Tis the Season…for Hibernation

Judging by the cold snap we had in New York this week, winter is on its way.  While I am looking forward to ice skating, hot chocolate, and fluffy socks, I’m also more than a little worried about the freezing sleet, treacherous ice patches, and runny noses that are the inevitable consequences of the season.  So instead of braving the long trek to the grocery store in a winter not-wonderland, I think I’ll celebrate my victory over the season and experience the cold vicariously by staying inside, curling up in a warm cocoon of blankets, and reading these wintery books.

In Mind of Winter, Holly is stuck in the house on a snowy Christmas morning with Tatiana, her adopted daughter from Russia.  As more and more snow falls, Holly becomes increasingly convinced that something followed her and her husband home from Russia, something evil now inside the house, inside themselves.  With each passing hour, Tatiana becomes more and more moody, her behavior increasingly disturbing and frightening, until Holly finds she can no longer recognize her daughter.  A psychologically suspenseful tale of denial and guilt, Mind of Winter is sure to make you consider leaving the house after all.

As Russia celebrates victory over the Nazis, shots ring throughout the streets of Moscow in One Night in Winter.  Two schoolchildren are found dead—murder? Suicide pact? A love triangle? A conspiracy against Stalin himself?—leading to a terrifying investigation in which Stalin orders the arrest of children ages seven to seventeen.  Though every parent’s worst nightmare, the investigation unveils two potentially fatal love affairs at the children’s elite school.  Based on real events, this is a passionate tale of love, marriage, adultery, family, and childhood.

Now all I have to do is stock up on soup and I’ll be ready for my annual hibernation!

-Amanda