SNOW DAY READS

If you follow my bookstagram account, you know that Washington has been experiencing a spate of bad weather recently. As in, historically bad. Record-breakingly bad. Two Sundays ago, I walked out into my backyard, and my rain boot sunk down almost to the top.

Needless to say, this has made for a perfect environment for reading. Sure, there are plenty of bookish ways to spend your snow day - you can pick up an award-winning Nancy Drew video game, or finally get around to making it through the final season of Netflix's Series of Unfortunate Events - but why not just use it as an excuse to really rack up some numbers on this year's Goodreads goal?

Here are five different categories worth keeping warm with, on the days when you just can't brave the bleak winter weather:

the childhood favorites

There's just something about a snow day that hearkens back to days off from school, hosting a snowball fight in your backyard, hanging out in the park with your neighborhood friends, and downing as much hot chocolate as you could hold in your stomach. Why not harness that kind of nostalgia, and celebrate the snow outside with a childhood favorite?

The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales (especially "The Snow Queen"!)
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis

the wintry fantasy

There's no shortage of snowy landscapes within the genre of Fantasy. Something about winter itself gives plenty of authors icy inspiration... maybe it's the way snow can transform the world overnight into something completely new, or maybe it's the sense of suspense you feel, waiting for the frost to thaw. Either way, keep warm indoors with these similarly-set adventures.

Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik
East, Edith Pattou
Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo

the icy thrillers

But it isn't just Fantasy that gets their settings from a winter scene, is it? There are plenty of Thrillers and Horrors that find themselves stuck in the snow... whether it's hiding out in a cabin, getting  trapped in unfamiliar surroundings, or more. The best way to pass a snow day, might just be to make a mystery out of it!

Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie
Icy Clutches (Gideon Oliver #6), Aaron Elkins
The Shining, Stephen King

the staycation destination

After a few days of snow keeping you homebound, you might start to dream of a different, sunnier way of living (We know we did!). So, why feel confined to that kind of weather at all? Close up the blinds, crank the thermostat,  and drift away to a world where leaving the house doesn't require three layers of pants.

Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
The Vacationers, Emma Straub
Nine Perfect Strangers, Liane Moriarty

the dense doorstop

Well, if you had told me last Monday that in the subsequent week and a half, I'd be able to drive my car a total of about three times, I probably would have decided to pick up a little heavier reading material. After all, what better time to invest in a heavy, fully-loaded novel, than when you're encouraged not to leave the warmth of the fireplace?

Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
Winter's Tale, Mark Helprin
The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt

What's the weather like where you are? What have you been keeping cozy with this winter? Let me know, in the comments below!