Perfect winter reads

The ultimate winter reading list: 14 books that hit harder in the cold

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Silence, a crackling fire, crisp cold air outside… Winter has a way of slowing everything down. And isn’t it the best time of the year to curl up with a blanket and a highly-recommended book? Whether you’ve already enjoyed some of the classics in this list or whether they are all new to you, surely you’ll find some valuable recommendations for the next few weeks!

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Let’s start the list with the obvious! In this Christmas classic, Dickens shaped the way the modern world imagines the season. It’s a slim novella that once revived fading Victorian holiday traditions.

It feels like a warm drink after coming in from the cold. 'Tis the season to read it, if you never have!

Image: Andreea Radu

Some books feel like returning home, and Little Women is one of them. Alcott’s portrait of the March sisters, with their ambition, frustration, hope, and heart, has charmed readers for more than 150 years.

The Civil War looms in the background, but the story itself is full of small, tender scenes: homemade plays, winter illnesses, Christmas morning sacrifices. Snow is practically another character.

Image: Ravi Patel

Have you read the tale that inspired Disney’s movie Frozen? This is Andersen at his most mysterious in one of his longest stories.

This tale sends young Gerda across forests, rivers, and frozen kingdoms in search of her friend Kai, whose heart has been pierced by an icy shard. Its wintry imagery is unforgettable.

Image: Saad Ahmad

Conan Doyle’s most atmospheric mystery thrives on cold, empty spaces and the suspense that comes with them.

Sherlock Holmes navigates superstition and science while the landscape itself sharpens the tension. It all works beautifully when read on a winter evening. Especially if the wind is howling a little.

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Joyce’s collection of short stories moves through everyday Dublin life, capturing small disappointments, brief joys, and the stubborn weight of routine.

But it’s "The Dead," the final story, that cements its place on any cold-weather list. In it, snow falls over the city, softening everything… And by the end of the story, you’ll understand why!

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In this novel, Edith Wharton’s New England is pure sharp winds and quiet despair. It tells the story of a man whose life has narrowed to duty and silence, and whose one chance at happiness arrives in the snow… in the dead of winter.

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Some books feel like stepping into a snow-covered folktale, and this one does it with breathtaking ease.

Arden blends Russian mythology, medieval history, and a fierce young heroine who sees spirits others deny. Winter dominates every page.

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Tender. Haunting. And quietly mesmerizing. Set in 1920s Alaska, this novel takes inspiration from a Russian fairy tale about a child made of snow who may or may not be real.

Ivey’s prose beautifully captures the way winter can feel both punishing and strangely hopeful.

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Yes, it is a stormy autumn novel in spirit, but winter suits it even better. Brontë’s wild moors, icy winds, and stark isolation intensify the story’s fierce emotions. And the landscape becomes a character, unforgiving and unforgettable.

Image: Miriam Przybylo

At first glance, this might seem like a spring story, but winter is what shapes its magic. Burnett’s classic begins with cold corridors, silent rooms, and a desolate estate where everything feels dormant.

The transformation that follows (of the garden, the characters, and the house itself) is more powerful when you begin in frost.

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Open the wardrobe, and everything changes: A frozen kingdom and a witch who thrives on cold. Lewis’s beloved tale drops readers straight into a land ruled by winter, where snow crunches underfoot, and the air feels enchanted and dangerous.

It is a simple story at heart: four siblings, one prophecy, and their wholesome struggle between fear and hope.

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Few mysteries trap you as elegantly as this one. Christie sets her hero, Hercule Poirot, aboard the luxurious Orient Express just as it becomes stranded in a snowdrift.

The result is a locked-room puzzle with icy tension and razor-sharp precision. Every passenger hides something. Every detail matters. You won’t be able to put this one down until you know the ending!

Image: Zara Caskey

The Call of the Wild follows Buck, a kidnapped dog thrust into the brutal world of the Yukon Gold Rush, where snow, instinct, and survival rule the day.

The prose is direct, muscular, and unforgettable, and the wilderness feels alive in a way few books manage. Readers keep coming back because the story taps into something primal.

Image: Elena Kloppenburg

This is a novel of grand emotions and quiet winter moments. Tolstoy moves between high society and rural life with astonishing detail, and many of the book’s most striking scenes unfold against snowy Russian landscapes.

Lovers meet on frosted streets. Trains roar through drifting snow. Characters search for warmth in a world that often feels cold in more ways than one.

NAME ANCESTRY

14 Surprising Origin Stories Behind State Names In The USA

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Ever wondered where most US states’ names come from? From Native American roots to foreign or made-up words, the stories behind many of them are riddled with surprising historical references. Although the origin of some US states’ names is fairly obvious, many derive from unexpected people or places. The origin of names like Colorado, Montana, or Nevada are easy to infer —especially if you know a bit of Spanish— but many others have Native American origins with intriguing meanings. Some are even derived from fiction. If you ever wanted to know where names like Oregon, Connecticut, or Wisconsin come from, you are in the right place. Enjoy the surprising etymologies behind some of the names that make our country.

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Interestingly, for a state whose main economic activity is agriculture, the word Alabama comes from the Choctaw language and can be translated as "plant-cutters" or "vegetation pickers", recalling the farming practices of the Native Americans that lived in this area.

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Alaska is a corruption of an Aleut word that means "mainland", but can be translated literally as "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed". This is one of those names that manage to bring poetry into a word as simple and down-to-earth as land.

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This one comes from… a Spanish adventure novel! Bet you didn’t expect that. In Las Sergas de Esplandin by Garcia Ordez de Montalvo, a book from the 1500s, there is a fictional place called the "Island of California". Even when the modern state of California is clearly not an island, some die-hard fanatic of the novel decided to bring the name to life here in the U.S.

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Derived from the Algonquian word quinnehtukqut, which can be translated as "besides the long tidal river", in reference to the river Connecticut. If you are wondering what the "tidal" part means exactly, this is because the Connecticut River's flow and level are effectively influenced by tides along much of its course. Certainly some amazing insight into the rigorous knowledge of local hydrology that Native Americans managed to accrue over the centuries.

Image: Luke McKeown

Although the origin of this name is disputed, there are two main theories. One suggests that the islands may have been named after Hawaii Loa, their traditional discoverer. However, others have speculated that it is actually derived from the ancient Polynesian word hawaiki, meaning "place of the gods".

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Another crazy one. Although the name was first claimed to be derived from a Shoshone word that meant "Gem of the Mountains", it is highly likely that the word was fabricated by George M. Willing, and meant as a practical joke.

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Quite literally, "land of Indians", using a Latin suffix. The word Indians originally referred to the ancient dwellers of the shores of the Indus River, in South and Central Asia.

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"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore!" said Dorothy, from The Wizard of Oz, right after a rampant tornado literally lifted her house in the air and took it to God knows where. Well, this US state’s fame for violent winds predates even the first settlers, since Kansas is a Native American word used by the Dakota, strongly related to the idea of "wind".

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This state owes its name to an Iroquoian word that means "land of tomorrow". Quite a blockbuster-worthy movie title, if you ask me.

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The origin story behind the name of "The Pine Tree State" is still disputed. However, there are some interesting theories. One states that it derives from "mainland", as a form of distinction from the many coastal islands in the vicinity. Other theories propose that it was named in honor of Henrietta Maria, queen of England, or after the province of Mayne in France.

Image: Anthony Cantin

To the Native Americans that lived in this region, Missouri meant "town of the large canoes", as the Missouri tribes were renowned for their skill in making dugout canoes.

Image: Ashley Levinson

A largely disputed one. Many suggest that the name has Spanish origins, being similar to other words like orejón (meaning "big ear") or orégano, in reference to a type of plant (similar to the Mediterranean oregano) that grows in the southern part of the state.

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This is the only state that has a part of its founder’s name in it. It is widely believed that Pennsylvania means "Penn’s Woodland", and was named as such in honor of Sir William Penn, father of its founder William Penn.

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This is probably a French corruption of a native Miami word that meant "it lies red" or "river running through a red place", in reference to the bed of the river Wisconsin.

If our quick dive into the peculiar world of US state names wasn’t enough to quench your curiosity, stay around! We will keep uploading more content related to language and the weird stories and etymologies behind many English and foreign words.