Keywords: Reading List, Book Recommendations, Holiday Readings, Winter Time Reading

Genre: Opinion piece meant to be taken as a source of inspiration, not as a guideline

Length: medium (’bout 6 minutes, depending on how many tabs you have open)

Country: World Wide

My Ideal Winter Reading List

Every December, as I look back on my list of read books, I get hit with the same existential crisis: what on earth do I even read? Because here’s the thing: it does seem like I have no defined reading taste. None. Zero. I am in my thirties and I read anything from children’s literature to non-fiction physics, from Christian theology to dystopian science fiction.

I am basically a walking, talking, confused Goodreads algorithm. Hi, nice to meet you!

So when the idea for this post crossed my mind, I found myself “in a bit of a pickle.” Picking books? Making a list? For other humans? Good luck to me!!

And to make things even more complicated: winter is my absolute favourite season.

The colder the better. December-Me is already waiting with a blanket and a stack of classics, ready to read all the books I ignored for the past eleven months.

Winter, for me, is the time to read all the books I didn’t have the energy or time to read throughout the year: the big ones, the deep ones, the emotionally heavy ones. Yes, I know I’m in a minority. I know most normal people pick Hallmark-vibe books in December. But on the off chance that you, too, gravitate toward substantial holiday reads… maybe you’ll find something here.

So let’s begin with the crown jewels

My Top 3 Winter Books of All Time

1. Steppenwolf – Hermann Hesse

This is the book that feels like stepping into a magical realism portal and being hugged by philosophy at the same time. Everyone else calls it dark, complex, and existential. I call it warm. At the time of first reading it, it was one of those books that made me feel genuinely understood, like someone else had written down feelings I didn’t know how to express. That emotional connection was strong enough to make me reread it almost every winter.

2. The Unbearable Lightness of Being – Milan Kundera

Five rereads and counting. I’ve chased down almost every book he’s ever written, in every language I can find. This one? Personal. Intimate. Sharp.
There is a chapter that feels like a square peg in a round hole, but the rest is perfection. The characters, the atmosphere, the writing… love it.

3.Stop Calling Me Beautiful: Finding Soul-Deep Strength in a Skin-Deep World – Phylicia D. Masonheimer

I adore this book. It’s one of the best reads for Christian women that I’ve ever come across, and honestly, it’s a fantastic choice for anyone who feels suffocated by the world’s obsession with aesthetics and “being enough” (I think it’s a good one even if you’re not a Christian or are just curious about the Christian mindset, after all the feeling of superficiality is overwhelming to us all).

It’s a call to go back to the foundations of faith, to actually know what we believe, and to move past the world’s obsession with being “pretty” and “aesthetic.” It’s about valuing depth, Scripture, and authenticity instead of the skin-deep nonsense we’re constantly pushed into. Honestly, it’s the perfect book to end the year with and start a new one — a reset of priorities, values, and what truly matters.

---

Classics & Literary Fiction

Because yes, like I said, winter is when I tackle the heavyweights.

• The Master and Margarita – Mikhail Bulgakov

Iconic. Strange. Brilliant. Read a bit about the symbolism first — it really adds depth.

• Les Misérables – Victor Hugo

I know, I know, it’s huge!!
But honestly, you can read just this and call it your winter reading ( even annual reading, I’ll give you that!). Winter fits it better than summer either way, trust me (summer is too suffocating for Hugo’s misery)!

• Cancer Ward – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

A semi-autobiographical commentary on Stalinism, because apparently this is who I become in December. But it’s powerful, necessary, and deeply human.

• All the Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr

Moving from Stalinism to WWII France — very festive, I know.
But the father–daughter relationship in this book… stunning.
And since winter, through Christmas, is also about celebrating the love of our Heavenly Father (the Reason for the Season), it feels fitting.

• Too Loud a Solitude – Bohumil Hrabal

A love letter to books and the people who adore them.

• Zuleika Opens Her Eyes – Guzel Yakhina

Motherly love, dignity, resilience, and one of the most compelling voices in contemporary historical fiction.

• Go as a River – Shelley Read

Technically women’s fiction, emotionally universal. Beautiful writing, perfect for a lighter (but not empty) winter read.

• Happy Dreams – Jia Pingwa

Couldn’t possibly leave out my Chinese authors!
The protagonist here is a little chaotic, endlessly hopeful, and determined to be happy despite… everything. A surprisingly uplifting and endearing read, fit for the season.

---

Science Fiction

My beloved genre. And yes, I read sci-fi in winter like it’s a personality trait.

• Reamde – Neal Stephenson

My favourite winter sci-fi pick.
It’s fast, wild, smart, chaotic — a techno-thriller that begins with a malware file named “REAMDE.” You open it, and boom, disaster.

• The Book of M – Peng Shepherd

Inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin.
Atmospheric, imaginative, a bit confusing at moments, but definitely worth the trip.

• Your choice (literally, not a title) – Isaac Asimov

If you haven’t read Asimov yet… what are you even doing?
Winter is the time!

• Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke

Short, sharp, classic, excellent.

• Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir

The opposite of hard sci-fi. Light, funny, emotional, full of heart.
Perfect if you want something uplifting during your time off.

---

Children’s Literature

• The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis

Winter and Narnia go together like hot chocolate and blankets. Enough said.

• A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

The holiday mandatory read.

• White Fang – Jack London

The very first book I read as soon as I learnt how to.
It has a permanent place in my heart, and winter is the perfect time to revisit it.

---

Happy winter reading ❄️📚
And let me know if any of these ends up keeping you company this season.