Top Five Wednesday: 12/21/22

This week's Top Five Wednesday topic is "Books to Have When Snowed In".  

1. If I could only have five books when snowed in, I'd want at least one big book, so I'd definitely want this huge collection. I have the Big Book of Female Detectives, and it's great fun, so I'm certain that the Big Book of Christmas Mysteries would be perfect for a snowstorm!

2. Being snowed in would be a perfect time to reread Jane Austen.  (Of course, when isn't the perfect time to reread Jane Austen?)  I'd pick Emma for this occasion, as an important scene features a Christmas party with a snowstorm.

3.  Another book that screams winter is Dracula (it actually screams a lot of things, but icy cold weather is one of them).  Being snowed in is a great time for a thriller, and this five star read (my review here) would fit the bill.

4. Thinking of snow and five star reads brings the Nine Tailors to mind.  For me, this is Sayers' best.  It's rich, layered, intelligent, engrossing, well-written and memorable.

5. Being snowed in calls for something warm and cheerful as well, and I suggest the Little House on the Prairie series.  Every time I read Wilder's stories, I'm amazed with what good humor the Ingalls family faced such grave challenges (many of them winter-weather related) and with how they found joy in the little things.  It would be hard to pick one, as they would all fit the bill, but if you've not read them, they should be read in order, so I suggest getting snowed in with Little House in the Big Woods.