My Winter 2025–2026 Reading List

A wounded stranger carries a small child into a riverside inn on a dark midwinter night. Hours later, the child — believed dead — stirs back to life. Three families come forward to claim her. None of them are telling the whole truth. In Once Upon A River, Setterfield writes in a style that feels more like a fable. This style is exactly what draws me in. Readers drawn to its wintry atmosphere may also enjoy 10 Books Set in Snowy Places.

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Fanny Price is one of Austen’s quietest heroines, which is probably why she’s also one of the most underrated. Mansfield Park is set at Mansfield Park during the Regency era. It explores the cost of doing what’s right when everyone around you is doing otherwise. I’ve been saving it for a slow week.

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In The Gargoyle, A man survives a catastrophic car accident and wakes, badly burned, in a hospital. There, he meets Marianne Engel — sculptor, possible mystic — who insists they were lovers in medieval Germany. The novel asks its readers to hold two explanations at once and decide which one they can live with. That’s the book I want in winter.

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Minerva grew up on her great-grandmother’s stories about witches. Now she’s a graduate student. She is researching Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure writer. Her most famous novel is based on a real disappearance. It happened at Minerva’s own university. The Bewitching is set in 1990s Massachusetts. It feels like a ghost story wrapped in academic clothes. This is exactly the layering Moreno-Garcia executes so well.

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A Quiet Madness offers a fictional account of Edgar Allan Poe’s life. His life is shaped by the people who most marked him. These include a loving stepmother and a brutal stepfather. It also includes the women whose presence and loss echo through his work. I am attracted to books that aim to uncover the real person behind the myth. Poe is one of the most mythologized figures in American literature and a personal favorite.

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Guest editor Celeste Ng writes in The Best American Short Stories 2025 that short stories help us see what matters. This collection includes twenty stories that range widely. It features a grieving actress, a mysterious illness, and a mother performing as a celebrity for her own reasons. I return to the Best American series every year. Short stories are how I keep my reading honest.

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This one has been on the list long enough that it almost feels overdue. In Crying in H Mart, Zauner writes about growing up Korean American in Eugene, Oregon. She discusses her mother’s expectations, the shared language of food, and what happened when her mother got sick. I know this book will ask something of me. Winter is the right time to let it. If this one appeals to you, Books Where Food Becomes Memory gathers more books in the same spirit.

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This one has been on my shelf for a while, but I’m eager to dive in. In Hex, the seemingly idyllic Hudson Valley town is haunted by the Black Rock Witch. She is a seventeenth-century woman with her eyes and mouth sewn shut. She silently roams the streets and invades homes, standing by children’s beds for nights on end. The town’s elders use high-tech surveillance to quarantine the area. This is to contain the curse. They warn that the witch’s eyes must never open. Restless teenagers break the rules. They share the haunting online. This action triggers a return to the town’s dark, medieval roots.

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Jade Daniels is back in Proofrock, Idaho, after four years in prison. The town has changed. She has, too. The curse of the Lake Witch hasn’t gone anywhere. The Angel of Indian Lake is the third book in the series. Jones writes horror the way it should be written. Grief lies underneath everything.

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Pacino’s memoir Sonny Boy covers the years before his famous roles. It includes the South Bronx, the theater scene, and the odd jobs. He mentions the teacher who saw something worth cultivating. Memoirs about the years before are often more interesting than the famous ones. I suspect this one will be no different.

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In Siciliana, A daughter of a Sicilian knight learned to survive after Angevin soldiers destroyed her family’s vineyard. She becomes skilled with a blade and ultimately defends herself against a soldier, sparking an uprising. She leads the rebellion in her fight for Sicily and her family’s legacy, becoming a legend. This caught my attention in a social media ad, and I’m intrigued.

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Wakenhyrst tells of a lonely child in Edwardian Suffolk raised without her mother and under her father’s strict control. She discovers a painted medieval devil in a graveyard. As dark forces come to life, the child encounters witchcraft. She faces old legends and demons from her father’s past. I’m looking forward to reading this book.

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The Mercies is the story of women who break the rules to survive. In 1617, a sudden wild storm occurred at sea. All of the village men are lost. The women left behind break the rules to survive. They do things they’ve never done before. A witch hunter comes to town and threatens their way of life. My friend told me this is a must-read.

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A rare-book dealer in The Echo of Old Books can sense the emotions left behind by previous book owners. Discovering two unpublished books filled with conflicting accusations from former lovers, she becomes consumed by their mystery. As she unravels their story of heartbreak and betrayal, Ashlyn hopes to find a resolution for their romance. She seeks to solve the issues in her own life, too. I like the premise of the story.

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Ann Hood was raised in an Italian-American family, where she learned to cook as her family grew. She often shared the kitchen with her husband, food writer Michael Ruhlman. In Kitchen Yarns, Hood infuses her storytelling with humor and warmth. She offers simple, comforting recipes. Her reflections touch on loss, new beginnings, and family connections. The book also explores meals with friends and the ways food brings us home. I enjoy essays about food and family.

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