A Touch of Southern Grace : Winter Reading List

Cold winter mornings and nights are the perfect time to curl up with a book next to a fire or in a warm, cozy bed. If you are a regular visitor to my blog you have probably figured out by now that I am somewhat of a book lover. I will admit I always have at least one book going and a running list of books I would like to buy saved to the notes section of my phone…I may also be guilty of being over organized {if there is such a thing}. With that said I am always looking for the next great read or at least an enjoyable book. From biographies, fiction, to those guilty pleasure books here are my top 10 reading books to read this winter.

1. TheCuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith {aka J.K. Rowling}

I just started reading this book a few days ago; I haven’t gotten too far into the book yet, but the storyline and writing is wonderful so far. After losing his leg in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike, is barely getting by as a private investigator. Strike has just broken up with his girlfriend, is currently living out of his office, creditors are calling, then one day John Bristow walks into Strike’s office. Bristow’s sister Is supermodel Lila Landry, know to friends as Cuckoo, who feel to her death. The police ruled Lula’s death as a suicide, but her brother refuses to believe this. John hires Strike to investigate his sister’s death, leading Strike down into a world that introduces him to ever type of pleasure.

2. The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins

Everyone I know who has read this book so far has loved it. Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Each day the train stops in front of the same homes and families; after seeing these families eat breakfast and carry on with their morning Rachel starts to feel like she knows them and even makes up names for them. One day she witnesses something shocking that changes everything. Rachel tells the police what she knows and become entwined in what follows and the lives of everyone involved.

3. GirlOnline by Zoe Sugg

Now, this would be my guilty pleasure book, but sometimes guilty pleasure books are the most fun to read. Under the alias “GirlOnline”, Penny blogs her hidden feelings about friendship, boys, family, drama, and panic attacks that have started to take over her life. Penny’s family takes the opportunity to spend Christmas in New York where Penny meets Noah, who has a secret that threatens to ruin Penny’s cover.

4.Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: The Untold Story by Barbara Leaming

There is no denying that the Kennedy family is one that continues to fascinate the American population. Leaming touches on the effects JFK’s assassination had on Jackie Kennedy and why she sought out such a different life after his death than the one she had previously lead.

5. TheYonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSciafani

Thea Atwell, has been cast out of her family home at the age of fifteen and sent to an equestrienne boarding school after playing a mysterious role in a family tragedy. As Thea reflect on her reasonability for the events of the past year that bought her to the Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, she finds herself in a new order that will change her sense of what is possible for her country, family, and herself in the midst of the Great Depression.

6. PaperTowns by John Green

Who doesn’t enjoy a John Green book every now and then? Margo Roth Spiegelma beckons Quentin in the middle of the night with the intention of plotting a campaign of revenge. Quentin has secretly loved Margo for a long time and feels that things are finally looking up since she has included him. When daylight comes Margo has vanished but has left clues for Quentin, adding another layer of mystery to her.

7. MeBefore You by Jojo Moyes

Louisa Clark, an ordinary girl living an ordinary life who has never been further then her small village. She takes a job working for the ex-master of the Universe, Will Traynor, who is bound to a wheelchair after an accident. Up until now Will has lived life on a grand scale – world travel, extreme sports and so on. Will has become moody and bossy, but Louisa refuses to give him special treatment and sets out to him that life is still worth living.

8. OrphanTrain by Christina Baker Kline

Between 1854 and 1924 “orphan trains” ran from cities of East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying children who would be adopted by families, their fate uncertain. Vivian Daly was a child of the orphan train who returns back east later in life. As part of Molly’s is helping a now widowed Vivian clean out her attic as part of her required community-service. Molly, a foster child, soon discover that she and Vivian are not so different once she discovers some of her keepsakes that give insight to her past life. Orphan Train moves between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota; it is a powerful tale of second chances and unexpected friendships.

9. The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant

Addie Baum is “The Boston Girl”, born in 1900 to immigrant parents who were unprepared for America and its effect on their three daughters. Addie, at the age of eighty-five, tells her life story to her granddaughter who inquires how she became the woman she is today.

10. IsEveryone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

I don’t watch TV all that often but I am pretty much in love with the Mindy Project and Mindy Kaling. Needless to say I have been meaning to read this book for a while, and yes, I do realize it has been out for a few years. In this book Mindy Kaling take readers on a tour of her life: romance, friendship, and Hollywood.