winter reading list -

I have always loved to read. My mother was a reading specialist when we were growing up, and she encouraged this great love of reading and appreciation for literature. Law school has certainly hindered my ability to read for pleasure, but as my final year comes to a close, I find myself finally having time to read books that are not of the TEXT variety. These days, we can even read books on tablets and devices. That makes it a lot easier to read when we’re on vacation or on the go. The only downside to those digital books is the blue light that can cause eyestrain and other problems. My friend did recently tell me that Felix Gray sell blue light blocking glasses that can protect your eyes and make it easier to read from those screens. Maybe I should look into those.

When I was little, I used to build these “cozy spots.” My mom told me that I would gather all these blankets and pillows and make this little bed in the corner behind two chairs, by a big window and close to the heating vent. I remember my childhood home always being quite cold and so I was always close to one of the heating vents. We must have had a very old furnace because I remember that it always used to break down, particularly in the winter… the worst time for the heating to stop working!! We always seemed to have companies similar to Buric Heating and Air Conditioning (https://burichvac.com/bowie-heating-furnace/) turning up to save the day. In hindsight, my mom and dad really should have just replaced the furnace! Anyway, apparently I would bring down piles and piles of books from my room, grab a juice box and read for hours. I no longer build cozy spots exactly, but that love of being cozy has matured into making some tea or hot chocolate, lighting some candles and curling up on a king size bed with a good book. Thankfully, my home today is a lot warmer and the furnace is *yet* to break!

This candle gifted from Eubanks & Co. was the perfect mood setter today, as I drank my hot cocoa and compiled my Winter Reading list. Their candles are all homemade and vegetable based so there are no harmful paraffin toxins. Natural = better. PLUS, the wick is wooden and not rope, so this wonderful crackling sound adds to the ambiance of my “cozy spot.”

So, here is my Winter Reading List. A few are ones I have not read yet, but most are old favorites. Since I have two weeks off from school at Christmas time, I normally get all of my fun reading done then. Click on the links for summaries of each book!

– Em

1. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

2. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

3. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

5. Damned by Chuck Palahniuk

6. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

7. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami