TTT: Because We Always Want What We Don't Have

Somehow, I got my weeks totally mixed up!  I thought today's Top Ten Tuesday topic was a freebie, but it's not; it's actually about historical/futuristic societies.  Since nothing is coming to mind for the correct topic, I'm going to stick with my original plan and do the freebie I should have done last week.  Before I get to that, though, I want to make sure you're invited to join in the TTT fun.  All you have to do is click on over to The Broke and the Bookish, read the rules, make your own list, and hop around the book blogosphere to share the TTT love.  Easy peasy.

Okay, on to my freebie topic.  I know lots of you are sick to death of winter.  Maybe I would be, too, if I lived somewhere that actually has winter.  We're not so lucky here in the Phoenix area.  Sure, we've had some chilly days (for us); some mornings it's gotten down into the 30s, but still ... real winter continues to elude us desert dwellers.  Most people live here for exactly that reason.  For this PNW girl, though, I miss the chill in the air, the snow softly falling, the crackle of a blaze in the fireplace—all the things that signify winter to me.  In a month or so, our temps will be back up in the 100s.  The only way to make winter last around here is to read about it in books.  So, here you go with my Top Ten Most Memorable Books set in the Winter:

1.  Into Thin Air by Jon Krakeur—You've probably all read this haunting memoir about an American journalist's quest to summit Mt. Everest in 1996.  I finished it a couple weeks ago, but I can't stop thinking about the terrible, life-changing events that happened to him and others with whom he was climbing.  Although Krakeur's trip took place in March—technically Spring—I can't think of a chillier, more winter-ish book than this one.

Because Into Thin Air made such an impact on me, I also checked out these two to read soon: Left for Dead by Beck Weathers (a member of Krakeur's climbing party) and Buried in the Sky, a memoir about sherpas climbing on K2's deadliest day by Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan.  I've heard mixed reviews about the former and lots of praise for the latter.  Both sound fascinating to me.

2.  Bones On Ice by Kathy Reichs—While we're on the subject of Mt. Everest ... This novella (#17.5 in Reichs' popular Tempe Brennan series) concerns a female hiker from North Carolina who dies mysteriously while climbing the mountain.  It's up to Tempe, a forensic anthropologist, to figure out what really happened.  This is a quick but very compelling whodunit.

3.  Winter at the Door by Sarah Graves—This is the debut novel in a new series starring homicide detective Lizzie Snow.  Believing her mysteriously missing sister and niece might be in northern Maine, Lizzie takes a deputy job in the small town of Bearkill.  She quickly discovers there's much more going on in the sleepy village than meets the eye ...

4.  Trapped by Michael Northrop—A vicious New England blizzard traps seven teenagers at their high school with no access to the outside world.  Can they survive with no heat, little food, and a dwindling hope of rescue?

5.  The Shining by Stephen King—When Jack Torrance accepts a job as the caretaker of an old hotel for the winter, he's looking forward to family time and a new start.  But, as the weather takes a turn for the worse, he finds himself trapped in isolation, fear, and his own madness.

6.  Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys—Unlike most readers, I wasn't totally bowled over by Sepetys' Between Shades of Gray.  The YA novel, about a Lithuanian girl who's sent to a Siberian work camp during WWII, is vivid and compelling, but I just didn't feel much connection with the characters.  The total opposite is true of its sequel, Salt to the Sea.  It's been months since I read the chilling follow-up and it still haunts me.

7.  The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon—All McMahon's books are creepy, but this one is especially so.  The novel revolves around a mysterious old legend about the deaths of a mother and daughter.  Now occupying the farmhouse in which the dead females once lived, a teenager gets wrapped up in the chilling truth about what really happened to them.

8.  Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson—It's been a long time since I read this novel about a drowned fisherman and the Japanese-American accused of murdering him.  Time for a re-read of this atmospheric tale, methinks.  

9.  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens—Probably the most iconic wintertime book of them all, I try to re-read this classic tale every December just because I love it so much.

10.  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis—I read this first volume of Lewis' classic Narnia series when I was in elementary school (a loooonnnngggg time ago) and yet, many of its vivid scenes have stuck with me through the years.  I'm way overdue for a re-read of this one, as well as a first-read of the rest of the books in the series.

What do you think?  Love winter or hate it?  What are your favorite cold weather books?  With a long, scorching Arizona summer just around the bend, I'd love lots of shivery book recommendations to keep me cool.  Leave me a comment and I'll happily return the favor on your blog.    

Happy TTT!