Calendar Girls: Let It Snow (Best Book Set In Winter)

On By Teri PolenIn Calendar Girls

Calendar Girl is a monthly meme now hosted by Katie@nevernotreading and Adrienne @darquedreamer

The Calendar Girls is a monthly blog event that was created by Melanie at MNBernard Books, and Flavia at Flavia the Bibliophile. It was inspired by the 1961 classic song by Neil Sedaka and created to ignite fun bookish discussions among readers and bloggers.

Each month we get a new theme and choose our favorite book for the theme. The participants get to vote for their favorite.

The other fun piece to The Calendar Girls group is the Twitter chat. On the 3rd Sunday of each month, at 8 p.m. EST, Katie and Adrienne will host a chat with hashtag #CGBChat, where everyone can participate and gif away. They will get the ball rolling by asking a question or two about the theme or the picks of the month to get everyone chatting. The hashtag will be used in all tweets, so you can see all the fun!

 

I’ve read tons of books set in winter, but there’s no way I’d be able to name all of them.  Many scenes in the Harry Potter series come to mind, of course, and fairly recent reads such as The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon, and The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden.

But the one that’s stuck with me all these years is The Shining (do I really need to list the author?) by Stephen King.  Of all his works, it’s easily among my favorites.  It’s the only book that’s literally given me goosebumps – and that was in the middle of summer, 90+ degrees, while lying by a pool.  The sheer volume of snow in the book plays a key role in isolating the Torrance family from help, and is as much of a character as Delbert Grady, Lloyd the bartender, the old woman in the bathtub, and the Grady daughters.  Some images from the movie are permanently embedded in my brain.

Kind of makes me want to read the book again and watch the movie.  Part two of The Shining, Doctor Sleep, will be released as a movie in 2020!

 

46 thoughts on “Calendar Girls: Let It Snow (Best Book Set In Winter)”

  1. Mischenko

    Oh yes, The Shining! I wanted to reread it this year, but didn’t get to it. I definitely think about that book over winter and also Harry Potter. I think Order of the Phoenix was the Christmassy one, right? I need to reread those obviously. 🤣 Great post,Teri! ❤

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  11. I have to admit, I don’t remember if I ever saw the movie version of The Shining. I do recall Jack Nicholson’s crazy grin, but that’s just the poster for the movie. Otherwise, it’s my own mind-movie of the book I remember, and it’s full of horrors. The woman in the bathtub is one of the most vivid images. Dr. Sleep is another matter altogether. It’s quality is uneven, as I recall. The bad guys are really bad — there’s a scene where they murder a kid that’s truly horrible — but in the end they’re kind of stupid and easily beaten. Of course, the movie may not follow King’s plot precisely.

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    1. I didn’t like Dr. Sleep as much either, Audrey – but you’re right about the movie not following King’s book. They rarely do. Strangely enough, the part in the book that gave me goosebumps was the hedge animals, and I don’t think they’re even a factor in the movie.

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      1. You’re right; those animals are seriously strange. I also liked (in a creepy way) Jack reading that scrapbook he found in the boiler room. The boiler itself is almost a character. And the parts of Dr. Sleep dealing with Danny’s drug addiction were interesting, probably because King was writing from experience. Some say the books he wrote after getting off drugs aren’t as good as his earlier ones.

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  13. The Shining is one of those books that has stuck with me forever, too. I bought a paperback copy last year so I could read it again. I really need to bump it higher on my TBR.

    BTW, loved the Winter People. Jennifer McMahon is one of my auto-buy authors!

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    1. I had a paperback of The Shining for years, but then bought a hardback for my collection. I’d love to find time to read it again.

      Seems like I’ve read a couple of books by McMahon, but can’t remember the title of the other one.

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  15. Again, too much of a coward to pick up the Shining, though i’ve read some of King’s books during my teens.But, i’ve been meaning to pick The bear and the nightingale for a long while now. I can’t think of one single book set in winter that i’ve read.

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  17. I’ll never forget how, in the first Narnia book, Lucy went through the wardrobe and suddenly it was the middle of winter. The evil of the White Witch had frozen the world. What a mysterious and creepy concept for my 12-year-old self.

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    1. You’re the first person I’ve admitted this to, Deby – I’ve never read The Chronicles of Narnia or even seen the movie. I realize this is a serious character flaw, and one I need to correct, lol. However, I remember movie previews, and all the beautiful snow in some of the scenes.

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