One of the reasons that I love winter break is that it gives me the opportunity to read for pleasure and not for schoolwork! I wanted to share some of these books that I read over winter break and thought others might enjoy too. There’s a wide selection, ranging from poetry all the way to fantasy fiction.
Without further ado, here are five books I read over winter break that you should read too.
- A good girl’s guide to murder by holly jackson
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I feel like I’m a little behind getting to this book series. It’s being adapted for a TV show, so I wanted to make sure I read the books in case I eventually wanted to watch the series, and they did not disappoint!
This series includes three books, and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is the first in the series. I got through all three books within a week (and read the last book in one day), so it’s safe to say that my attention never waned away from the plot. I always enjoy a good murder mystery, and I can’t help but try to figure out the murderer before the main character does. With this book, I happened to be right (yay!), but there was an unexpected twist that still managed to surprise me.
If you want a good murder mystery that keeps you on your toes, I would highly recommend this series!
- Look out for the little guy by scott lang
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I am a massive Marvel fan, so I received this book as a Christmas gift. For those who don’t know, Look Out for the Little Guy is a book written from the perspective of Scott Lang, the superhero character known as Ant-Man (who is played by Paul Rudd in the Marvel Cinematic Universe). The book is mentioned in the movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and is a memoir that follows Scott Lang’s journey to become a superhero.
I expected the book to be filled with constant jokes, gags, and references to the MCU (which it is), but it also had some motivational messages throughout that took me by surprise! The book was more heartfelt than I imagined, and it managed to give me a motivational boost.
If you’re a fan of Marvel and are looking for a fun read (with some helpful encouragement sprinkled throughout), read Look Out for the Little Guy.
- the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid
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This is another book where I felt late to the party. Everyone has been talking about it for a while, and it is also getting turned movie, so I knew that I had to catch up. And I am so glad I did!
This book had so many twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting, especially within the last twenty pages (if you know, you know). Each surprise was more captivating from the last, and I got through the book so fast simply because I didn’t want to put it down.
The book follows 1950s Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo as she details the stories surrounding her rise to stardom and seven infamous marriages, and she chooses Monique Grant, a practically unknown journalist, to write her story. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in a story that intertwines Old Hollywood with a web of romances!
- call us what we carry: poems by amanda gorman
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This book has been sitting on my TBR shelf for a while, and I am so glad that I got around to reading it. It’s a collection of poems from Amanda Gorman, who many likely will know from serving as the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history. She read her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the 2021 inauguration, and I remember being blown away by it.
Naturally, I then got her poetry collection book Call Us What We Carry when it released, but I never got around to reading it. I changed that over winter break and made sure it was taken off of my TBR list. I love taking a short break from reading full novels to instead slow down and read poetry, and this was the perfect book for that. Some of the poems revolve around current events such as COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement, and they are immensely powerful.
- the fellowship of the ring by J. R. R. Tolkien
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The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy are some of my favorite movies of all time, but I had never gotten around to reading all the books. Over this past summer, I read The Hobbit and then started to read The Fellowship of the Ring. Once school started back up in the fall, I had to put personal reading on pause, but winter break gave me the perfect time to finish the first book of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
If you’re looking for a large, classic fantasy adventure series to get into, The Lord of the Rings could be the perfect fit for you! I can’t believe that it has taken me so long to read the books in full, but I am so glad that I have started.
I hope that at least one of the books on this list has sparked your interest and was added to your TBR list! Happy reading!