Winter is fast approaching those of us in the southern hemisphere. Days are getting shorter. Nights, brisker. Energy levels, waning.

But despite our enthusiasm for outdoor activities on the lull, we're gearing up for plenty of time spent indoors, woollen socks on, rugged up under a blanket, hot beverage in one hand and a riveting new book in the other.

We're of the persuasion that reading in winter should entail cosiness – so we've compiled our non-exhaustive winter reading list for you below...

1. Independent People by Halldór Laxness

A stubborn Icelandic sheep farmer wages a one-man war against fate, poverty, and the elements in a bleak yet darkly humorous epic of self-reliance. This novel is a fierce, frostbitten reminder that solitude is never as simple as it seems.

2. All The Lovers In The Night by Mieko Kawakami

A proofreader drifts through Tokyo in quiet isolation until a chance meeting with a physicist jolts her into confronting the ghosts of her past. Haunting, intimate, and electric with longing, this novel will make you want to curl up and read deep into the early hours.

3. Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna

A group of Dublin creatives navigate love, art, and existential dread in a city that offers little stability but endless stories. Sharp, funny, and painfully relatable, it’s a novel that hits differently when the nights are long and the heater hums.

4. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

A nameless girl grows up in an underground bunker with 39 other women, knowing only captivity – until she finds herself alone in a world with no answers. Stark and unforgettable, this dystopian fable lingers with you, making it an ideal book to lose yourself in when the world outside feels just as eerie.

5. The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

A woman returns to her Dutch hometown after her mother’s death, only to be pulled into a past steeped in betrayal, desire, and hidden histories. With its brooding atmosphere and slow-burning tension, this Booker-nominated novel pairs perfectly with grey skies and a strong cup of tea.

6. The Lamb by Lucy Rose

A group of friends retreats to the Welsh countryside, where an unexpected pregnancy and a strange presence in the hills begin to unravel their sense of reality. It's unsettling and hypnotic, and the perfect winter reading list addition.

7. Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali

In 1920s Berlin, a reserved Turkish man falls under the spell of an independent artist, only to have his life permanently shaped by their love. A novel of aching melancholy and quiet devastation, it's an overlooked classic that deserves a spot on your nightstand this season.

8. Muscle by Alan Trotter

A surreal, hard-boiled noir where brawlers and detectives move through a dreamlike, crumbling city, searching for meaning in the violence. Brutal, stylish, and strange, this one will shake you out of the winter blues.

9. The Colony by Audrey Magee

An English painter and a French linguist arrive on a remote Irish island, each seeking something different – only to disrupt the fragile balance of the community. Intense and immersive, it’s a novel that seeps into your bones.

10. The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On by Franny Choi

A collection of poems that maps survival through histories of disaster, both personal and global, with language that cuts like ice. If you want a book that makes you shiver in more ways than one, this is it.

11. Alone With You In The Ether by Olivie Blake

A chance meeting between a forger and a time-obsessed mathematician sparks an intense, all-consuming romance that unfolds like a puzzle. Introspective and emotionally charged, it's a love story for the ages.

Looking for some more new releases to keep on your radar this year? Check out our list of the best new books coming in 2024.

Feature image via Pinterest.