Monday Discussion: Blizzard Reading

So here in Chicagoland we are preparing for close to 2ft of snow in the next 48 hours.  I am stocking up at the grocery store today, but we could all be inside for awhile.  In fact we have been swamped this morning with people coming in to stock up on books for the blizzard.  So this got me thinking, what do all of you like to read on the long cold nights of winter, especially during a blizzard?

Some readers like to embrace the chill and concentrate their reading on even colder set stories, while others go to the further extreme and read books set in tropical locales.

So it got me thinking? What do I do?  I went back and looked at the books I read in January and February over the last few years.  I found that without making a conscious effort, I tended to read psychological suspense in greater numbers during these coldest, snowiest months.

Why, I wonder?  Thinking about my own reading habits, I think I tend toward these darker, complicated stories in the winter months because they are so compelling to me personally.  I get wrapped up in the plot twists and the unsettling tone and forget about everything else that is going on around me.  For me, these are stories that beg me to curl up by the fire and read them for hours.  Also, when you I am "snowed in," the creepy atmosphere is enhanced by the isolation of a big winter storm.

Two I read last winter which were particularly enjoyable were The Little Stranger and Await Your Reply.  And this weekend, I just began Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King, on audio.  The first story is 100% psychological suspense.

For more psychological suspense options, you can use this link to everything I have tagged psychological suspense.

But that is just me.  Every reader will have their own preference.  For example, Betty, here at the BPL RA desk, already put her two cents into the conversation by creating a 10 title small display, "Murder in Cold Places"  Here are the titles she included in her annotated list.

• The Dead of Winter by Rennie Airth
• Blood on the Tongue by Stephen Booth
• The Alpine Pursuit by Mary Daheim
• A Cold Christmas by Charlene Weir
• Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley
• A Fine and Bitter Snow by Dana Stabenow
• Iron Lake by William Kent Kruger
• The Marble Mask by Archer Mayor
• Still Life by Louise Penny (which I read here, ironically while on the beach during Spring Break)
• Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith

Now it's your turn.  For today's Monday Discussion, let me know what you like to read during the long cold winter.

Remember you can follow past Monday Discussions here.