One good thing about being cooped up in the cold all winter is it means lots of time for reading.

Fluffy socks, a roaring fire and a warm cup of something tasty puts us in the mood for a good book. The following suggestions cover all genres, including some favourite classics:

Kingdomtide. Rye Curtis
When seventy-two-year-old Cloris Waldrip finds herself lost and alone in the unforgiving wilderness of the Montana mountains, with only a bible, a sturdy pair of boots, and a couple of sweets to keep her alive, it seems her chances of ever getting home are slim. Debra Lewis, a park ranger, who is recovering from a messy divorce, is the only one who believes Cloris may still be alive.  Lewis leads a group of rescuers to follow the trail of clues that Cloris has left behind. But as days stretch into weeks, and Cloris's situation grows ever more precarious, help arrives from the unlikeliest of places, causing her to question all her belief systems.

The Count of Monte Cristo. Alexander Dumas
Wrongfully imprisoned for fourteen years, Edmond Dantes escapes to the island of Monte Cristo where he is lead to believe there is buried treasure. Dantes takes on a new identity and along with his new-found wealth he plots the destruction of the three men responsible for his imprisonment. Dumas’ epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment, was a huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s. Also available as an e-book.

Aue. Becky Manawatu
Winner of the Ockham Book Awards for fiction, 2020. Taukiri and his young brother Arama have been brought up among violence and fear. Auē (pain, distress) has been Taukiri's constant companion.  Gang violence killed his father and sent his mother into hiding, and he is also feeling the burden of shame about abandoning his eight-year-old brother to a violent home. But Ārama is a brave boy, and he has a friend and his friend has a dog, and the three of them together might just be strong enough to change the course of their lives.

Such a Fun Age: A Novel. Kiley Reid
Alix Chamberlain is successful blogger who always seems to get what she wants.  She is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while caring for one of the Chamberlains' two small daughters one night. Seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, a security guard at their local supermarket accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make it right, but will her good intentions work? Also available in e-book format.

A Gentleman in Moscow. Amor Towles
In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is considered an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Hotel Metropol, which is across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, a man of education and humour, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel's doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery. Also available as an e-book.

The Nickel Boys. Colson Whitehead
Winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.   Elwood is a high school senior about to start classes at a local university. But for a black boy in the Jim Crow South of the early 1960s, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy his future. Elwood is sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, whose mission statement says it provides “physical, intellectual and moral training” so the delinquent boys in their charge can become “honorable and honest men.”  The truth is that the academy is vicious and violent.  Based on a true story. Also available as an e-audiobook.

SEE ALSO:

Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen (various other formats available)
The Uncommon Reader. Alan Bennett
American Dirt. Jeanine Cummins (reviewed in our June issue)
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Rachel Joyce (also available in large print and as an audiobook - preloaded audio player format)
The Woolgrower's Companion. Joy Rhoades
Conversations with Friends. Sally Rooney (also as an e-book)

Why not pick up a reading card at your local library and take part in our Adult Winter Reading programme? Read 10 books to earn a library voucher for holds, DVDs etc, or read outside your comfort zone and try something new to go into the draw for a chance to win a $50 book voucher. Programme ends 31st August.