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Brrrr!  It’s really cold outside!  It’s also Tuesday!  You know what that means, another edition of Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!  This week we’re going to talk about cozy, wintry reads.  I’m not sure if all of these will be all that wintry, but I’ll do my best!

The Immortal Nicholas – Glenn Beck.  Ever wonder if Santa ever had anything to do with Jesus?  What about that Krampus dude?  This is a beautiful story that incorporates both.  The first time I read this book, I was in tears for the last 50, 100 pages or so.  It was just so sad.  And the ending is beautiful too.

My True Love Gave to Me – various.  This was on my fall TBR from earlier this year.  I still haven’t finished reading all of the stories (I’m on this insane mission to read Clockwork Angel, Lady Midnight, Lord of Shadows, and Queen of Air and Darkness back to back) but so far these are pretty good, and Christmassy too.  Out of the three stories I’ve read so far, I think I like “Midnights” by Rainbow Rowell the best.

The Long Winter – Laura Ingalls Wilder.  There’s something about the Little House on the Prairie books that make me think of the winter.  Some of the books are very summery, but there are several books that are not.  The Long Winter and Little House in the Big Woods are books from this series that have a lot of wintry appeal.

Carve the Mark – Veronica Roth.  For the last couple of years, I’ve always thought it was a shame, because Carve the Mark and it’s sequel, The Fates Divide, came out in the beginning of the year, when I’m less likely to think of them by the time I start thinking of my Top Ten Books I Read for the First Time in 20xx List.  Nevertheless, this book belongs on the wintry list because of the cold climate that a lot of the book is set in.

Game of Thrones – George R.R. Martin.  I read this in the spring and summer, but this is definitely a wintry read.  Most of the story happens either in a cold climate or when “winter is coming.”  This series takes forever to read, so you just might finish this one up by the time spring is here.

Frostblood – Elly Blake.  The title literally says “Frost” in it.  Perhaps that should give you a clue that this is not a warm, summery book.

The Midnight Star – Marie Lu.  This is the third book in The Young Elites series, so I wouldn’t start here, but most of this book takes place in the cold (see the cold mountains on the cover).  I bought the Spanish edition of this book in the summer but haven’t gotten around to reading it yet… maybe now, when it’s nice and cold, would be a good time to do it.

The 5th Wave – Rick Yancey.  Don’t feel bad if you don’t want to read the remaining books in this series, but the first book in The 5th Wave series was really good.  Not all of this series takes place in the winter, but part of it does, and perhaps I associate this book with winter because I read it in the winter.  It will suck you in and make you forget that the wind is howling outside your house.

Legend – Marie Lu.  This is another book that I associate with winter.  I guess this series mostly does occur in the winter (the book starts on November 28th, 2031), but it takes place in Los Angeles, so it doesn’t really feel all that cold.  Maybe one of the reasons why I associate this book with winter is that I read the Spanish edition at the very end of December one year, with the snow flying and all that.

Caraval – Stephanie Garber.  Why does Caraval remind me of winter?  I have no clue?  I don’t know why, but for some reason it does.  Perhaps it’s because Christmas is a magical time, and this book is full of magic.  Even though this might not be specifically a wintry book, this is a book that you can certainly snuggle up under a blanket with a cup of hot tea and read.

I hope you liked this edition of Top Ten Tuesday.  Now that NaNoWriMo is over, I need to start writing these farther ahead of time than 12 hours before it’s due!  That being said, next week is a freebie edition of the series, and I’m planning on writing about books that I read as ARCs that need a little more love!  A lot of books don’t get the marketing that they should, but they’re still really good!  I’ll be writing about some of those.

It’s Tuesday again, and that means another Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl).  NaNoWriMo has been keeping me busy, and I’m writing this a lot closer to the deadline than I would like, but I’ve got my 50k in (now I just have to finish writing the book).  Today’s topic is Platonic Relationships in Books.  In most books, the main ship is what makes or breaks the book for me, but there are a lot of books with platonic relationships as well.  Some books do an amazing job with both types of relationships.  These are the books that came to mind.

Caraval – When I first thought of this topic, the first book that came to my mind was Caraval.  Even though they both find love in these books, Scarlett and Tella’s sisterly relationship is really at the heart of these books.  Stephanie Garber does a great job depicting how they care for each other.

Little House on the Prairie – Another book that came to mind when thinking about platonic relationships was Little House on the Prairie.  Almost the entire series features platonic relationships.  The early books mostly focus on Laura’s relationship with her parents and sisters; it isn’t until the very last of the series that we see Laura’s relationship with Almanzo develop.

Fangirl – A lot of Fangirl focuses on Cath’s relationship to her twin sister, Ren.  Although there is a love interest in this book, it isn’t the only focus, and is certainly not the most dramatic relationship in the book either.

Fawkes – Fawkes is another book with a bit of romance in it, but it’s not the only relationship of note in this book.  Much of this book focuses on Thomas’s relationship with his father, the notorious Guy Fawkes.  We all want our parents to be proud of us (well, most of us do) so it’s a relationship that we can relate to.

Strange the Dreamer – While a lot of Strange focuses on Lazlo’s relationship with Sarai, there are a lot of other relationships highlighted in this book.  Lazlo and Sarai don’t even meet until well into the book, after all.  Lazlo has relationships (some good and some not-so-good) with the people around him, and Sarai has relationships with the other blue gods that she’s stuck with.  Without all of these supporting characters, this book would certainly be lacking.

The Mortal Instruments – This series wouldn’t be the same without Clary and Simon’s friendship.  It goes through a lot of testing in this six-book series, and I love them for it.  While a lot of this book focuses on Clary and Jace, without Simon, this book would be lacking.  In fact, this series contains several great friendships.  Without them, this series definitely wouldn’t be the same.

Red Queen – Mare in Red Queen is close to her family members.  Even though we see a lot of the evil Maven and want to know what is going on with her and Cal, these aren’t the only relationships of note in the book.  Mare is close to her best friend Kilorn and her siblings, and develops friendships with other characters throughout the series.

Chronicles of Narnia – The Chronicles of Narnia is full of platonic relationships.  The Pevensie siblings have the most important platonic relationships in the series, but there are definitely others to look for.

Lord of the Rings – I think the most important platonic relationship in the Lord of the Rings series is that between Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.  Good old Sam is always at his side supporting him.  There are other great friendships in this series as well.

Carve the Mark – When I think of Carve the Mark, I admit, I do think of Akos and Cyra; however, they’re not the only great relationship in this book.  Akos cares a great deal for his brother, as well as his childhood friends.  The supporting relationships help drive the story and make this a much more interesting book.

What do you think?  What are your favorite platonic relationships in books?  I still have a lot to write in my NaNoWriMo novel, but at least I hit my 50k goal and can spend more time reading what you have to say.

Next week:  Cozy, Wintry Reads.  Brrr!  It’s so cold outside, and the roads can sometimes be hazardous!  I actually spun my car around while driving home from work Saturday night (and I was only going about 20 mph; good thing nobody else was around).  I’d rather stay home if at all possible.  Next week we focus on some books to read while avoiding the cold and hazardous road conditions!