Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Today’s topic didn’t work for me, so I’m doing something different.
10 Books That Will Make You Shiver
It’s around freezing temperature here and falling, so what better time than to read some icy cold reads! Grab a warm fuzzy blanket, your favorite hot beverage, and settle down to read.
- The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson. Sheriff Walt Longmire is just spinning his wheels when this novel opens. He’s up for reelection, but hasn’t been campaigning. His home repairs have stalled. But when a man acquitted of a nasty gang rape is murdered, that’s enough to shake Longmire of of his rut and get him investigating. There is a great part toward the end that had me reaching for a sweater. You can tell the author is intimately familiar with the Wyoming landscape.
- Cold: Adventures in the World’s Frozen Places by Bill Streever. This non-fiction book will have you turning up the thermostat. The authors writes about hibernation, the ice ages, and Shackleton’s adventure (which I’ll get to below.) He also has some crazy cold adventures himself.
- Murder on the Iditarod Trail by Sue Henry. This first in an older mystery series, this one is worth looking for. I didn’t know anything about dogsledding, but I’m 100% sure I am not up for the job. And these guys have a murderer on the trail. Intense and addictive.
- Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. I’ve read a few books on this ill-fated trip, but this one is my favorite. It has many of the actual photos taken by the crew. I still don’t know how on earth this disaster ended as well as it did, but I know I’m never going to the poles.
- HMS Ulysses by Alistair Maclean. A terrifying and visceral book about the Arctic theater during World War II. I read this almost 15 years ago and I still remember the suspense and the chill.
- The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This was always my favorite by the author, mostly for the way she made winter seem like a malicious living thing that was determined to have her due.
- Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett. A fantasy that has winter fall in love with a human girl. Things are not so bad until she refuses him. Then it gets ugly.
- The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. Another fantasy, this one based on Russian folk tales. I love this series and it definitely brings to mind cold nights, huddled under thick blankets and lots of hot soup.
- Winter Shadows by Margaret Buffie. Definitely a winter book, but more about the coldness of grief than just low temperatures. This dual timeline story is set in Canada and written from 2 POVs. It’s definitely a unique book that ought to get more attention.
- Heart of Ice by KM Shea. A list like this has to include some version of the Snow Queen, and I really liked this one. Locked away by her kingdom, when war comes they suddenly remember her. Will she be able to overcome her fears and use her powers to save her people? A great, frosty read.
Speedy Reader 