The Bookhive List: 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt

This book hits all my quadrants, so to speak: college students, New England, Classics majors, and un-ironic Bacchanalia that somehow manages never to feel smutty. The weather is turning cooler (at least in Michigan), and all I can think about are apples and pumpkins, so now is the time to get your hands on The Secret History, a novel meant to be read fireside, wrapped in Pendelton wools and Aran sweaters, with a steaming mug of grog or hot toddy in hand (I'd give you a recipe but I'm a spoiled jerk who married someone incredibly good at mixing drinks, so I just shout "Toddy, please!" like a woman with a butler and it magically appears in front of me). Many people loved Tartt's more recent novel The Goldfinch; even more people hated it -- I still haven't read it and probably won't get around to it anytime soon -- BUT! -- either way, don't let that stop you from The Secret History, which is incredible and is probably the real reason why she won the Pulitzer Prize. 

The Bookhive List is a weekly recommendation of my all-time favorite, must-read books.

Books to Lean In to the Cold

Some people want to escape the cold this time of year, but I'm one to revel in the changing seasons. In Michigan, you don't have much of a choice anyway. For me, winter is all about lazy weekends on the couch, lots of slowly cooked soups and roasts, and flipping through seed catalogs, dreaming of spring.  The following titles are my suggestions for those who want to enjoy winter while it's here:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis -- It's always winter but never Christmas and kids run around in huge fur coats. If you haven't read this since you were a pre-teen, do yourself a favor and pick it up because it's still a great book.

His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman -- This series warrants a much longer post and eventually it'll get one, but in the meantime, all you need to know is that there are zeppelins and human souls exist outside the body as cute animals and it mostly takes place in the Arctic. It is also the series to read if you became an Atheist and hate C.S. Lewis now.

Anything by Jack London -- I hated these books when I was a kid, but they get the job done; there are adventures in the snow with huskies, and people falling through ice and death by hypothermia, etc etc.

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - Never has sledding seemed so melancholy. Avoid if you're suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt -- One of the very first books i wrote about for Bookhive, and an excellent read if you like sexy collegiate bacchanalia and long, drawn-out descriptions of Vermont apartments without heat.

The Mysteries of New Venice series by Jean-Christophe Valtat -- A decidedly literary adventure series of the steampunk persuasion that takes place in the Arctic, natch. These books are also great for winter because they're addictive, thrilling reads.