Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar 2025

There is a posture that belongs almost entirely to winter.

It’s not sitting upright at a desk.
It’s not lying flat with intention.
It’s something in between — knees drawn up, shoulders softened, book resting wherever it finds space.

A posture that says:

I am not going anywhere.

Curling up with a book is one of the first reading habits many of us ever learn. As children, we instinctively read this way — on sofas, on beds, on the floor, tucked into corners that feel safe and small. Somewhere in adulthood, many of us forget that reading is allowed to be physical. Comfortable. Nest-like.

But winter remembers for us.

I noticed this one evening when I realised I had been trying to read “properly” — straight-backed, alert, almost performative. The book felt distant. Then I shifted. Blanket pulled closer. Legs tucked in. The change was immediate. My body relaxed — and my attention followed.

That’s the quiet truth of curling up to read:

Comfort invites presence.

When the body feels safe, the mind wanders more freely into story. There’s less resistance. Less restlessness. Curling up is not laziness; it is a form of listening — a way of telling the book you are willing to stay.

Winter offers us permission to read this way again. To choose softness over structure. To let the book fit around us, rather than forcing ourselves to fit around the book.

Today, on Day 17 of our Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar, I invite you to reclaim this small, forgotten art. Build yourself a nest. Adjust until nothing aches. Let the outside world recede — and allow a story to come closer.

🛋️ Today’s Reading Picks — “Curl-Up-With-Me Books”

Quiet, comforting reads that pair perfectly with blankets and stillness:

• Possession — A. S. Byatt
• Small Things Like These — Claire Keegan
• Gilead — Marilynne Robinson
• Persuasion — Jane Austen

These are books that don’t rush you. They sit patiently until you are ready to lean in.

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

And if you’d like to linger in this softness 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.

Tonight, don’t worry about posture or progress.
Just find a comfortable corner.
Curl up.
And let the book do the rest.