Top Ten Tuesday: Books to Read During a Storm


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Thank you to Astilbe for submitting this theme!

I’m tweaking the theme a little so I can share some books that turn weather or nature into a character.

A photo of a willow tree whose every branch has been coated with a thick layer of ice. The tree is white with ice! There is a bright blue sky behind the tree that only makes the ice prettier. I don’t know about all of you, but sometimes when a particularly bad snowstorm or blizzard hits southern Ontario it almost feels like there’s an angry creature shrieking outside as it tosses snow everywhere.

Logically, I know it’s just the wind, of course, but it’s fun to imagine more paranormal explanations for why the weather is so dangerous that day.

Here are ten books where the weather – whether snowy, sunny, bone-dry or otherwise – feels like another character to contend with. I suspect that all of them would good reads during a storm.

1. Dry by Neal Shusterman

2. The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong

3. Trapped by Michael Northrop

4. To Build a Fire by Christophe Chabouté

5. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

6. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

7. Snow by John Banville

8. The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane

9. Summer at Mount Hope by Rosalie Ham

10. Rose in a Storm by Jon Katz

48 Comments

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48 Responses to Top Ten Tuesday: Books to Read During a Storm

  1. Great list. I loved Mexican Gothic!

  2. Yes, I often feel like weather is another character in a story!

  3. Karis @ This Side of Storyland

    I love this idea!! I haven’t read any of these, but now I want to!

  4. Great take on the topic, Lydia! I still have Dry on my TBR but this is how I felt about the weather in A Force of Nature by Jane Harper (and coincidentally, I believe I have that on my list today, lol)

  5. This was a great take on the topic! I can definitely hear extremely loud winds these days – sounds like wailing. Interesting that almost all of your picks had something about the weather in their names too.

  6. As someone who doesn’t experience a lot of storms due to the climate, I can definitely understand why you’d think there were banshees outside!

    Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!

  7. Good choices though I threw Snow across the room from the icky child sexual abuse scene…. (was it a dream in the book–can’t remember now)

  8. Great choices! I’ve read a few of these. Four Winds by Hannah definitely fits!

  9. I feel like I used to see so many readers who loved Neal Shusterman’s books. I never read any though. Same with Kristin Hannah, too. Thanks a bunch for visiting my list today!

  10. Yes! You’re right that the weather can seem like a character when it’s central to the story and drives the action!

  11. I am very interested in Dry, but I also think it will make me very anxious because I live in a city where it doesn’t rain much and drinking water will be a problem in the future.

  12. Great list! Since I don’t live in a snowy area, I never have experienced the feeling of a supernatural creature tossing snow around. The closest I’ve come is the rare crazy-windy rainstorms, when it feels like someone is determined to make the rain get in every dry space left.

  13. Adding SNOW to my reading list. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. and THE FOUR WINDS — Wow, what a story!

    Please drop me a comment. I am trying to figure out if others can get through whatever barriers my provider has placed in our way. And I need the data. Thank you. My books which include snowy scenes

    • I just left you a comment.

      The little thing that pops up and asks the reader to click which photos have certain items in them was off-centre in your post. Maybe that’s part of the problem?

  14. I heard great things about Mexican Gothic!

  15. I can’t think of any books off the top of my head that do this, but I know I have read some. It is super cool when the weather acts as a character to the story. Great topic idea!

  16. Joanne

    So interesting that you’ve included The Four Winds. It’s in my list too but I chose ten great audiobooks to listen to in a storm!

  17. Dry is one of my favorite dystopias!

  18. Great choices this week! I haven’t read Mexican Gothic yet, but it is on my wish list. Thanks for sharing and for visiting my blog today.

  19. I love your twist on the theme. I’ve only read Mexican Gothic on your list but there are others I’d love to read.

  20. I loved Mexican Gothic! I’ve read Scythe by Neal Shusterman but not Dry.

  21. vidya

    I haven’t read any of these but have had a couple of either the books themselves or other books by the authors on my TBR for a while now..

  22. I have not heard of these books but I really like how you described the weather as being a character. I’m hard of hearing so unless the weather is right on me, I don’t hear these things but your vision kind of makes me wish I could hear more.

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