SNUGGLE IN FOR THESE WINTER READS

‘THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY’

by Gabrielle Zevin

A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over — and see everything anew.

‘THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN’

by Garth Stein

“The Art of Racing in the Rain” is narrated by Enzo. Enzo is a dog who was adopted by a race car driver, Denny. When the book opens, Enzo is near the end of his life. He narrates the story about his life with Denny, plus Denny’s wife Eve and daughter Zoe, and everything that’s happened in their time together. It’s a heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope — a captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life

‘THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB’

by Richard Osman

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club. When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly nd themselves in the middle of their rst live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it’s too late?

‘THE DEAD ROMANTICS’

by Ashley Poston

Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most proli c romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem — after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. Then she must return home for the rst time in a decade to help bury her beloved father. And even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. She hates it. Until she nds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is.

‘STILL LIFE’

by Sarah Winman

As Allied troops advance and bombs fall around deserted villages, an English soldier, Ulysses, nds himself in the wine cellar of a deserted Tuscan villa. There, he has a chance encounter with Evelyn, a middle-aged art historian who has come to Italy to salvage paintings from the ruins and recall memories of her own youth. In each other, Ulysses and Evelyn nd a kindred spirit amidst the rubble of war-torn Italy. As Ulysses returns home to London, re-immersing himself in his crew at The Stoat and Parot — a motley mix of pub crawlers and eccentrics — he carries his time in Italy with him. And when an unexpected inheritance brings him back to where it all began, Ulysses knows better than to tempt fate, and returns to the Tuscan hills.

‘LESS’

by Andrews Sean Greer

Who says you can’t run away from your problems? You are a failed novelist about to turn 50. A wedding invitation arrives in the

BOOKSHELF THE BOOKWORM mail: your boyfriend of the past nine years is engaged to someone else. You can’t say yes — it would be too awkward — and you can’t say no — it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of invitations to half-baked literary events around the world. How do you arrange to skip town? You accept them all. What would possibly go wrong? Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

‘VIRGIL WANDER’

by Leif Enger

Movie house owner Virgil Wander is “cruising along at medium altitude” when his car flies off the road into icy Lake Superior.

Virgil survives but his language and memory are altered and he emerges into a world no longer familiar to him. Virgil begins to piece together his personal history and the lore of his broken town, with the help of a cast of curious locals — from Rune, a pipe-smoking, kite-flying stranger investigating the mystery of his disappeared son; to Nadine, the reserved, enchanting wife of the vanished man; to Tom, a journalist and Virgil’s oldest friend; and various members of the Pea family who must confront tragedies of their own.

‘HOOK, LINE & SINKER’

by Tessa Bailey