Anyone feeling like they want to ease into January and the New Year or is it just me lol? I haven’t read in a while and I want to get back into the habit of picking up a book and sticking with it. I’m hoping that by focusing my attention on cozy books, I may have an easier time sticking with a book rather than veering away from it.
The list of books I’ve got in this TBR are cozy in different ways. I don’t like going into books knowing the complete synopsis so with some of these books, I’m making an assumption on it’s potential for coziness.
Albert Entwistle is a private man with a quiet, simple life. He lives alone with his cat Gracie. And he’s a postman. At least he was a postman until, three months before his sixty-fifth birthday, he receives a letter from the Royal Mail thanking him for decades of service and stating he is being forced into retirement.
At once, Albert’s sole connection with his world unravels. Every day as a mail carrier, he would make his way through the streets of his small English town, delivering letters and parcels and returning greetings with a quick wave and a “how do?” Without the work that fills his days, what will be the point? He has no friends, family, or hobbies—just a past he never speaks of, and a lost love that fills him with regret.
And so, rather than continue his lonely existence, Albert forms a brave plan to start truly living. It’s finally time to be honest about who he is. To seek the happiness he’s always denied himself. And to find the courage to look for George, the man that, many years ago, he loved and lost—but has never forgotten. As he does, something extraordinary happens. Albert finds unlikely allies, new friends, and proves it’s never too late to live, to hope, and to love.
I picked up this book when I was with a friend to read together. The cover itself is so soft and cozy looking. An old gay man revisiting his past of missed opportunities? Count, me, in. There’s also something extra cozy about British books. I really love British humor and I don’t know if the author is British themselves but I like how a lot of their shows and literature balance humor and depth. They’ve got this signature balance that I really vibe with.
It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.
Already an international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.
I picked this book up solely because it has snow on it, it’s green, and it’s tiny lol. I think that flying through a small book is the perfect way to get over a reading slump because you get that quick burst of satisfaction when you’ve finished it. While it looks cozy, I’m a bit suspicious about it as the title makes it seem like something that may make me cry. It has that heavy feeling title that’s marketed as a cozy fun time and is instead a slice of life of someone going through some tough things.
Elinor Noel—Nory for short—is quite content running her secondhand bookshop in London. Forever torn between her working-class upbringing and her classmates’ extravagant lifestyles at the posh private school she attended on scholarship, Nory has finally figured out how to keep both at equal distance. So when two of her oldest friends invite their whole gang to spend the time leading up to their wedding together at the castle near their old school, Nory must prepare herself for an emotionally complicated few days.
The reunion brings back fond memories, but also requires Nory to dodge an ill-advised former fling. When she falls quite literally into the arms of Isaac, the castle’s head gardener, who has nothing but contempt for the “snobby prep school kids,” the attraction between them is undeniable. And as Nory spends more time with Isaac during the wedding festivities, she finds herself falling hard for the boy she used to consider an enemy. Nory and Isaac explore their common ground, but pressures mount on all sides, and Nory must decide what kind of life she wants to live and what sort of love is worth the risk . . .
We have another British book! First of all, this cover is absolutely gorgeous. The colors go so well together. I’ve heard that there’s a whole genre of British romance and I’m ashamed to say that as someone who used to love reading what felt like only romance, I haven’t read many British romance books. Honestly, I can’t think of a single British romance book right now that’s not this lol. The thing that drew me to this book besides the cover is that one of the main characters owns a second hand bookstore. Notting Hill anyone? And yes, I know this is a Christmas book but I’m not done enjoying the comforts of the holiday season since mine was a bit too chaotic for my liking. I deserve at least another week of holiday coziness in retribution for the gray hairs I grew during my holiday season lol.
A professor invites a colleague from the art department to his home to view a painting he has kept secret for decades in Susan Vreeland’s powerful historical novel, Girl in Hyacinth Blue. The professor swears it’s a Vermeer — but why exactly has he kept it hidden so long? The reasons unfold in a gripping sequence of stories that trace ownership of the work back to Amsterdam during World War II and still further to the moment of the painting’s inception.
I’m such a fun of history and recently have fallen in love with art history after watching a documentary on an art theft and visiting a museum. There’s something so powerful about the way art ages across times even though its creators have long gone. There’s beauty in what we can see and what we’ll never know and I think that’s what amazing about studying art. Also, this is another tiny book and it’s quite floppy so I’m hoping to read this one fairly soon.
Girl in the Hyacinth Blue looks interesting! I eased into 2022, but 2023 has been more like tumbling down a hill of books.
I feel like everyone’s 2023 has started off a bit rocky. I hope you find some good books and things calm down!