7 Books Like Winter Journeys

This is an enjoyable story with quirky but lovable characters who live on an island. It centres around A.J. Fikry, a somewhat jaded bookstore owner wth discerning tastes in books. A surprising discovery in his store turns his life around. I loved that many familiar books are mentioned and how they tie into the story. The writing is refreshing with clever lines, some quite amusing, others poignant. Some of my favourites:

"Despite the fact that he loves books and owns a bookstore, A. J. does not particularly care for writers."

"The most annoying thing about it is that once a person gives a shit about one thing, he finds he has to start giving a shit about everything."

"You know everything you need to know about a person from the answer to the question: What is your favourite book?"

Anyone who loves books, bookstores and interesting characters will enjoy this… show more.

This is a remarkable story about an immigrant Irish family in America trying to survive during the desperate 1930s. The story is told from the point of view of Katie, a sensitive, loving girl who cares for her family very much. Her mother is portrayed as a resourceful, hardworking woman, who struggles with a houseful of children, a sick mother and a husband who drinks up most of his earnings. She constantly finds herself pregnant. They move to another part of the country where things seem to look up for a while but then go terribly wrong. Katie, like her mom, is a strong little girl who will do anything to keep her family together. My heart broke for her many times. The characters in this story are well-developed as is the vivid depiction of dire times. If books like Angela's Ashes catch your interest, you will want to read… show more.

Even though this is a period novel, I read this story for its Gothic horror and literary acumen. Repression of memories, feelings, and guilt struck me throughout. Dr. Faraday discovers ghostly mysteries at Hundreds Hall, and his romance with Caroline is spooky enough, but this ghost story is grounded in reality.

Who is the little stranger haunting the premises? I sunk deeply into this story, drinking up the beauty. But the ending! Wow. Brilliantly revealed and aptly placed on the final page. Sarah Waters hides the ghost in plain sight, and yet I was surprised at the conclusion—delightfully so. I’m a sucker for one-liners that grab the reader by the throat, metaphorically speaking, at the last line. I plan to read it again because it’s that good.

The development of both of these characters was amazing. Sometimes, you read a book where you relate to one character and not as much to the other. Not with this book!

Both voices and stories were gripping by themselves. Then, when they met, the explosions happened and you saw two “people” with the same background (but under vastly different circumstances), merge. 

This book typifies what I love about Weird Fiction. It charts a slow descent from the mundane into the uncanny.

The protagonist is a film historian who discovers what may be an extremely significant fragment of an old movie, and in the process of tracking down the original print discovers hidden truths about an invisible world ruled by ancient gods. 

It's hard to be specific about the plot, because the genius of the story is the author's ability to create a mood of escalating dread. In the best Weird Tales tradition, much of the horror lies in the narrator's inability to prove what she discovers. Something is going on, something terrifying, but every time she tries to understand exactly what it is the details shift and melt away.

At first, I thought this was a historical mystery similar to the Sherlock Holmes stories. Nineteenth-century city, maybe in Russia? But what about the weird Bone Forest and the house on stilts? The detective, Konrad Savast, carries out his investigations in distinctly unorthodox ways. Then there are his spirit-serpent helpers, Eetapi and Ootapi. Sherlock never had anything like them! And in addition to the four mysteries to be solved in this book, there's the question of Konrad's relationship with apothecary Irinanda Falenia. Will it ever develop into something more than friendship?

A haunting, erotic, somewhat mystical story of sexual obsession. Set near Newbury sometime during the last century, it has an old-fashioned air, portraying English provincial life as it used to be.

The narrator is a sensitive, naive young man who deals in fine ceramics. He falls passionately in love with a Danish woman, and they marry, but she has a dreadful secret that leads to tragedy. The book's title refers to an antique figurine that plays a part in the plot.