“The Pacific Northwest has a cold like no other place. It seeps through your clothes and keeps you cold like your own personal ghost had moved in.” — Neko Case, “The Harder I Fight the More I Love You.”
For some Seattleites, February is a time for sojourns to sunnier locales. For those who stay behind, however, it’s an ideal time for contemplation, reflection and a trip to your local library or bookstore for an illuminating read.
If you’re in the latter camp, cozy up to these recently published titles, which complement our midwinter period in different ways.
A bestseller in South Korea, Kim Jee Hye’s debut novel “Soyangri Book Kitchen,” translated by Shanna Tan, is part of the popular healing fiction genre, and its genial atmosphere will warm you on a chilly day. Books in this genre are mostly set in Japan and South Korea and include motifs like cafes, cute animals and people seeking ways to heal from the past.
A woman named Yoojin leaves the bustle of Seoul for the small, idyllic town of Soyangri, eventually opening a combination bookstore/bed-and-breakfast. The stories of Book Kitchen visitors take place over changing seasons and range from sweet to poignant, like the story of a woman who visits the Book Kitchen because her late grandmother used to own the land, which helps heal her grief.
Speaking of bookstores as sanctuaries, bookstore owner Katie Mitchell spent two years traversing the United States to gather material for her impressive and visually appealing chronicle of these essential meeting places in “Prose to the People: A Celebration of Black Bookstores.”
As Mitchell writes, “Black bookshops — crafted in the shadows of slavery and segregation — created cathedrals for Black art, ideas, and resistance.” From the first Black bookstore in the U.S., founded in 1834 by abolitionist David Ruggles in New York City, to Baldwin & Co., a contemporary shop in New Orleans that includes a rentable podcast studio, Mitchell’s book is both an in-depth archive of Black history and a travel guide.
With countless photos, insightful essays and stirring poems, this lovingly crafted history book is one to read slowly and revisit. Don’t miss the forward by the late poet and writer Nikki Giovanni.
“The Winter Goddess” by Megan Barnard is a thought-provoking fantasy that reimagines the myth of Cailleach, the titular winter goddess of Gaelic mythology.
After carelessly causing death during a brutal winter, Cailleach is condemned to live and die as a mortal repeatedly, learning lessons about the joy and pain of humanity in each life. Though a work of mythological fiction, Barnard’s novel avoids epic battles between gods and heavy allegories, focusing instead on quiet moments of introspection and transformation.
As readers, we get to know Cailleach intimately as she vividly shares her journey. Barnard’s heartfelt novel will move you in unexpected ways, much like Cailleach’s many incarnations move and change her.
“Winter: The Story of a Season” by celebrated Scottish author Val McDermid speaks beautifully to the theme of deep contemplation in the winter months, sharing thoughts and memories of winter in Edinburgh and Scotland, and her writing process, which begins in earnest after the holidays.
Like the varied ingredients of the soup her mother used to make, McDermid finds inspiration from the many elements of winter: its recurring celebrations, including Burns Night, in honor of beloved Scottish poet Robert Burns; its evocation of childhood and past family gatherings; its bitter chill and serene stillness. Throughout, Philip Harris’ graceful illustrations pair perfectly with McDermid’s recollections.
In her essay “Party Time,” McDermid writes: “Summer’s a flibbertigibbet; as Robert Burns says, its pleasures are like poppies spread. It’s easy to find lovely distractions. Winter makes greater demands of us.”
Fans of Elly Griffiths’ long-running mystery series featuring forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway will be delighted to see her return in “The Man in Black & Other Stories.”
For those who have never read Griffiths’ books, “The Man in Black” serves as an inviting introduction, with stories that are cozy, moving and suspenseful, and span settings from London to Italy to Egypt. As in her full-length novels, a haunting and mystical atmosphere permeates throughout.
In the titular story, Ruth reads from a book about hyter sprites, mythical beings of Norfolk legend: “There is a land below this one … a place of secret pathways and unspoken words …” Readers who slow down and savor these stories will find this to be a fitting description of Griffiths’ writing as well.
Curated by the anonymous individual behind the popular Instagram account of the same name, “Poetry is Not a Luxury: Poems for All Seasons” is an ideal companion for a contemplative winter evening.
The title of the collection comes from Audre Lorde, who said poetry “is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into tangible action.”
The stellar roster of poets on offer includes Ross Gay, Nikki Giovanni, Joy Harjo, Langston Hughes, Saeed Jones, Ursula K. Le Guin and Ada Limón, the 24th U.S. poet laureate and the editor of the 2025 Seattle Reads selection “You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World.”
Whether from this list, or from your local library or bookstore, may you discover books that inspire and light your way in this liminal space between seasons.
By Eric Grob: Eric Grob is a an Adult Services librarian for The Seattle Public Library.
This column was originally published in the Seattle Times as part of our monthly column, and is reprinted here with permission.