Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar 2025

Every so often, winter gives us an unexpected gift.

A day when the world pauses. Roads quieten. Plans dissolve. Messages change from “on my way” to “let’s see how it goes.” Whether caused by real snowfall or simply the sense that nothing much is expected of us, these are what I think of as snow days — even when the snow exists only in spirit.

Snow days create rare pockets of unclaimed time.

They don’t ask us to be efficient. They don’t reward multitasking. They invite us to settle. To stretch an afternoon. To let hours blur together without apology.

And few things suit this kind of time better than a book that knows how to hold you.

Snow day books are immersive without being exhausting. They are absorbing rather than demanding. Once you enter them, they create their own weather system — one you’re happy to stay inside for a while.

I remember a winter afternoon when everything I had planned quietly fell away. Outside, the light was flat and pale. Inside, a novel opened a door into another life entirely. When I finally looked up, the room had darkened and the day was gone. It felt like a gift I hadn’t known I needed.

That is the particular magic of snow day reading:

It allows us to disappear safely.

Today, on Day 16 of our Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar, I invite you to prepare for your next pause. Choose a book that can stretch across a long afternoon. One that doesn’t mind being read in great, generous chunks.

❄️ Today’s Reading Picks — “Snow Day Books”

Immersive reads perfect for unplanned time:

• The Goldfinch — Donna Tartt
• The Year of Magical Thinking — Joan Didion
• The Hare with Amber Eyes — Edmund de Waal
• A Room with a View — E. M. Forster

These are books that make it easy to lose track of the clock — and feel grateful when you do.

You can explore the full Advent Calendar titles here:
👉 Visit the “Advent Calendar” collection on Bookshop.org

And if you’d like to stay wrapped in winter a little longer:
👉 Visit the Cosy Winter Fiction Shelf

• The Undesired — Yrsa Sigurðardóttir: You might want to sleep with the light on after reading this book.
• Home Before Dark — Eva Bjorg Ægisdottir: Ppsychological thriller that is dark, chilling and atmospheric.
• Murder on the Orient Express — Agatha Christie: The world’s greatest detective, Hercule Poirot, must identify the prime suspects from among the small but disparate group of remaining passengers– before the murderer decides to strike again.
• Wolf Winter — Cecilia Ekback: Exquisitely suspenseful, beautifully written and highly recommended mystery.
• Snowblind — Ragnar Jónasson: Chilling, thrilling slice of Icelandic Noir.
• In the Midst of Winter — Isabel Allende: Beautifully crafted, multi-generational novel of struggle, endurance and friendship against the odds.
• Beartown — Fredrik Backman: Surefooted insight into the absurdity, beauty and ache of life.
• The Winter People – Jennifer McMahon: Simmering psychological thriller about ghostly secrets, dark choices and the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters.
• The Great Alone — Kristin Hannah: Unforgettable portrait of human frailty, resilience and American pioneering spirit.
• One by One — Ruth Ware: Sense of dread deepens as the snow falls in tensely plotted and deliciously cast alpine thriller.
• The Land in Winter — Andrew Miller: Novel of dazzling humanity and captivating, crystalline prose.
• City of Thieves — David Benioff: Captivating novel about war, courage, survival and a remarkable friendship that ripples across a lifetime.
• Snow Falling on Cedars — David Guterson: Murder mystery, sweet love story, tale of predjudice and hardship, and a coming to terms with one’s failings.
• Snow Country — Yasunari Kawabata: Work of beauty and strangeness, one of the most distinguished and moving of Japanese novels.
• The Bear and The Nightingale — Katherine Arden: Atmospheric and enchanting, with an engrossing adventure at its core.

When the world slows unexpectedly, don’t rush to fill the space.
Let a book take over.
And let the day unfold as slowly as it wishes.