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Brandon's list: Cold Reads to Keep the Mind Warm As we all try to find ways to stay warm, turning to a good book can not only keep your mind occupied, but it can also help lift your spirit. The following e-books all take place in cold, wintery settings, but have stories that will chatter your teeth with fear, warm your heart with tender humanity, or spark your sense of curiosity. |
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Stone Fox
by John Reynolds Gardiner
In spite of tremendous odds, a ten-year-old boy and his dog are determined to win a dogsled race and the five-hundred-dollar prize
Based on a Rocky Mountain legend, Stone Fox tells the story of Little Willy, who lives with his grandfather in Wyoming. When Grandfather falls ill, he is no longer able to work the farm, which is in danger of foreclosure. Little Willy is determined to win the National Dogsled Race—the prize money would save the farm and his grandfather. But he isn't the only one who desperately wants to win. Willy and his brave dog Searchlight must face off against experienced racers, including a Native American man named Stone Fox, who has never lost a race. Exciting and heartwarming, this novel has sold millions of copies and was named a New York Times Outstanding Children's Book.
I first read this book decades ago as a juvenile, but it has stayed with me all this time. Whether you are looking for a book for your child to enjoy, or you want something to read together as a family, this will pull at your heartstrings. It may just bring a frozen tear to your eye.
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The Shining
by Stephen King
Terrible events occur at an isolated hotel in the off season, when a small boy with psychic powers struggles to hold his own against the forces of evil that are driving his father Jack insane.
From the "things could be worse" file, this Stephen King classic focuses on a troubled caretaker and his family as they are snowed-in at a Mountain resort hotel in Colorado, alone... except for the ghosts, and Jack's personal demons.
This is not for the faint of heart, but if you are looking for some snowy terror then check this out.
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Cat's Cradle by Kurt VonnegutThis is a clever satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet’s ultimate fate, a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer, and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny. A book that left an indelible mark on an entire generation of readers, Cat’s Cradle is one of the twentieth century’s most important works—and Vonnegut at his very best.
This is one of my favorite science fiction novels, an example of humor meeting physics, with a doomsday device designed to freeze... well, pretty much everything.
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Rudy's list: Cold Readings I hope this finds everyone safe and warm. This has been a ridiculously eventful, strange, and often jolting year (including both 2020 and 2021, so far). Hopefully we have boring times ahead of us. Until then, I've been thinking about the books that I've enjoyed while the weather was cold, and I've packed three great ones for you here. Essex County is a beautiful compilation of stories. Jeff Lemire pours his heart into these tales about a fictionalized small town in Canada. Being here in the southern U.S., we don't often think about life where so much of the year is spent in the cold, but it exists and they have stories to tell. Next, The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon is just a great thriller. Stephen King is the perfect cold weather author. He is the King of Maine after all. I try not to go a Winter without reading King, and this story is a great one (though sometimes overlooked). Finally, if you'd rather be somewhere totally different and you've had enough with this weather and this planet, take to the stars with Gideon the Ninth. This book blew up in popularity when it arrived, and once you start it you'll realize why. The characters are entertaining. The world is both strange and familiar. And, there's lots and lots of cursing. It's a gem, and will be sure to take your mind off of things. Stay warm and well, everyone. |
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Essex County by Jeff LemireAfter moving to his uncle's farm, 10-year-old orphan Lester befriends the town's gas station owner, damaged former hockey star Jimmy Lebeuf, and the two escape to a fantasy world of super-heroes, alien invaders, and old-fashioned pond hockey
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The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon: A Novel
by Stephen King
Having wandered away from her arguing family during a hike on New England's Appalachian Trail, a young girl discovers that she is lost in the menacing woods with only her personal stereo and the Red Sox game for comfort
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Gideon the Ninth
by Tamsyn Muir
When the Emperor invites all eight necromancer heirs, from all eight loyal Houses, to compete in unknown trails to possibly ascend into something that will make them immortal, no necromancer can compete without a skilled cavalier by their side, and Harrowhark has no choice but to get Gideon to help her and save the future of the Ninth House
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