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Adult Reading Recommendations

Wintering by Katherine May Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May is a memoir and meditative exploration of life's inevitable fallow periods, using the natural cycle of winter as a metaphor for times when we feel isolated, stuck, or depleted. May shares her personal experiences with illness and upheaval, drawing parallels with hibernation, folklore, and literature to teach readers how to actively accept, rather than fight, these dark seasons, finding healing and renewal by embracing r	The Shining by Stephen King The Shining by Stephen King is about the Torrance family—Jack, Wendy, and their son Danny—who become isolated winter caretakers at the haunted Overlook Hotel, where Jack's alcoholism and anger are exploited by the hotel's evil to torment Danny, who has psychic abilities (the "shining"), driving Jack to madness and violence against his family, with the hotel itself acting as a malevolent entity seeking Danny's powers.
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson Snow Falling on Cedars is about the 1954 murder trial of Japanese-American fisherman Kabuo Miyamoto on the fictional San Piedro Island, where he's accused of killing white fisherman Carl Heine, uncovering deep-seated post-WWII racism, land disputes, and a past love triangle between reporter Ishmael Chambers and Kabuo's wife, Hatsue.	The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey Eowyn Ivey's The Snow Child is a magical realism novel about a childless couple, Jack and Mabel, homesteading in 1920s Alaska, who build a snow child in a moment of joy, only for her to mysteriously come to life as a wild, secretive girl named Faina, who embodies the spirit of the Alaskan wilderness.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Murder on the Orient Express follows detective Hercule Poirot aboard a luxury train trapped by snow, where an American tycoon, Mr. Ratchett, is found stabbed to death in his locked compartment; Poirot discovers all suspects—wealthy travelers with seemingly unrelated lives—are secretly connected to the notorious Armstrong kidnapping case.	How to Winter by Kari Leibowitz Psychologist and winter expert Kari Leibowitz's galvanizing HOW TO WINTER uses mindset science to help readers embrace winter as a season to be enjoyed, not endured—and in turn, learn powerful lessons that can impact our mental well being throughout the year.
Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon is a historical mystery set in 1789 Maine, following midwife Martha Ballard as she investigates the murder of Joshua Burgess, a man accused of raping the parson's wife, Rebecca Foster, a crime Martha documented in her diary, intertwining personal justice with community secrets and challenging social norms of the time.	Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin A Game of Thrones, the first book in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, details the power struggles between noble families in Westeros, primarily House Stark and House Lannister, following King Robert Baratheon's death, while an ancient, supernatural threat of White Walkers looms in the North, and the exiled Daenerys Targaryen begins her journey to reclaim the throne with her newly hatched dragons in the East.
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton Ethan Frome is a tragic novella by Edith Wharton about a poor, trapped farmer in bleak, rural Massachusetts who falls in love with his wife's young, vibrant cousin, Mattie Silver, leading to a fatal sledding accident and a life of shared misery, duty, and thwarted desire.	Beartown by Fredrick Bachman Beartown by Fredrik Backman is about a small, struggling Swedish town whose hopes for economic revival rest on its junior ice hockey team winning a national championship; however, this dream shatters when a violent crime triggers community division, tested loyalties, and a focus on the town's dark secrets and deep-rooted hockey culture, forcing everyone to confront truth, silence, and justice in the aftermath of the crime.

Winter Recs

Anti-Winter Recs

The Unhoneymooners by Christna Lauren After a wedding-day food poisoning outbreak spares only the unlucky Olive and her nemesis Ethan, they are forced to pretend to be a happy couple on the all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii, discovering their mutual dislike might be hiding something more as they navigate paradise and fake romance.	Bag of Bones by Stephen King After his wife's sudden death, a bestselling author suffering from writer's block returns to their remote lakeside home in Maine, where he is drawn into a custody battle and discovers the house and town are haunted by a dark, historical secret.
The Compound by Aisling Rawle A wealthy family lives in a high-tech fallout shelter after a nuclear apocalypse, but the son uncovers a shocking truth about their father's experiment and the real world outside.	Sunny Side Up by Katie Sturino Sunny Side Up (by Katie Sturino) follows plus-sized PR exec Sunny Greene navigating post-divorce dating and launching a size-inclusive swimsuit line, balancing charming prospects with industry frustrations
The Summer that Changed Us by Cathy Bramley The Summer That Changed Us by Cathy Bramley follows three women—Katie, Robyn, and Grace—who find unexpected friendship and support in a seaside village as they each navigate personal heartbreaks and seek fresh starts, learning to confront fears and embrace new beginnings together.	Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman A couple on their dream honeymoon find a mysterious bag of money and diamonds while scuba diving, forcing them to make a dangerous choice about keeping it secret, triggering a downward spiral of greed, lies, and devastating consequences that test their relationship and reveal their true selves.
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver Prodigal Summer tells three interwoven stories of love, loss, and survival in rural Appalachia during one transformative summer, as a reclusive biologist, a new farmer's wife, and two feuding elderly neighbors find their lives (and fates) entangled with each other and the cycles of the wild mountain ecosystem around them.	Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan An American economics professor travels to Singapore with her boyfriend for a wedding, only to discover he comes from one of Asia's wealthiest families, forcing her to navigate lavish opulence and his disapproving mother while confronting what "rich" truly means for their relationship.
Burnout Summer by Jenna Ramirez Burnout Summer follows a stressed-out corporate worker, Cam, who escapes to a beach town for the summer with her slacker college friend Danny, reigniting old feelings and her love for writing while facing a choice between a stable future and a carefree romance.	Call me by Your Name by Andre Aciman Call Me by Your Name is a poignant story about Elio's intense summer romance with older American scholar Oliver at his family's villa in Italy, exploring first love, desire, self-discovery, and the lasting impact of fleeting connections against the backdrop of the Italian countryside.

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