Everytime, without fail, that you do one of these videos I know I will be ordering books. Which in the end, is a great thing. Uncommon Danger, and Smilla’s sense of Snow have been ordered.
A Child’s Christmas in Wales, by Dylan Thomas. It contains one of my favorite lines in all of literature: “…in the muffling silence of the eternal snows - eternal since Wednesday…” How better to capture a child’s timeless view of life.
I have read 'one day in the life of Ivan Denisovich' twice, once at home, and once in winter, inside the military camp where I was fulfilling the mandotory service. It was always cold and snowy that winter and for the whole 58 days of my service there, I was sick. Ivan really helped me there... I cannot stop my tears when I reach the ending. Thanks for sharing it Tristan.
@karinberryman2009 I cannot remember why I chose those two books to take along. I knew I would be away for eight weeks. So I took two books: 'Philosophy of Music, from the Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy', and 'One day in...'. I was indeed blessed to have them.
Hello Tristan! I hope you are doing well. I literally just finished Dr. Zhivago last night. I did enjoy it, but not as much as other Russian writers. Another book for winter that I would recommend would be Eco's The Name of the Rose. There may not be as much snow as the books you listed, but it does take place in winter. Have a great day!
In the US the book is called Smilla’s Sense of Snow and it’s burned in my brain for life. I thought it was so beautiful and moving. I love her character and how she unravels the mystery. Not normally a mystery reader but this one! I recommend it for a winter setting read too! I’ma recent subscriber and I love your videos❤. Thank you.☺️
I recently read "Snow" by John Banville, a mystery set in 1950's Ireland during a harsh, snowy Christmas. While it's a recent novel the snow that continually falls throughout the book makes for a very atmospheric and claustrophobic read
LOVE this list of books! I think the one I shall reach for is Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow. Another wintery story that everyone knows, but they haven't necessarily read: "A Christmas Carol." Dickens writing is magnificent!
I was just about to mention " The long winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder when you said it 😊, I know it's a children's book and has been written with them in mind so some of the more adult concerns are missed out, but it is so evocative of this family, isolated despite being in town, by the extreme weather. The struggle to survive, the lengths people went to to keep warm or have a little something to eat. If you want to know more from an adult perspective try reading her autobiography " Prairie Girl" which explains the real events and the reasons for her editing. I also agree with the other comment about " A child's Christmas in Wales "by Dylan Thomas. Only last week I bought a miniature version of it in my local bookshop. I really enjoy your videos, thank you.
I'm a retired school teacher and totally enjoyed reading the whole Little House series to my students. It took a couple of years, but I did have a captive audience! (Special Education)
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster - Jon Krakauer. It is exactly as the title says. I don't even know why I picked it up. It's not my usual style of book. But it was "un-put-downable." And SO COLD! I live in Chicago, so I am used to cold, to an extent. I had no idea cold could be THIS painful, this torturous. Obviously, I knew climbing mountains was difficult and dangerous. But I had no idea how brutal, how dirty, how painful, and how deadly it really is. To this day, I wonder, why would anybody want to put themselves through that ordeal. I've always wanted to see mountains. But I have NO desire to climb one!
My Mom had me read One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich when I was in High School. She said it was an important book to read for our day. I’ve read it many times since. Definitely a winter book for sure. For me it’s also one of those books that has a therapeutic aspect to it as well. As bad as things get, at least they aren’t that bad. This video reminded me of an old New Yorker cartoon. - a guy is reading a book on the beach and two police officers are telling him that it’s summer and Dostoyevsky shouldn’t be read in the summer.
In the USA, Peter Hoeg's book is titled "Smilla's Sense of Snow." I read this shortly after it came out and enjoyed it immensely. Your video makes me want to reread it. Dr. Zhivago is a wonderful book, and yes, winter is prominent throughout the book. Another wintery book: The Long Winter, by Laura Ingals Wilder.
My winter book recommendation is "Red Mars" by Kim Stanley Robinson. I read this during one of the most brutal winters I ever spent in New York City. We had 23 snowstorms. And the radio often warned that if you went outside you should have any exposed skin. I owned a dog at the time. So, I needed to go out several times a day. And as I bundled up, I felt a kinship with the Martian colonists and how they felt having to don elaborate spacesuits to spend any time beyond the dome. A different kind of winter read. But one I think everyone can appreciate.
Thank you, Tristan, for wonderful winter reads. Miss Smilla's Sense of Snow is at the top of my list. I requested it from my library and look forward to reading it.
Dr. Zhivago is such an underrated and wonderful book! Absolutely beautiful and insightful. The love story (yes, it’s beautiful too) however, it is there also to amplify the effects of war in the everyday unfolding of everyone. Absolutely one of my favorite books.
Oh my God! My favourite theme. Seasonal novels in general, classics and winter/snow in particular. I had been searching for such lists, but most of them refer to modern novels mostly. Well, I have nothing against modern literature and there are gems, but I have a slight suspicion that most snow novels have been written for marketing purposes. Nothing bad, but....... This video is a gift for me, Tristan, especially now that we are approaching Christmas! Not that your other videos are not, but this one is special for me. Weather here in Athens Greece is pretty mild till now, 20 Celsius, but I guess it will get colder towards Christmas time and I will have the chance to curl up and read one of the recommended classics in this video. Than you very much.🎉🎉🎉 I love you❤❤❤ 😊😊😊
Thank you for these wintery ideas. I have Ethan Frome and Ivan Denisovich on my shelves. December’s pile of possibilities is already full of Christmas specific books, but January has plenty of space for snowy classics.
The Long Winter is the name of the Laura Ingalls Wilder book. I love it. I just finished White Fang by Jack London which is not entirely set in snow. I thought you were going to mention Murder on the Orient Express. A couple other books I thought of: Moominland Midwinter by Tove Janssen and Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome. Good list! Do you have list for 2025 of what your Patreon bookclub is reading? I will look to see if you have posted anything.
Although this isn't on topic for your video, I just wanted to thank you for introducing me to Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin novel. I'm in the process of reading it now and it's a very thought-provoking book. Happy holidays!
I love Desmond Bagley books the first one I read was Running Blind, must be 40 years ago, it was set in Iceland I think. I might just have to find a copy and re read it. My bookshelves are bursting with all the classics I’ve bought I’m loving having the time to read them. Thank you for all the recommendations.
It’s nonfiction but “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage” by Alfred Lansing is another good one to read by the fire with a warm beverage. Also Shackleton’s own telling of the story “South”.
The sleigh ride from 'War and Peace' and Tom's winter journey by stagecoach to Rugby School in 'Tom Brown's School Days' are indelibly lodged in my memory
Thank you Tristan! Going to be reading Call of the Wild over Christmas. Loved White Fang the opening chapter of which is a brilliant tension building piece of writing imo. Ethan Frome is one of my favourites too.
i do wish i live in the northern hemisphere during the christmas period as i love the idea of wintery cozy christmas by a fire and 99% of everything you see, and read that is christmas always during winter time and it is hard to get that christmasy feeling down here in the southern hemisphere in the middle of summer. i might just have to read these recommendations during our winter here. thanks for a great video once again, more books to add now on my TBR.
Excellent and perfectly timed video, Tristan! I've read 3 from your list. London is an excellent writer. Someone in the comments mentioned his "To Build a Fire," a classic short story of his which just couldn't be more bitterly winter. I'm excited about the 3 I've now added to my TBR from your video. A young reader's fiction classic "Julie of the Wolves", 1972, is an-all snow shiver-y story. I read One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich this year. A small correction, it is not the first day he is at the Gulag. He's been there several years and has figured out small systems that help his survival. An excellent, difficult, and historically important work.
While it's not always winter, the book _Winter's Tale_ by Mark Helping has gorgeous depictions of snowy landscapes, both urban and pastoral. It's my absolute favorite novel. It's funny in places, romantic, moving -- everything you can want. It's magic realism.
“Heaven and Hell” by Jon Kalman Stefansson is a snow and wintertime book I read recently. It’s in my top 3 books of the year. It’s an Icelandic book about a young man and his friend who are part of a team of fishermen. They go out one morning and something happens on the journey (I don’t want to say more than that) There’s a quietness to this book that I love. I cried. Definitely worth a read!
Hello Tristan. Great recommendations! Haven’t read many of them and the one that appeals to me the most from your list is “The Ice Palace”, I will check it out soon! I would add Yasunari Kawabata’s “Snow Country”, which another person has already suggested, and Joyce’s short story “The Dead”, a devastating piece of wintery fiction!
Thank you for your video. I'm a 68 year old woman from Finland. I have read all those books several times but not Edith Wharton book, I wrote the name down so if it's in the library and translated in finnish I will read it. One fantastic winterbook is Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann 😊😊😊 btw.winter is my favorite season😊
"A Winters Tale"; by Mark Helprin. I read Laura Ingalls Wilder book ( The Long Winter), to my children, it's a non fiction, the events really did happen.
Such a great list, thank you😊. I read Miss Smilla's story a long time ago. All the snow has melted in my memory since then. However I remember the ice cutting ship 🥶 still. May I add a short story by Tolstoy titled Master and Man. You'll feel the freezing temperature while reading it. Hope you have a cup of hot tea next to you 😂.
Wow, great recs! I love all the interesting facts you give about books. I loved Ethan Frome. His wife was a force to be reckoned with. I’m going to pick up the Hollow Man, never heard of it. Also going to get The Kreutzer Sonata. Thanks!
Excellent list and reviews as per usual, even including the books you haven't read! I have read a few of the books listed, and I have to say they are all fantastic. I read The Call of the Wild as a youth and again just a couple of years ago; it is decidedly not a children's book, the depictions of violence toward animals and among the dogs is extremely graphic and disturbing, but it is an extraordinary book well worth reading. Likewise, Ethan Frome is a terrific book, and also disturbing in a different manner. Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is wonderful, a book every serious person should read. As for The Kreutzer Sonata, it is also a terrific short book and among Tolstoy's best. The winter setting is even more prominent in Tolstoy's short story, Master and Man, which I highly recommend. I haven't read any of the others, but they all sound intriguing, and with regard to Eric Ambler, Uncommon Danger is a book I haven't read or even heard of, but I think overall he is a highly underrated author; I thoroughly enjoyed The Mask of Demetrios.
Based on a couple of your picks, I also recommend Louis Lamour Last of the Breed, as.far as I know his only non-western novel... about escaping across the Siberian tundra!
@melissalee3040 it's my husband's fave book, along with Hatchet and Into Thin Air...hmm now that you mention it he only reads survival books as well! lol. There are some good "prepper doomsday" type of novels as well but can't think of the name. I see them recommended in a homesteading/prepping group I'm in.
I read Smilla's Sense of Snow after my sister recommended it. I really enjoyed it, but about half way through I was so confused by all the Danish place names that I had to start completely over, and make a list of names and their pronunciations. It was definately worth the time.
My current favourite for winter/snow is Olga Tokarczuk's Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead - amazing story - amazing writing. Not old enough to be called a classic (but I'm sure it will be one day) I'd love to hear your opinion of it Tristan.
Hello Tristan! I always enjoy your videos! I am currently reading "Anna Karenina", which is a long- term project, of course. Russian landscapes for us Greeks are usually associated with icy winters, although I haven't seen any such descriptions yet. Great book! I teach English in primary school and I have published my first short stories.
I’ve read many of these. The Ice Palace is a wonder of a book and made an indelible impression on me. I’d recommend Murder at Hazrlmoor (also called The Sittaford Mystery) by Christie. The entire book is encompassed by snow, with a blizzard, impassible roads, etc. superb atmosphere.
We read The Call of the Wild in middle school in the US, or maybe 1st year of high school. I thought it was a great book back then, maybe it is time for a reread. 6:02 I am currently reading a chapter a day of War and Peace, lots of winter scenes in this epic. 8:42 I prefer the Murder at Rue Morgue by Poe for a locked room mystery. Though one can never forget the murder once it is revealed. Vibeke Sten from Sweden has several detective fiction novels set during the winter.
I think The Call of the Wild was one of the best books I've ever read. Jack London is one of my favorite writers. I love books and stories about snow and ice. They remind me of my nearly two decades in Minnesota with the ice fishing and helping my husband chop wood in the winter. No matter what anyone says, these were golden times. I read Smilla's Sense of Snow several years ago, but I didn't care for it; I was disappointed by the ending. I was also disappointed by Dr. Zhivago; he seemed shallow to me. Two novels by a Russian writer I recommend are Stalingrad and Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. I don't hear them mentioned often, but I find these novels to be magnificent. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch is also heart-wrenching.
Great recommendations, Tristan! I also highly recommend “Snow Falling on Cedars” by David Guterson, set in the US Pacific Northwest in the 1950’s. It’s a love story and murder mystery in a small town dealing with post WWII trauma. Beautifully written and wonderfully plotted! The trial, which forms the framework for the story, takes place during a blizzard.
If you want a taste of Jack London in a short story form I highly recommend To Build A Fire. I taught a backpacking class and it (among others) was required reading.
Initially, I thought that you might be describing Hercules Poirot’s Christmas before you named The Hollow Man. I’ll have to look into The Hollow Man; I love a good locked room mystery… particularly one written during that era! Another book set fully in winter is Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express.
I’m reading Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow right now. I’m about 1/3 of the way through. Very intriguing so far and it’s so much more than I expected! (Although I have to say the translation isn’t the smoothest but I’m still pulled in) I also read The Ice Palace a couple of weeks ago, it was good but I felt it needed to be more, it felt like there was a spooky/mysterious side that never got explained and left me wondering what that was about and why it was in there. 😁
Recommendation: Winter stories by Karen Blixen. 84 Charing Cross is a good book. Thanks for mentioning it in suggestions for autumn. Miss Smille is the book with a lot of interesting ideas, but it doesn't work in making truely good art. Surprisingly, I found the movie more compelling.
I have had Ethan Frome for a few years now and still need to read it. Doctor Zhivago and The Hollow Man has been added to my tbr. I've read The Ice Palace, looking forward to you reading it and seeing what you think of it. ❄📚
What a coincidence I have Ice Palace next to my bed to read when I get through a mountain of Library books. I got a cheap copy of Dr Zivago from The Works recently too.
I'm hoping to get through Doctor Zivargo this winter. Last winter I read Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius. It's not a classic but the sense of cold tradition amongst other themes. Bizarrely as a child I loved doctor Zivargo. Lara's song very haunting and moving. I really hope the book is good
Hi Tristan! Thank you for this channel & this wonderful reading list. FYI for your followers: Uncommon Danger was released in the US as Background to Danger (or so Wikipedia tells me). I'm packing for Austria right now & thought this would be a fabulous read but couldn't find it without some minor digging.
Please explore some modern Classic detective fiction novels and novelists. Eg. Georges Simenon,Agatha Christie etc. I personally believe that it's a great way to introduce people into classics and make it more appealing.
As soon as you just started to mention book 2, I immediately said Ethan Frome to myself. Then I began to think of another book they made me actually feel the cold, and I wondered if youd mention one day in the life of ivan denisovich. Both books I remember best for how well they portrayed raw cold.
Interesting list, Tristan. I've read three of the books in your list which surprised me. I particularly did not expect to see anything from Solzhenitsyn. I've read A Day in the Life as well as In the First Circle - the uncensored version - by Solzhenitsyn. I have a bunch of other books by him but the beaten down aspect of the people he writes about I can only take in measured doses. I realize your channel deals with "the classics". However, do you ever feel compelled to approach the books you suggest from the standpoint of great storytelling? I guess because I am an old man I am very, very reluctant to place restrictions on any part of my life, particularly my reading life. There was a time when I felt I was "improving" myself by swimming in the pool of just classic literature. I was in my forties before I ever read a genre fiction book. I learned something by doing that. I learned that literature does not have to be about exemplary writing. Rather, if the book is well told it is worthwhile to read. As a result, a world of writing opened up to me I would never have known about if I stayed in the pool of classics. When I ventured into the ocean of literature, I was ever so excited! I also realize you have a loyal audience for your channel and that change might disrupt what you have going. But, I think you are wise enough to know that when it comes to literature, a world without boundaries is a good thing and worthy of exploring. Up until my forties I lived a life within the boundaries. Maybe it was a mid-life crisis kind of thing, but once I realized that the world is overflowing with wonderful things (like books) to be explored, my life became happier and more fulfilled. There is an American movie from the fifties called Auntie Mame in which Mame says "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!". When it comes to literature, there is so much to read, the truest reader will never go hungry. Some books and authors you might be interested to look into: The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson Adolfo Bioy Caseres Alain Robbe-Grillet Juan Jose Saer Cesar Aira W. G. Sebald Dorothy M. Richardson I could go on and on but you get the idea. And, I did not even go into genre fiction which is filled with wonderfully written book worthy of being read.
Maybe not a true classic but for me it is…”Winter Holiday” by Arthur Ransome. A great children’s story set in a cold English winter. Even as an adult I love to come back to year after year.
The Long Winter? LIW That book was nail-biting to me as a kid. I just picked up a like-new tome of Jack London stories and novellas at a thrift shop for $2 recently. Need to tackle those! A recent publication that I really enjoyed (and would call my favorite read of the year) was The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. It is based on a real early American midwife's diaries with a murder mystery mixed in. Perhaps the best biographical fiction I have ever read.
Hello Tristan! I'm all in for murder mistery so I will surely read The hollow man. I have in my sheves the call of the wild and dr zhivago so I will add to my reading list. I read last January Ethan Frome that despite of the "trapping" atmosphere, I really liked it. I also enjoy the Kreutzer sonata! Miss Smilla's feeling for snow has always been in my tbr but never read it, this might be the right time! Thank you for all your recommendations, Tristan! 💫 P.s. i couldn't find any classic I read set in winter/snow other than some Agatha Christie's books other people already mentioned but if you are a fan of murder mistery, Louise Penny's A fatal grace is set in winter/snow in the little village of Three Pines in Canada!
The Venice Train by Georges Simenon, one of his non-Maigret novels starts in the same way as you describe the Ambler starting. In Simenon's novel the man finds lots of money which he doesn't know how to spend or get rid of without being connected with the murder. There's an audiobook of this on RUclips under that English title. I read Miss Smilla's feeling for snow ages ago and can recommend it as a good read. Ethan Frome is also very good; it's very short with an unexpected ending.
Everytime, without fail, that you do one of these videos I know I will be ordering books. Which in the end, is a great thing. Uncommon Danger, and Smilla’s sense of Snow have been ordered.
Ooo you like a good mystery then?! Me too.😃
So, kissing ass is how you get pinned? See ya!
Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow is the one that intrigued me the most {too}! 😍 And also, what a great name: Smilla!!!
A Child’s Christmas in Wales, by Dylan Thomas. It contains one of my favorite lines in all of literature:
“…in the muffling silence of the eternal snows - eternal since Wednesday…”
How better to capture a child’s timeless view of life.
"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". Where it's always winter and never Christmas.
I have read 'one day in the life of Ivan Denisovich' twice, once at home, and once in winter, inside the military camp where I was fulfilling the mandotory service. It was always cold and snowy that winter and for the whole 58 days of my service there, I was sick. Ivan really helped me there... I cannot stop my tears when I reach the ending. Thanks for sharing it Tristan.
How poignant you were strengthened by reading of others’ suffering. Or how blessed you had the book to keep you going!
@karinberryman2009 I cannot remember why I chose those two books to take along. I knew I would be away for eight weeks. So I took two books: 'Philosophy of Music, from the Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy', and 'One day in...'. I was indeed blessed to have them.
Hello Tristan! I hope you are doing well. I literally just finished Dr. Zhivago last night. I did enjoy it, but not as much as other Russian writers. Another book for winter that I would recommend would be Eco's The Name of the Rose. There may not be as much snow as the books you listed, but it does take place in winter. Have a great day!
In the US the book is called Smilla’s Sense of Snow and it’s burned in my brain for life. I thought it was so beautiful and moving. I love her character and how she unravels the mystery. Not normally a mystery reader but this one! I recommend it for a winter setting read too! I’ma recent subscriber and I love your videos❤. Thank you.☺️
I recently read "Snow" by John Banville, a mystery set in 1950's Ireland during a harsh, snowy Christmas. While it's a recent novel the snow that continually falls throughout the book makes for a very atmospheric and claustrophobic read
LOVE this list of books! I think the one I shall reach for is Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow. Another wintery story that everyone knows, but they haven't necessarily read: "A Christmas Carol." Dickens writing is magnificent!
I was just about to mention " The long winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder when you said it 😊, I know it's a children's book and has been written with them in mind so some of the more adult concerns are missed out, but it is so evocative of this family, isolated despite being in town, by the extreme weather. The struggle to survive, the lengths people went to to keep warm or have a little something to eat. If you want to know more from an adult perspective try reading her autobiography " Prairie Girl" which explains the real events and the reasons for her editing. I also agree with the other comment about " A child's Christmas in Wales "by Dylan Thomas. Only last week I bought a miniature version of it in my local bookshop. I really enjoy your videos, thank you.
I'm a retired school teacher and totally enjoyed reading the whole Little House series to my students. It took a couple of years, but I did have a captive audience! (Special Education)
Ursula Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness is a classic.
Plenty of ice and snow, too.
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster - Jon Krakauer.
It is exactly as the title says. I don't even know why I picked it up. It's not my usual style of book. But it was "un-put-downable." And SO COLD! I live in Chicago, so I am used to cold, to an extent. I had no idea cold could be THIS painful, this torturous. Obviously, I knew climbing mountains was difficult and dangerous. But I had no idea how brutal, how dirty, how painful, and how deadly it really is. To this day, I wonder, why would anybody want to put themselves through that ordeal. I've always wanted to see mountains. But I have NO desire to climb one!
"Hello my bookish friends"... tale of two cities is amazing...
My Mom had me read One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich when I was in High School. She said it was an important book to read for our day. I’ve read it many times since. Definitely a winter book for sure. For me it’s also one of those books that has a therapeutic aspect to it as well. As bad as things get, at least they aren’t that bad.
This video reminded me of an old New Yorker cartoon. - a guy is reading a book on the beach and two police officers are telling him that it’s summer and Dostoyevsky shouldn’t be read in the summer.
In the USA, Peter Hoeg's book is titled "Smilla's Sense of Snow." I read this shortly after it came out and enjoyed it immensely. Your video makes me want to reread it. Dr. Zhivago is a wonderful book, and yes, winter is prominent throughout the book. Another wintery book: The Long Winter, by Laura Ingals Wilder.
I liked the U.S. translation better.
@@fabrisseterbrugghe8567 Excellent; I am glad that I read that one!
Your enthusiasm is contagious.Thank you for these recommendations!
My winter book recommendation is "Red Mars" by Kim Stanley Robinson. I read this during one of the most brutal winters I ever spent in New York City. We had 23 snowstorms. And the radio often warned that if you went outside you should have any exposed skin. I owned a dog at the time. So, I needed to go out several times a day. And as I bundled up, I felt a kinship with the Martian colonists and how they felt having to don elaborate spacesuits to spend any time beyond the dome. A different kind of winter read. But one I think everyone can appreciate.
That was intense. Thanks so much for the recommendation 😃❤️
Thank you, Tristan, for wonderful winter reads. Miss Smilla's Sense of Snow is at the top of my list. I requested it from my library and look forward to reading it.
Jack London 's stories make you feel the freezing cold in your bones
I cheered when you mentioned Smillas sense of snow which I read years ago and it has never left me. So good
My favourite is The Ice Palace. I would love to read this book and look forward to your review. ❤ Ethan Frome sounds very ‘me’ as well. ❤❤❤❤
Dr. Zhivago is such an underrated and wonderful book! Absolutely beautiful and insightful. The love story (yes, it’s beautiful too) however, it is there also to amplify the effects of war in the everyday unfolding of everyone. Absolutely one of my favorite books.
My winter choice is Mousetrap by Agatha Christie. Love it!
Phenomenal. Did you ever see a live play?
@tristanandtheclassics6538 Unfortunately, no. But I have watched various productions on RUclips and listened to the radio play countless times.
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 I made a point of seeing the play in London when I was there a few years ago. Great fun....
Oh my God! My favourite theme. Seasonal novels in general, classics and winter/snow in particular. I had been searching for such lists, but most of them refer to modern novels mostly. Well, I have nothing against modern literature and there are gems, but I have a slight suspicion that most snow novels have been written for marketing purposes. Nothing bad, but.......
This video is a gift for me, Tristan, especially now that we are approaching Christmas! Not that your other videos are not, but this one is special for me.
Weather here in Athens Greece is pretty mild till now, 20 Celsius, but I guess it will get colder towards Christmas time and I will have the chance to curl up and read one of the recommended classics in this video.
Than you very much.🎉🎉🎉
I love you❤❤❤ 😊😊😊
Thank you for these wintery ideas. I have Ethan Frome and Ivan Denisovich on my shelves. December’s pile of possibilities is already full of Christmas specific books, but January has plenty of space for snowy classics.
The Long Winter is the name of the Laura Ingalls Wilder book. I love it. I just finished White Fang by Jack London which is not entirely set in snow. I thought you were going to mention Murder on the Orient Express. A couple other books I thought of: Moominland Midwinter by Tove Janssen and Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome. Good list! Do you have list for 2025 of what your Patreon bookclub is reading? I will look to see if you have posted anything.
Although this isn't on topic for your video, I just wanted to thank you for introducing me to Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin novel. I'm in the process of reading it now and it's a very thought-provoking book. Happy holidays!
I love Desmond Bagley books the first one I read was Running Blind, must be 40 years ago, it was set in Iceland I think. I might just have to find a copy and re read it. My bookshelves are bursting with all the classics I’ve bought I’m loving having the time to read them. Thank you for all the recommendations.
A great children's adventure book set during WWII is Snow Treasure. Fantastic!
Just finished "Ethan Frome". Fascinating book. Brilliant writing.
Snow Falling on Cedars
It’s nonfiction but “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage” by Alfred Lansing is another good one to read by the fire with a warm beverage. Also Shackleton’s own telling of the story “South”.
I have read Call of the Wild, Ethan Frome, beautiful stories for adults, as well as children.
The sleigh ride from 'War and Peace' and Tom's winter journey by stagecoach to Rugby School in 'Tom Brown's School Days' are indelibly lodged in my memory
I read the German translation of "Miss Smilla" when it came out and really loved it. Time for a reread after so many years, I guess 😄
I was going to mention Jack London for cruel, cold people, and weather. To Build A Fire is such a good short story.
Ran here!! 💐💐
You rock!😃❤️
Thank you Tristan!
Going to be reading Call of the Wild over Christmas. Loved White Fang the opening chapter of which is a brilliant tension building piece of writing imo. Ethan Frome is one of my favourites too.
I love that thumbnail! It made me click straight away!
Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata definitely fits the bill.
I second your recommendation, what a beautiful book, and how perfect for winter!
I have this one on my tbr. 🙂📚❄
Read it in Moscow, Idaho in the middle of winter in a deep steaming bathtub.
Thanks for this interesting and thought provoking list 👍
Loved this video, and now I am really tempted to start Doctor Zhivago in December.
Enjoyed the winter theme. Living in the tropics missing snow... sometimes. Thank you
Ordered 2 of your recommendations. 🎉
One day I will get the Ice Palace because everyone loves it so much.
i do wish i live in the northern hemisphere during the christmas period as i love the idea of wintery cozy christmas by a fire and 99% of everything you see, and read that is christmas always during winter time and it is hard to get that christmasy feeling down here in the southern hemisphere in the middle of summer. i might just have to read these recommendations during our winter here. thanks for a great video once again, more books to add now on my TBR.
Excellent and perfectly timed video, Tristan! I've read 3 from your list. London is an excellent writer. Someone in the comments mentioned his "To Build a Fire," a classic short story of his which just couldn't be more bitterly winter. I'm excited about the 3 I've now added to my TBR from your video. A young reader's fiction classic "Julie of the Wolves", 1972, is an-all snow shiver-y story. I read One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich this year. A small correction, it is not the first day he is at the Gulag. He's been there several years and has figured out small systems that help his survival. An excellent, difficult, and historically important work.
While it's not always winter, the book _Winter's Tale_ by Mark Helping has gorgeous depictions of snowy landscapes, both urban and pastoral.
It's my absolute favorite novel. It's funny in places, romantic, moving -- everything you can want. It's magic realism.
Just discovered that _Uncommon Danger_ is titled _Background to Danger_ in the U.S.
Thanks for the recommendation 😀
“Heaven and Hell” by Jon Kalman Stefansson is a snow and wintertime book I read recently. It’s in my top 3 books of the year. It’s an Icelandic book about a young man and his friend who are part of a team of fishermen. They go out one morning and something happens on the journey (I don’t want to say more than that) There’s a quietness to this book that I love. I cried. Definitely worth a read!
I read Call of the Wild about 55 years ago and some Desmond Bagley about 50 years ago. Time for some rereads.
Hello Tristan. Great recommendations! Haven’t read many of them and the one that appeals to me the most from your list is “The Ice Palace”, I will check it out soon! I would add Yasunari Kawabata’s “Snow Country”, which another person has already suggested, and Joyce’s short story “The Dead”, a devastating piece of wintery fiction!
Desmond Bagley was my introduction to adult books and High Citadel was the first of those - shortly followed by Wyatt's Hurricane. Happy days.
He's so good. I've just been pawing through a collection which someone gave to me to see which I should read next.
I just found your channel. TY for these wonderful suggestions. I have put them on my to read list❤
Wonderful!
Thank you for your video. I'm a 68 year old woman from Finland. I have read all those books several times but not Edith Wharton book, I wrote the name down so if it's in the library and translated in finnish I will read it. One fantastic winterbook is Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann 😊😊😊 btw.winter is my favorite season😊
"A Winters Tale"; by Mark Helprin. I read Laura Ingalls Wilder book ( The Long Winter), to my children, it's a non fiction, the events really did happen.
I want to read The Kreutzer Sonata because Tolstoy is one of my favorites. Your videos are just the best ❤
Hope you enjoy it.
Such a great list, thank you😊. I read Miss Smilla's story a long time ago. All the snow has melted in my memory since then. However I remember the ice cutting ship 🥶 still.
May I add a short story by Tolstoy titled Master and Man. You'll feel the freezing temperature while reading it. Hope you have a cup of hot tea next to you 😂.
Wow, great recs! I love all the interesting facts you give about books. I loved Ethan Frome. His wife was a force to be reckoned with. I’m going to pick up the Hollow Man, never heard of it. Also going to get The Kreutzer Sonata. Thanks!
She really is. It's her that terrified me 😅😬
I think I'll stick Dr Zhivago, The Kreutzer Sonata, Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow, and The Hollow Man onto my TBR, based on this list. 📖
Excellent list and reviews as per usual, even including the books you haven't read! I have read a few of the books listed, and I have to say they are all fantastic. I read The Call of the Wild as a youth and again just a couple of years ago; it is decidedly not a children's book, the depictions of violence toward animals and among the dogs is extremely graphic and disturbing, but it is an extraordinary book well worth reading. Likewise, Ethan Frome is a terrific book, and also disturbing in a different manner. Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is wonderful, a book every serious person should read. As for The Kreutzer Sonata, it is also a terrific short book and among Tolstoy's best. The winter setting is even more prominent in Tolstoy's short story, Master and Man, which I highly recommend. I haven't read any of the others, but they all sound intriguing, and with regard to Eric Ambler, Uncommon Danger is a book I haven't read or even heard of, but I think overall he is a highly underrated author; I thoroughly enjoyed The Mask of Demetrios.
Based on a couple of your picks, I also recommend Louis Lamour Last of the Breed, as.far as I know his only non-western novel... about escaping across the Siberian tundra!
Thanks for the recommendation. I will get it for my husband for Christmas as survival type books are his only reading choice.
@melissalee3040 it's my husband's fave book, along with Hatchet and Into Thin Air...hmm now that you mention it he only reads survival books as well! lol. There are some good "prepper doomsday" type of novels as well but can't think of the name. I see them recommended in a homesteading/prepping group I'm in.
I read Smilla's Sense of Snow after my sister recommended it. I really enjoyed it, but about half way through I was so confused by all the Danish place names that I had to start completely over, and make a list of names and their pronunciations. It was definately worth the time.
My current favourite for winter/snow is Olga Tokarczuk's Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead - amazing story - amazing writing. Not old enough to be called a classic (but I'm sure it will be one day) I'd love to hear your opinion of it Tristan.
Hello Tristan! I always enjoy your videos! I am currently reading "Anna Karenina", which is a long- term project, of course. Russian landscapes for us Greeks are usually associated with icy winters, although I haven't seen any such descriptions yet. Great book! I teach English in primary school and I have published my first short stories.
I already had Ethan Fromm on my tbr but found some new one's here. I think I will read Ethan in January.
I’ve read many of these. The Ice Palace is a wonder of a book and made an indelible impression on me.
I’d recommend Murder at Hazrlmoor (also called The Sittaford Mystery) by Christie. The entire book is encompassed by snow, with a blizzard, impassible roads, etc. superb atmosphere.
In English we use a vast array of adjectives to describe snow, so we don’t need to create separate nouns for the various textures, hardnesses, etc.
We read The Call of the Wild in middle school in the US, or maybe 1st year of high school. I thought it was a great book back then, maybe it is time for a reread.
6:02 I am currently reading a chapter a day of War and Peace, lots of winter scenes in this epic.
8:42 I prefer the Murder at Rue Morgue by Poe for a locked room mystery. Though one can never forget the murder once it is revealed. Vibeke Sten from Sweden has several detective fiction novels set during the winter.
I think The Call of the Wild was one of the best books I've ever read. Jack London is one of my favorite writers. I love books and stories about snow and ice. They remind me of my nearly two decades in Minnesota with the ice fishing and helping my husband chop wood in the winter. No matter what anyone says, these were golden times. I read Smilla's Sense of Snow several years ago, but I didn't care for it; I was disappointed by the ending. I was also disappointed by Dr. Zhivago; he seemed shallow to me. Two novels by a Russian writer I recommend are Stalingrad and Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. I don't hear them mentioned often, but I find these novels to be magnificent. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch is also heart-wrenching.
Topsy and Tim's Snowy Day is quite good I seem to remember.
😂
@@yvonnehayton6753 We all had to start our English literature journey somewhere.
Absolutely!
Just as you introduced the book Dr. Zhivago, I came upon this clue in my crossword puzzle: Zhivago’s love. Putting it on my list.
Great recommendations, Tristan! I also highly recommend “Snow Falling on Cedars” by David Guterson, set in the US Pacific Northwest in the 1950’s. It’s a love story and murder mystery in a small town dealing with post WWII trauma. Beautifully written and wonderfully plotted! The trial, which forms the framework for the story, takes place during a blizzard.
I was trying to remember the name of this book. I am glad that you reminded me.
Enjoying your brief reviews.
If you want a taste of Jack London in a short story form I highly recommend To Build A Fire. I taught a backpacking class and it (among others) was required reading.
Merry Christmas 🎅 I thoroughly enjoy your lessons from Seoul, Korea. I wish you continued success, good health and happiness in 2025! Thank you.
Initially, I thought that you might be describing Hercules Poirot’s Christmas before you named The Hollow Man. I’ll have to look into The Hollow Man; I love a good locked room mystery… particularly one written during that era!
Another book set fully in winter is Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express.
I’m reading Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow right now. I’m about 1/3 of the way through. Very intriguing so far and it’s so much more than I expected! (Although I have to say the translation isn’t the smoothest but I’m still pulled in) I also read The Ice Palace a couple of weeks ago, it was good but I felt it needed to be more, it felt like there was a spooky/mysterious side that never got explained and left me wondering what that was about and why it was in there. 😁
Recommendation: Winter stories by Karen Blixen. 84 Charing Cross is a good book. Thanks for mentioning it in suggestions for autumn. Miss Smille is the book with a lot of interesting ideas, but it doesn't work in making truely good art. Surprisingly, I found the movie more compelling.
The Smilla book is also entitled Smilla’s Sense of Snow. A fantastic read…great recommendation
I read The Snow Tiger by Desmond Bagley. Very good. I have only read 3 of these. Thanks for list!
I've got that one but haven't read it yet. I want to read Juggernaut too.
I have had Ethan Frome for a few years now and still need to read it. Doctor Zhivago and The Hollow Man has been added to my tbr. I've read The Ice Palace, looking forward to you reading it and seeing what you think of it. ❄📚
What a coincidence I have Ice Palace next to my bed to read when I get through a mountain of Library books. I got a cheap copy of Dr Zivago from The Works recently too.
I have read The Kreutzner Sonata many years ago, when i was a fan of Tolstoy and read lots of her stories. It is fantastic.
"Winter Without Salt," "The Invisible Man" and of course "A Christmas Carol."
I'm hoping to get through Doctor Zivargo this winter. Last winter I read Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius. It's not a classic but the sense of cold tradition amongst other themes.
Bizarrely as a child I loved doctor Zivargo. Lara's song very haunting and moving. I really hope the book is good
Hi Tristan! Thank you for this channel & this wonderful reading list. FYI for your followers: Uncommon Danger was released in the US as Background to Danger (or so Wikipedia tells me). I'm packing for Austria right now & thought this would be a fabulous read but couldn't find it without some minor digging.
Please explore some modern Classic detective fiction novels and novelists. Eg. Georges Simenon,Agatha Christie etc. I personally believe that it's a great way to introduce people into classics and make it more appealing.
It's on my list of videos to make. 👍😃
As soon as you just started to mention book 2, I immediately said Ethan Frome to myself. Then I began to think of another book they made me actually feel the cold, and I wondered if youd mention one day in the life of ivan denisovich. Both books I remember best for how well they portrayed raw cold.
Ethan Frome and Miss Silla's Feeling for Snow intrigue me. I will look them up.
Trigger warning for cruelty to dogs on Call of the Wild. I read it when I was a kid, but couldn’t finish a reread as an adult.
I like these videos of lists
Interesting list, Tristan. I've read three of the books in your list which surprised me. I particularly did not expect to see anything from Solzhenitsyn. I've read A Day in the Life as well as In the First Circle - the uncensored version - by Solzhenitsyn. I have a bunch of other books by him but the beaten down aspect of the people he writes about I can only take in measured doses.
I realize your channel deals with "the classics". However, do you ever feel compelled to approach the books you suggest from the standpoint of great storytelling? I guess because I am an old man I am very, very reluctant to place restrictions on any part of my life, particularly my reading life. There was a time when I felt I was "improving" myself by swimming in the pool of just classic literature. I was in my forties before I ever read a genre fiction book. I learned something by doing that. I learned that literature does not have to be about exemplary writing. Rather, if the book is well told it is worthwhile to read. As a result, a world of writing opened up to me I would never have known about if I stayed in the pool of classics. When I ventured into the ocean of literature, I was ever so excited!
I also realize you have a loyal audience for your channel and that change might disrupt what you have going. But, I think you are wise enough to know that when it comes to literature, a world without boundaries is a good thing and worthy of exploring. Up until my forties I lived a life within the boundaries. Maybe it was a mid-life crisis kind of thing, but once I realized that the world is overflowing with wonderful things (like books) to be explored, my life became happier and more fulfilled. There is an American movie from the fifties called Auntie Mame in which Mame says "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!". When it comes to literature, there is so much to read, the truest reader will never go hungry.
Some books and authors you might be interested to look into:
The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson
Adolfo Bioy Caseres
Alain Robbe-Grillet
Juan Jose Saer
Cesar Aira
W. G. Sebald
Dorothy M. Richardson
I could go on and on but you get the idea. And, I did not even go into genre fiction which is filled with wonderfully written book worthy of being read.
It’s never a Christmas without a Christmas Coral
I loved Smilla's Sense of Snow. Great writing. Only one criticism, and that is the absence of an ending. It just stops. Still, a great read.
Ethan Frome is excellent but why must Edith Wharton always break our hearts?
Maybe not a true classic but for me it is…”Winter Holiday” by Arthur Ransome. A great children’s story set in a cold English winter. Even as an adult I love to come back to year after year.
The Long Winter? LIW That book was nail-biting to me as a kid.
I just picked up a like-new tome of Jack London stories and novellas at a thrift shop for $2 recently. Need to tackle those!
A recent publication that I really enjoyed (and would call my favorite read of the year) was The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. It is based on a real early American midwife's diaries with a murder mystery mixed in. Perhaps the best biographical fiction I have ever read.
I read Solsinitsin and it has stayed with me. I want to read “The Gulag Archipelago.”
Hello Tristan! I'm all in for murder mistery so I will surely read The hollow man.
I have in my sheves the call of the wild and dr zhivago so I will add to my reading list. I read last January Ethan Frome that despite of the "trapping" atmosphere, I really liked it. I also enjoy the Kreutzer sonata! Miss Smilla's feeling for snow has always been in my tbr but never read it, this might be the right time! Thank you for all your recommendations, Tristan! 💫
P.s. i couldn't find any classic I read set in winter/snow other than some Agatha Christie's books other people already mentioned but if you are a fan of murder mistery, Louise Penny's A fatal grace is set in winter/snow in the little village of Three Pines in Canada!
Boris Pasternak's Dr. Ziyago, love Jack London, best short story To Light A Fire.
The Venice Train by Georges Simenon, one of his non-Maigret novels starts in the same way as you describe the Ambler starting. In Simenon's novel the man finds lots of money which he doesn't know how to spend or get rid of without being connected with the murder. There's an audiobook of this on RUclips under that English title. I read Miss Smilla's feeling for snow ages ago and can recommend it as a good read. Ethan Frome is also very good; it's very short with an unexpected ending.
I need an antidote to the cold, not more snow and shivers. Do 10 classic books set in sweltering heat, please.