Hello, everyone! As someone who historically loathes whatever season I’m presently amidst (except autumn — I’ll always love the fall time), I’ve made a very conscious effort over the last few years to romanticize and fully appreciate whatever time of year I’m at. One of the best ways I’ve found for me to do that is to immerse myself in various media I feel encapsulates that time. I use music the most as it’s the easiest to consume and pair with day-to-day activities, but I also enjoy utilizing books and movies. Food and crafts, too, but that’s for another time.
Winter feels a little tricky for this, though, because so much of it is tied up in the holidays despite it being a somewhat small sliver of the season. I know for me at least, it can be harder to pin down what makes winter enjoyable beyond holiday cheer and such — this is my attempt at establishing the other! (Some of these could be considered autumn-leaning, too, but I’ve only included ones I feel can go both ways.)
Books
There’s something so winteresque about the very cozy and the very desolate to me. Although I’ve not read all of these (Jane Eyre and Rebecca, for example), I think they fit from what I know of them!
The Cozy
- Demon in the Wood (Grishaverse, #0) by Leigh Bardugo
- The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic (Grishaverse companion) by Leigh Bardugo
- Shadow and Bone (Shadow and Bone, #1) by Leigh Bardugo
- Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) by Leigh Bardugo
- The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, #2) by C.S. Lewis
The Desolate
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
- The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
- If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The In-Between
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Films
Some of the ones I’ve included here do have a Christmassy vein to them, at least in a few scenes, but I’ve avoided including pure Christmas movies.
The Cozy
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005), dir. Andrew Adamson
- Corpse Bride (2005), dir. Tim Burton & Mike Johnson
- Little Women (1994), dir. Gillian Armstrong
- Little Women (2019), dir. Greta Gerwig
The Desolate
- Girl, Interrupted (1999), dir. James Mangold
- Heathers (1989), dir. Michael Lehmann
- Misery (1990), dir. Rob Reiner
- The Shining (1980), dir. Stanley Kubrick
- The Virgin Suicides (1999), dir. Sofia Coppola
The In-Between
- Dead Poets Society (1989), dir. Peter Weir
- Edward Scissorhands (1990), dir. Tim Burton
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), dir. Michael Gondry
- Frances Ha (2012), dir. Noah Baumbach
Music
I love weepy acoustic music in the winter months! I’ve included mostly full albums, but I also enjoy assorted Stevie Nicks, The Cranberries, Bob Dylan, etc. Sometimes the melancholic stuff does wear on me a little and I go for something a bit more punchy/energetic, though.
Indie Folk / Folk Pop
- Elliott Smith by Elliott Smith (1995)
- Evermore by Taylor Swift (2020)
- Get Z to a Nunnery by Z Berg (2020)
- Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers (2020)
- If I Could Fly by Jon Walker (2021) [single, One Direction cover]
Indie R&B
- JAMIE by Montell Fish (2022)
Rock / Rock Adjacent
- Live From Nowhere by Kelsy Karter (2021) [specifically track 2, Angels Like You (Miley Cyrus cover)]
- Stomachaches by Frank Iero (2014) [specifically tracks 4 & 7 to match the tone of the rest of this list]
Soundtracks
- Edward Scissorhands by Danny Elfman (1990)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Jon Brion (2004)
I’m not sure if anyone’s interested in the music and movie recommendations, but I know for me, all the media feeds back into each other; I like a sampling of all of it. Next week I’ll hopefully have more books to talk about but, for right now, this is what I have to offer! I hope you enjoy. 🙂
Have you consumed any of the media mentioned? If so, did/do you enjoy it? Why, or why not? What are your favorite winter rituals and media? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!
Little Bit of All That 
Loving the Leigh Bardugo representation! Ravka definitely feels like a wintry place, and I can’t imagine Ketterdam ever becoming a sunny, summer paradise either!
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I can’t bring myself to rave about books without mentioning the Grishaverse! All you mentioned plus the focal point of Fjerda and the Ice Court in Six of Crows just add even more to the wintry vibes. 😉
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When it’s cold out I love curling up and watching movies. Love love love Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind! Little Women is also a great comfort watch for me. And I’m a sucker for Taylor Swift’s Folklore and Evermore.
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Getting to cozy up is definitely one of the best parts of chilly weather! So ideal for spending time with good books, movies, and music — you can’t go wrong with those picks. 🙂
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Ok, I love Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind!! It’s so underrated in my opinion! Also, my favorite fall album is probably Evermore by Taylor Swift, but Midnights is actually a great winter record!
My favorite thing to do in winter time is staying in, have some hot tea or coffee, and read a book. Maybe even watch a movie if I feel like it! I would recommend the movie Bluejay on Netflix, it’s my comfort movie right now! I really enjoyed your post!!
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Thank you so much for reading and for the recommendations! I’ll be sure to check out Bluejay. 🙂 I haven’t listened to Midnights in full in a while–Evermore is in such strong rotation during fall and winter for me–but I definitely see what you mean! All this talk is definitely making me want to go ahead and drink some tea and cozy up…
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[…] Girl was also one I was looking forward to for the wintertime (despite it being primarily set in the summer). I only pick up thrillers on occasion, and I knew […]
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