Symptom: January Blues
Cure: Heart warming, comforting reads.
Its about now when the temperature has dropped that little bit further, we realise we still have February and probably March too, to get through before we start to feel warm again. The initial joy of a new year, ‘out with the old and in with the new’ is less exciting. Nights are still long and days are still short. This is the time, more than any other when the reading prescription should be for heart warming stories of comfort and joy. Reading during the long winter months should be absorbing. It should cocoon you in a blanket of the finest cashmere, and feed your winter weary soul with the choicest morsels.
A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy
Maeve Bunchy is always a joy to read. If you have never read anything by her then I highly recommend you do. She is a wonderful story teller, and will transport you into the lives of a whole group of people who by the end of the story feel like friends.
A Week in Winter was published posthumously and is set in a small town hotel on the West Coast of Ireland. A big log fire and warm kitchen are central to the hotel and this is a book which was made for winter reading. Despite the incompatibility of some of the guests there is warmth and compassion and kindness. All necessary characteristics when you are facing the January blues
Scarlett Feather is also great for January. Food is central to the story making it perfect for some comfort reading. However Maeve Binchy has such a large back catalogue of books you could easily choose any of them, and they would easily meet January reading requirements.
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
Like Maeve Binchy, Kate Morton is a wonderful story teller, which is without doubt the first requisite when trying to beat the January blues. The House at Riverton is a mystery and a love story and will take you to the summer of 1924 and the winter of 1999. This is the recollections of an elderly lady who had been a servant in the house so is as much the story of the house as it is the inhabitants. This is a book to completely lose yourself in as you move through the rooms and the mystery unravels. Being lost in a book is clearly the best way to beat any January blues.
How to Eat by Nigella Lawson
Who doesn’t want to read about warming stews and thick vegetable soups, and custardy puddings and ginger cakes and pies with golden baked crusts, and roast chicken, and pillowy pasta with silky sauces?
I have read this book from cover to cover and regularly dip in and out the world Nigella has created when seeking comforting food. I guarantee any time spent in the company of this book will banish the blues and send you if not scurrying to the kitchen, at least contemplating it. Nigella’s writing is always reassurning and her recipes are filled with anecdotes and suggestions. There is nothing preachy or bossy about these recipes. This is a book filled with joy and love both of which are necessary when banishing January, or any other blues for that matter.
You might also be interested in my suggestions of books to boost your January
Thank you for these suggestions Angie. I too am a big fan of Maeve Binchy. I’m currently reading a book by Carole Matthews, which is perfect for the evenings. It’s not too taxing after a day at work and the main characters are really likeable. It’s an easy and comforting read – just what’s needed at the moment!
Claire.x
Author
I have never read anything by Carole Matthews, but I like the sound of easy and comforting. Perfect for January xx