thing.
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
How many of us have hidden in a closet and wondered if just maybe, if we found just the right one, we could travel through to Narnia, even though it’s treacherous and infinitely dangerous? We all wanted to go with Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy to that land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the tyrannical White Witch. Because of … Aslan, and loyalty, honesty, temptation and redemption. This is the second in the C. S. Lewis classic Chronicles of Narnia series. It’s complicated, but read this one first.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
There seems to be a fantasy theme on this list, and maybe that is one of the mysterious properties of snow. When our intrepid Lyra must travel far, far North in order to stop the … well, you know. There are witch clans and armored bears. And those are the good guys! We all wish we could be as intrepid as Lyra and have our own alethiometer, which could reveal who is telling the truth and help us figure out what complicated things mean. This book — like all books in the His Dark Materials series — is thrilling, inspirational, thought-provoking and timeless. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s only for a YA audience.
When Mountains Move by Julie Cantrell
This book is gorgeous. We follow a World War II-era family as they learn to farm in the beautiful and unpredictable Rocky Mountains — where Millie Reynolds has buried a dark secret. As the winter snows set in (winter is coming!) and choices weigh heavy, every path leads to pain. But Millie will do anything to protect the ones she loves. Eventually, she learns to rely on the mountains to show her the way.
Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg
Remember this book? It came out in 1995, and I am still haunted by it, maybe one of the first Scandinavian-set mysteries I read. Fascinatingly constructed and so chillingly compelling. Remember how innovative the title was? Peter Høeg’s Nordic noir groundbreaker is the story of a young boy who supposedly fell to his death in the Copenhagen snow. A Greenlander named Smilla tracks down the killer and, as the description says, “an explosive secret takes her back to the world of ice and snow from which she comes.”
One By One by uth Ware
I just love Ruth Ware. Her latest is a perfect contemporary take on an Agatha Christie novel, and it’s so much fun to read. We all know the “group of people trapped in a chalet in a snowstorm in the mountains” routine, and yet, this one is so twisty and so hip with an undercurrent of rich techie millionaires and millionaires-to-be. And as they say, tensions simmer. There’s an avalanche, and the electricity goes out, and there’s nothing to eat, and … the one thing you don’t want to do is go outside. Oops, too late. (Read our review here.)
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
This is the “everyone trapped on a train in the snow” Agatha Christie. And wow, I remember the first time I read this, so many years ago. I was stunned, flabbergasted, and went right back and started reading from the beginning again. Wondering, trying to figure out: How did she do that? Still one of the best books like this ever written. It’s enhanced by a few very unpredictable puzzle pieces, and I’m not just talking about the ending.
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
One of the most cinematic books I’ve ever read — touching, poignant, gorgeous and surrounded by this feeling of enveloping, peaceful snow on an island in Puget Sound. In this heartbreaking story, David Guterson created a tense legal thriller wrapped in tragic history, and all these years later, Snow Falling on Cedars is still the cold standard.
