Best 2020 Winter Books

20 Books That You'll Want to Curl Up With This Winter

Dec 11 2019 by Gemma Cartwright

It might be the ultimate cliché to say it, but there is simply no better way to pass the time on a cold Winter's day than to curl up with a good book. Some authors even release special books purely for the festive season, especially in the world of romantic fiction, where there is definitely no shortage of Christmassy stories to pick up when you've worked you way through all those Netflix festive movies.

As Christmas and New Year's end, there'll still be plenty to keep you occupied through the shorter days of January and February, and if you're planning on tackling the 2020 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge, you'll want to make sure each book matches a prompt on the list. Luckily, we've got some help there: for each of the 20 choices ahead, we've highlighted some of the relevant prompts from the challenge that the books apply to. What are you waiting for? Locate the comfiest chair in the house, charge up your kindle, and get reading!

The Giver of Stars

The latest novel from Jojo Moyes, best known for Me Without You, The Giver of Stars is another tearjerker, telling the story of a woman who moves to America to start a new life and begins working for a travelling library.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book with at least 4 stars on Goodreads, a book recommended by your favourite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club.

Through the Wall

An engaging thriller you won't be able to put down, Caroline Corcoran's debut novel Through the Wall follows two neighbours who each think they want what the other has . . . but one will go to extreme measures to get it.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book featuring one of the seven deadly sins (envy), a book with a three-word title, a book by or about a journalist.

The Sun SIster

The penultimate book in Lucinda Riley's seven sisters series, The Sun Sister follows strong-willed supermodel Electra as she discovers secrets about her past, taking the action from New York to Paris, and Kenya.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book with a 3-word title, a book with a main character in their 20s.

The Secret Commonwealth

If you've been watching His Dark Materials, then you'll devour the latest novel in the spin-of series The Book of Dust. The Secret Commonwealth which picks up the story almost ten years after Lyra and Will completed their quest in the land of the dead.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book you meant to read in 2019, a book with more than 20 letters in its title.

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'Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas

A fun short read about the perils of working in an NHS hospital during the festive season, Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas is the sequel to This is Going to Hurt, Adam Kay's diaries about his life as a junior doctor, and it's just as compelling.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book with a pun in the title, a book with more than 20 letters in its title.

A Woman Is No Man

Finally released in paperback this Winter, A Woman Is No Man is a multi-award-winning debut novel telling the story of the three generations of Palestinian-American women.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book by a WOC, a book that passes the Bechdel test, a book with at least a 4-star rating on Goodreads.

Christmas Cakes & Mistletoe Nights

With over 30 women's fiction novels under her belt, Carole Matthews definitely knows how to spin a yarn, and her fun and Christmas Cakes & Mistletoe Nights is the perfect thing to get you in the mood for the festive season.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book by an author who has written more than 20 books, a book with a bird on the cover, a book with more than 20 letters in its title.

The Penmaker's Wife

Described as Alias Grace meets Peaky Blinders, The Penmaker's Wife is historical fiction at its most dramatic, with plenty of twists, turns, and memorable moments.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book with a 3-word title.

So Lucky

TV presenter and Author Dawn O'Porter is back with So Lucky, a story told from three perspectives, which explores the challenges women face in the modern world, particularly when it comes to that all-important glossy Instagram feed.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book about or involving social media.

Peaky Blinders: The Real Story

Historian Carl Chinn has revamped and reworked his nonfiction study of Birmingham gangs to take advantage of the popularity of the BBC show Peaky Blinders. Peaky Blinders: The Real Story is a must-read for fans of the show, or indeed anyone interested in lesser-known elements of British history.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book on a subject you know nothing about, a book set in the 1920s.

A Wedding in December

The title says it all, A Wedding in December has all the hallmarks of the perfect curled-up-by-the-fire festive romance. Set in Aspen, it follows a family preparing for the perfect Winter wedding, with a few bumps along the way.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book by an author who has written more than 20 books, a book with a bird on the cover.

No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference

If you still haven't got round to reading this collection of Greta Thunberg's most powerful speeches, now is definitely the time. No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference should be required reading.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book you meant to read in 2019, a book with more than 20 letters in its title, an anthology, a book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics.

The Queen of Nothing

The final book in Holly Black's Folk of the Air series, The Queen of Nothing is a magical conclusion to a bestselling YA series, which will take you into a whole new world of magic, treachery, and faeries.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book with a map, a book by an author with flora or fauna in their name, a book by an author who has written more than 20 books.

Blue Moon

Jack Reacher is still going strong, 24 stories in. Lee Child's latest thriller, Blue Moon sees Reacher finding himself involved in all the usual dramatic events after stopping a mugging on a greyhound bus.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book from a series with more than 20 books, a book by an author who's written more than 20 books.

Fleabag the Scriptures

Combining the filming scrips from the much-loved series, plus new writing from Phobe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag: The Scriptures is a must for any fan of the show, and will give you a whole new appreciation not just for the writer, but for all the cast too.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book you picked up because the title caught your attention, a book that passes the Bechdel test, a book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics.

The Confession

The bestselling author of The Miniaturist, Jessie Burton returns with The Confession, a perceptive and engaging novel that asks questions about female relationships and identity, with plenty of secrets along the way.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book that passes the Bechdel test.

Where the Crawdads Sing

One of the most talked-about books of 2019, Where the Crawdads Sing finally gets its paperback release in December, making it a no-brainer to add to your list if you haven't already.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a bildungsroman, a book with a pink cover, a book you meant to read in 2019.

The Dressmaker's Gift

Set in 1940s, The Dressmaker's Gift is a must for fans of historical fiction, combining tales of wartime Paris with a modern thread.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book with a 3-word title, a book set in a city that's hosted the Olympics, a book with a bird on the cover.

The Garden of Lost and Found

Flitting between time periods, The Garden of Lost and Found tells the story of four generations who inhabit the mysterious Nightingale House, home of the garden in the title. Fans of family sagas and historical dramas will love it.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book with more than 20 letters in its title, a book with a bird on the cover.

A Perfect Cornish Christmas

Curl up with some serious festive escapism when you want to escape the family this Christmas. A Perfect Cornish Christmas is like a big warm hug, set in the town of Porthmellow ahead of its Christmas festival.

Relevant POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompts: a book with a bird on the cover.