Tuesday Tea: It's too hot! What's your favorite book with a cold or snowy setting?
Let's cool it down!
Hello, friends!
I hope you’re drinking all the cold water and iced tea, wearing sunscreen, seeking out shade, and staying inside if you can — that heat dome business in the US sounds terrible.
Thank goodness for books that help us escape the heat with our imagination!
The first one that popped into my mind was Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia. It’s marketed as a YA novel, but I found it riveting — a good combination of mystery fun and emotional engagement, all set at an isolated hotel during a snowstorm. If you were a chorus or band nerd in school, or loved someone who was, I think you’ll love this book.
Then I remembered The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley. There’s so much to love: Scotland. Snowstorm. Frenemies. New Year’s Eve. Muuuuuuurder. (TBH, I started a new novel last night, but I might put that aside and re-read The Hunting Party right now.)
We’ve got a bunch more recommendations on our website:
16 Page-Turner Novels Set in Gloriously Cold and Snowy Places
Almost, Maine by John Cariani — on a cold night in small-town Maine, the Northern Lights work their magic
The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky — an emotional adventure story set in the Arctic with Viking mythology, high drama, and quiet moments that change the world
We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance by David Howarth — an all-too-real WWII adventure story set in Shetland and Norway
Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez — nonfiction that transports you into the ice and wind with polar bears, narwhals, and 1000 miles of sea and glaciers
Popular Music from Vittula: A Novel by Mikael Niemi, Laurie Thompson (translator) — coming-of-age story liberally sprinkled with magical realism in a small town near the Arctic Circle
If you must go outside, maybe put some chilly stories in your ears with our podcasts set in cold places:
Now it’s your turn!
The Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher.
I read and enjoyed The Hunting Party as well. Also, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Even though the White Witch was baaaaad, I loved Narnia in winter!