Man reading should be man intensely alive. The book should be a ball of light in one’s hand.

Ezra Pound

Good Books for Winter Days: These are all books that make me light up, not because they are deep or worthy or literary masterpieces, but mostly because they make me feel cozy, or capable, or simply at home. They’re books for piling by your comfy chair, making a pot of chai or, if you’re decadent, Turkish Delight Hot Chocolate either from scratch or from a packet, and settling down to bury yourself into.

Be warned, some of these have been mentioned on my blog before. It’s just in a list of the books that add light and hope to my life, they can’t be missed out.

• The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. A lovely book to read in winter time. It made me cry, but it also made me feel so involved with Jack, Mabel and their snow daughter.
• Wintering by Katherine May. I have a feeling this is a winter survival guide for many. Certainly its practical approach to hunkering down in the inevitable storms of life has given many comfort. I love the audible book, too. The narrator has a beautiful and smooth voice. Very calming.
• Where the Hearth Is by Kate Humble. This is one of my Advent books this year, so I only opened it last Sunday and I haven’t read too far into it but already I feel like it is going to be a heart-lighting, home-creating kind of book. What is home? How do we know we’re there? How do we make a home?
• Roast Figs Sugar Snow by Diana Henry. As the subtitle goes: food to warm the soul. I love a good seasonal cookbook, especially one that come swith stories or snippets of life alongside, in words or illustrations.
• The Christmas Book Club by Sarah Morgan. Ideal Choc-Lit reading. Sarah Morgan’s books are well-written, and feature enticing locations and cute plots. The hotel in this one is just absolutely adorable. I read it wishing it were real and dreaming of having a book lover’s retreat, full library, nightly book circles, themed weeks and all. I keep entering the ‘win a massive house’ competitions on TV and thinking if I ever did win… this is what I’d run. A proper book lover’s retreat.
• Midnight at the Christmas Book Shop by Jenny Colgan. I read The Christmas Bookshop two years ago and loved it so much. I could just move in and live there, especially since it’s based in Edinburgh and Jenny Colgan just decribes everything so perfectly. This one is on my weekend reading list when I get a weekend! Which is, hopefully, this weekend after colds, coughs, chest infections and children have been dealt with.

Which books are your balls of light on a dark day? What would you recommend to me for a weekend after Christmas when I need an escape and am seeking solace in a single tome?

How to Hygge the British Way is my gift to the world. I don’t get paid for writing it, I’m not in it for the kudos, financial rewards, to become an influencer, work with brands or otherwise make any money from the blog. That’s why there are no ads, and any products I mention and recommend have either been gifted to me or bought by me with my everyday wages or donations from supporters. Every book I review has been bought and read by me, unless stated otherwise.

I do get a couple of pennies each time someone buys from the Amazon links on my page, as an Amazon Affiliate, but otherwise if you’d like to support me, I like to give something back in return. That’s why I write books. It always feels good if you get a book back in return for some money. You can find a full list of my books at my Author’s Page on Amazon, but especially recommended for this time of year are:

Cosy Happy Hygge: Setting up a rhythm to life and rituals to enjoy it to make for a more balanced life that handles waves and storms better. Lent is a season of rituals and resets. The book has small and easy ways to make your life flow with grace and happiness, which lead to more hygge.

Happier: Probably my most personal book, it’s the story of how I used hygge and the little things in life to help boost my happiness. I still go back and reread to remind myself what I need to do to be a happy human. And it’s always the little things.

My Christmas books are always available: Have Yourself a Happy Hygge Christmas is a good place to start, on how to make the season cosier, happier. Celebrating a Contagious Christmas was written during covid year, but has useful advice on celebrating when times are hard anyway and Enjoying a Self-Care Christmas is a short e-book on keeping Christmas simpler, easier and better for you, your waistline and your budget. It even includes 25+ suggestions for self-care activities over Christmas, as simple as sipping tea, keeping a list journal or lighting a candle. Bigger is not always better for Christmas.

I’m currently working on two book projects: I have a hankering to rewrite 50 Ways to Hygge the British Way, so it’s not available at the moment, but even dearer to my heart and my next stated aim is to finish and publish my next book, Simple Plus Cosy = Hygge. It will be about homemaking and how the home we create shapes the hygge we have. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of spring/summer.

If you’d like to support me, but don’t want to buy a book, I have a Paypal.Me account as Hygge Jem. Every little helps, so even a few pence goes towards the books, goods and courses I use and recommend on the site. I’m grateful for every little bit that brings me closer to my dream of full-time writing, and I know I couldn’t still be writing if it weren’t for the support of many readers and friends out there. Thank you all for every little bit of support, emotional, physical and financial, you give me.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, don’t forget to share it or save it so others can enjoy reading, thinking about and living hygge as well.

The photo between post and promotions is by Laura Nyhuis on Unsplash. I’m using it from now until January as a real reminder of the power of light. I loved the simplicity of the shot, the focus on the one candle, the reminder that there are many lights out there if we open our hearts to them and the combination of candle and nature in creating a cosy Christmas.