Winter Reading List 2017-2018

Happy Friday before Christmas! I’m back with my annual Winter Reading List, this time for the 2017-2018 winter season. I love writing these posts (even though they take me forever!) because I love sharing my love of books with y’all.

I’m always writing down the names of books, pinning blog posts with book recommendations, and tagging pages in magazines with book reviews so it’s fun for me to share what I’ve been reading and what I have in my queue. I always love the winter holidays because there is no better time to curl up by a fire with a cup of hot cider and a wonderful book.

I hope y’all enjoy my Winter Reading List 2017-2018 and I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful Christmas! Merry, merry! Xx

P.S. If you love devouring books, then read my past book lists here!

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine / Last Christmas in Paris / The Alice Network / Little Fires Everywhere / Standard Deviation / Turtles All the Way Down /  The Rules of Magic / Stay with Me / Hillbilly Elegy / I Liked My Life / My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward

My Winter Reading List 2017-2018

1. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng:

Beloved author Celeste Ng gave us a brilliant new book this year. It’s about the intertwined stories of a mother daughter duo who cause quite a stir for a picture-perfect family in a lovely little suburb. The way Celeste Ng describes characters is truly incredible. I’m not sure I’ve ever read an author who does a better job of giving so much backstory on characters. When reading Little Fires Everywhere, you completely feel like you know the characters.

2. My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward by Mark Lukach:

An absolutely heart wrenching novel about a young couple who fall in love and take all the normalcies of life for granted. That is, until they are faced with crippling mental illness. This story of devotion, love, despair, and doubt will stick with you and will give you a perhaps different perspective on the nature of mental illness today.

3. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman:

Author Gail Honeyman’s hit a homerun with her debut novel about an unlikely curmudgeon heroine. The book is completely captivating… you’ll be asking yourself right off the bat, “is Eleanor Oliphant actually fine and what made her this way?”. Reese Witherspoon bought the rights to this book (along with Gone Girl and Big Little Lies) so you know it’s a must-read.

4. I Liked My Life by Anny Fabiaschi:

This story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. You’ll find yourself rooting for every character as a family gets turned upside down and works to pick up the pieces again.

5. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn:

If you keep up with my reading lists, then you know that my favorite genre of books is historical fiction. The Alive Network was one of the best historical fiction books of 2017! It’s about two women (one a French female spy from WWI and the other a college aged American socialite living in the aftermath of WWII) and how their paths cross in the most unlikely of ways. Such beautiful storytelling!

6. Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance:

I missed this book when it came out in 2016 so it was at the top of my list in 2017. It’s the story of America’s struggling white working class. The author drew upon inspiration from his personal life when writing this reflection on how the American dream has increasingly dwindled for a large population in this country in crisis. This book is incredible! It puts a spotlight on a region of this country that I admittedly didn’t know much about. I really recommend it to men and women alike. P.S. Ron Howard is turning it into a movie.

7. Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo:

How much would you sacrifice for your family? This book is an emotional journey of one women who will stop at nothing to get pregnant and save her marriage.

8. The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman:

You will get completely swept up in this story about a magical family who are plagued with a curse… death will befall every person they fall in love with. This novel is a page-turner about family, love, loss, heartbreak, and hope. P.S. this book is the prequel to “Practical Magic” but you don’t need to have read “Practical Magic” to read this novel.

9. Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor:

A beautiful epistolary historical novel (you didn’t think The Alice Network would be the only historical fiction book in my roundup, did you?) set during and after WWI. It’s a romantic tale of two young adults who find love in the most impossible circumstances.

10. Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny:

The story of a man, his ex-wife, and his second wife… it explores different marriage relationships, love, and infidelity while questioning if you can ever really make a right decision with who you marry.

11. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green:

John Green fans have been waiting a while for another novel (he wrote Waiting for Alaska and The Fault in our Stars)… they got lucky this year with another beautiful story of friendship to fall in love with. The main character, Aza, tries her best to be a good daughter, good friend, and good student. All while experiencing the ever-tightening of spiral of her own thoughts. Every young women will love this book.

Winter Reading Essentials

When snuggling up with a great book, I have a few winter reading essentials that make the whole experience that much more enjoyable. My first hunch is that everyone who loves this Winter Reading List post, will love my Gift Guide: For the Homebody because there are so many cozy, and yummy gifts in the guide. My favorite times of the day to read are first thing in the morning when I wake up and in the evening after a day of skiing, holiday parties, or work. So, I’m usually curled up in my favorite pajamas when I’m reading.

To help you get cozy while starting one of the above books, I shared my favorite pajama sets (PJs make perfect last minute gifts to snag before Christmas on Monday!). Fellow book worm, Grace, tipped me off to this amazing service that Barnes & Noble has this holiday season to help you find the perfect book for every person on your list! You can search for broad topics like “Dad”. Or can get more specific and search for books in categories like “Captivating Books for the History Buff”. Or “Up-All-Night Reads for the Thriller-Obsessed.” I thought it was pretty neat!

Happy winter reading book worms! Xx