In 2024 I did 'Reading the Seasons' and for Winter I read Arthur Ransome's Winter Holiday, Winter in the Air by Sylvia Townsend Warner, The Woods in Winter by Stella Gibbons and The Winter Killer by Alex Pine.
Since then I've gained two books with Winter titles for my shelves- one is the winter word dictionary mentioned yesterday and then The Nature of Winter by Jim Crumley, found at a charity book-sale in the Autumn.
( I also bought The Nature of Autumn at the same time and the library tells me I'd borrowed The Nature of Spring at sometime too, but have no recollection of reading it).
I've not got around to reading further than the prologue of The Nature of Winter yet but can already see he is a good nature writer. I've also not had a chance to properly read the two books that I got myself for Christmas as a gift from BiL.
A Year to Slow Down has a Further Reading/ Resources list at the back which includes a book written by by Emma Mitchell - A Wild Remedy; How Nature Mends Us. In 2017 Emma Mitchell also wrote Making Winter: A Creative Guide to Surviving the Winter Months so maybe she was the first to write about coping with winter depression. Another book in the list is Wintering; The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. That dates from 2020 which is when I read it, although I don't remember if it helped me survive winter!
When I was looking for the date of that book I kept coming up with information of everyone else who's written similar........How to Winter; Harness your Mindset to Thrive in Difficult Times by Kari Leibowitz. The Gifts of Winter; How to Uncover Seasonal Joy, Health and Happiness by Dr Stephanie Fitzgerald and Winter Wellbeing:Seasonal Selfcare by Cico Books(no author) and finally Self Care for Winter by Suzy Reading. All published in 2024 or 2025.
Even crime writer Val McDermid is joining in with a new book that I brought home from the library van. Although this is more about the things she enjoys about Winter rather than just surviving it.....
.............love the front cover - an illustration by Phillip Harris.
I've reserved the books by Kari Leibowitz and Stephanie Fitzgerald from the library - long waiting lists for both so it will be Spring before I get them!
Writing books about Winter survival is obviously a lucrative business! I wonder how we got through without them?!