It’s the most wonderful time of the year! That means curling up next to the fire (whether it be real or digital) with the best books and passing the time in the only acceptable way before the craziness of the holidays. This week is dedicated to those books that are perfect for reading on a cold, winter day.

1. The Favorite
This is the most acceptable time to pick up that book people are always surprised you are re-reading. It’s your favorite. The one with the dog-eared pages, crinkled spine, and well-worn cover. You’ve read it so many times, you know it by heart. Yet you still love it and learn something new after each read. This is the time to unashamedly curl up with the book and read it cover to cover – again.

My pick: Harry Potter (any of them)

2. The One You Never Had Time For
There’s that one book that everyone is trying to read but just never seems to have the time for. You know the one I’m talking about. It’s one of those books that’s too big to lug around with you on the train but you’ve always wanted to read. Now’s your chance.

My Pick: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

3. The Series
If you’re anything like me, you can’t just read one book of a series and stop. You have to finish every single book in that series immediately or your world will crumble. Sitting by the fire with all those books piled up next to you is perfectly acceptable because what else are you going to do? Brave the cold? I don’t think so. I’d much rather sit with a cup of cocoa and four or five books or so.

My Pick: Outlander

4. The Daunting Task
Some books are just books you HAVE to read because they are classics and you’ve heard your friends raving about them for years, but you’ve always been pretty intimidated by it because it uses huge words and has all those themes your high school English teacher warned you about. Not to fret, curling up by the fire is also perfect for tackling a somewhat difficult read because you have all the time in the world to re-read passages, look up words, and google anything and everything you don’t understand.

My Pick: Heart of Darkness

5. The Guilty Pleasure

Usually this takes the form of any book with a cover you would want to hide from your mother or significant other. It may be that book that lives tucked between the classics or is crammed under your mattress where not even you can find it sometimes. Either way, break it out this time of year because there is no better time for treating yourself to a terrible book than the holidays.

My Pick: Anything YA or Romance

Let me know what you’ll be reading by the fire this year in the comments below!

Happy reading,
Kimberly