Pages As Planes: The Mountains
I am a snow person.
This time of year, I long for every snowfall, especially when myself and others are able to safely stay home. In the age of Stay at Home orders and Quarantine, I think I’m going to love the the snow even more! There is just something so magical about it.
For today’s Pages As Planes, I wanted to capture that magic, or at least do my best. So today, we are heading to The Mountains.
Pages As Planes: The Mountains
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson—”The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything—everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt's Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome's got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter.
Cussy's not only a book woman, however, she's also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike most anyone else. Not everyone is keen on Cussy's family or the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any whiff of trouble. If Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, she's going to have to confront prejudice as old as the Appalachias and suspicion as deep as the holler.
Inspired by the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a story of raw courage, fierce strength, and one woman's belief that books can carry us anywhere—even back home.” —From the publisher
Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips—””One August afternoon, two sisters—Sophia, eight, and Alyona, eleven—go missing from a beach on the far-flung Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia. Taking us through the year that follows, Disappearing Earth enters the lives of women and girls in this tightly knit community who are connected by the crime: a witness, a neighbor, a detective, a mother. We are transported to vistas of rugged beauty—open expanses of tundra, soaring volcanoes, dense forests, the glassy seas that border Japan and Alaska—and into a region as complex as it is alluring, where social and ethnic tensions have long simmered, and where outsiders are often the first to be accused. In a story as propulsive as it is emotionally engaging, Julia Phillips's powerful novel brings us to a new understanding of the intricate bonds of family and community, in a Russia unlike any we have seen before.” —From the publisher
The Chalet Girl by Kate Lace—”Chalet girl Millie Braythorpe should be in heaven! But after four months of endless bed-making and cooking for guests, her 'glamorous' ski season feels more like hell.
The only thing she looks forward to these days is her nightly gig, singing in a little French bar.
But when handsome troublemaker Luke comes to stay at her chalet, Millie falls head over skis in love...
But is Luke to be trusted, or is her Alpine romance destined to end in disaster?” —From the publisher
The Meaning of Mistletoe by Rachel Bloome—”Kat Bennet has one wish this Christmas—save Hope Hideaway, the women’s shelter where she works, from closing its doors for good. But to do so, she must contact someone from her past and face painful memories she’d rather forget. When an alluring stranger walks into Jack Gardener’s cozy diner, his entire world changes for the better. The problem? She plans on leaving town… just like his ex. They’re both determined to keep their hearts safely tucked away, but Christmas in Poppy Creek has a special knack for showing people exactly what they need. Can they overcome past hurts before their chance at love slips away?” —From the publisher
Christmas in Montana by Elysia Strife—”Orion McNalley has a heart the size of Texas—and a temper to match. Years in service and living alone have made Matt Jefferson one callous man. Will the spirit of the season bring them together?
Or will the secrets they hold inside keep them apart? Christmas is quickly approaching. Orion’s sleepy Montana town is bustling with returning family, vacationing students, and several unexpected visitors: a friend on the rebound, Orion’s volatile ex, and a handsome silver-eyed stranger. When a surprise letter arrives from Matt's mother, it leads him deep into a snowy world of holiday magic and Irish fire that threaten to crack his shell. Filled with holiday humor, tempers, sweet romance, and lots of food, Orion and Matt rediscover what it means to have hope, faith, love, joy, and a belief in something greater than themselves. Some language and violence.” —From the publisher
Plainsong by Kurt Haruf—”In the small town of Holt, Colorado, a high school teacher is confronted with raising his two boys alone after their mother retreats first to the bedroom, then altogether. A teenage girl—her father long since disappeared, her mother unwilling to have her in the house—is pregnant, alone herself, with nowhere to go. And out in the country, two brothers, elderly bachelors, work the family homestead, the only world they've ever known. From these unsettled lives emerges a vision of life, and of the town and landscape that bind them together—their fates somehow overcoming the powerful circumstances of place and station, their confusion, curiosity, dignity and humor intact and resonant. As the milieu widens to embrace fully four generations, Kent Haruf displays an emotional and aesthetic authority to rival the past masters of a classic American tradition.”—From the publisher
The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock—”"This deeply moving and authentic debut set in 1970s Alaska is for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie, and Benjamin Alire Saenz. Intertwining stories of love, tragedy, wild luck, and salvation on the edge of America’s Last Frontier introduce a writer of rare talent. Ruth has a secret that she can’t hide forever. Dora wonders if she can ever truly escape where she comes from, even when good luck strikes. Alyce is trying to reconcile her desire to dance, with the life she’s always known on her family’s fishing boat. Hank and his brothers decide it’s safer to run away than to stay home—until one of them ends up in terrible danger.” —From the publisher
The Snow Angel by Lauren St. John—”Growing up in vibrant, crowded Nairobi, Makena has only one dream: to climb Mount Kenya like her hero, her mountain guide father. But when her beautiful world is shattered, she finds that in the city's dark places there are a thousand ways to fall, each more deadly than any crevasse. In a world of strangers, does she dare trust Snow, whose ballet dreams are haunted by a past she's still running from? And is the sparkling fox friend or foe? After a fresh start in the Scottish Highlands turns bad, Makena flees to the mountains. But will they betray her or be the making of her?”
The Simple Wild, Wild At Heart by KA Tucker—My favorite Alaskan romance series! Reviews here and here.
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller—This book is compared to Gilmore Girls and I didn’t get those vibes entirely but it is really sweet and cozy! Find my review here.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah—Another of my favorite books that takes place in Alaska! This one is historical fiction. Find my review here.
The Tourist Attraction, Mistletoe and Mr. Right by Sarah Morganthather—I didn’t love The Tourist Attraction, but I’ve heard that Mistletoe and Mr. Right is better!
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood—”"As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. It's safer to keep her mouth shut and stay out of sight. Struggling to raise her little brother, Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house until one night her stargazing causes an accident. After witnessing his motorcycle wreck, she forms an unusual friendship with one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold. By the time Wavy is a teenager, her relationship with Kellen is the only tender thing in a brutal world of addicts and debauchery. When tragedy rips Wavy's family apart, a well-meaning aunt steps in, and what is beautiful to Wavy looks ugly under the scrutiny of the outside world.” —From the publisher
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes—”Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So, when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically. The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky. What happens to them - and to the men they love - becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity, and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they’re committed to their job: Bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.” —From the publisher
One by One by Ruth Ware—”"Getting snowed in at a luxurious, rustic ski chalet high in the French Alps doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world. Especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a full-service chef and housekeeper, a cozy fire to keep you warm, and others to keep you company. Unless that company happens to be eight coworkers...each with something to gain, something to lose, and something to hide. When the cofounder of Snoop, a trendy London-based tech start-up, organizes a weeklong trip for the team in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other: PowerPoint presentations and strategy sessions broken up by mandatory bonding on the slopes. But as soon as one shareholder upends the agenda by pushing a lucrative but contentious buyout offer, tensions simmer and loyalties are tested. The storm brewing inside the chalet is no match for the one outside, however, and a devastating avalanche leaves the group cut off from all access to the outside world. Even worse, one Snooper hadn’t made it back from the slopes when the avalanche hit. As each hour passes without any sign of rescue, panic mounts, the chalet grows colder, and the group dwindles further...one by one.” —From the publisher
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley—”During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of 30-something friends from Oxford meets to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students 10 years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands - the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves. They arrive on December 30, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world. Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead. The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps. Now, one of them is dead...and another of them did it. Keep your friends close, the old adage goes. But just how close is too close?” —From the publisher
An Alaskan Christmas by Jennifer Snow—”If there’s one gift Erika Sheraton does not want for Christmas, it’s a vacation. Ordered to take time off, the workaholic surgeon reluctantly trades in her scrubs for a ski suit and heads to Wild River, Alaska. Her friend Cassie owns a tour company that offers adventures to fit every visitor. But nothing compares to the adrenaline rush Erika feels on being reunited with Cassie’s brother, Reed Reynolds. Gone is the buttoned-up girl Reed remembers. His sister’s best friend has blossomed into a strong, skilled, confident woman. She’s exactly what his search-and-rescue team needs - and everything he didn’t know he craved. The gulf between his life in Wild River and her big-city career is wide. But it’s no match for a desire powerful enough to melt two stubborn hearts....” —From the publisher
Winners by Danielle Steel—”Lily Thomas is an aspiring ski champion training for the Olympics, a young woman with her heart set on winning the gold. But in one moment, Lily’s future is changed forever, her hopes for the Olympics swept away in a tragic accident. Dr. Jessie Matthews, the neurosurgeon who operates on her that night, endures a tragedy of her own, and instantly becomes the sole support of her four young children, while her own future hangs in the balance. Bill, Lily’s father, has pinned all his hopes on his only daughter, his dreams now shattered. Other lives will entwine themselves with theirs: Joe, a financial manager, faces a ruined career at the hand of a dishonest partner. Carole, a psychologist at Mass General, is a breast cancer survivor, her body and heart scarred by what she’s been through. Teddy, with a spinal cord injury worse than Lily’s, dreams of college and becoming an artist. From the ashes of their lives, six people fight to alter the course of destiny and refuse to be defeated. When Bill builds a remarkable rehab facility for his daughter, countless lives are forever altered, and each becomes a winner. Winners is about refusing to be beaten, no matter how insurmountable the challenge. And when Lily gets on skis again and enters the Paralympics, the battle to brave life again is won. Winners is about more than surviving, it is about courage, victory, and triumph. When all appears to be lost, the battle has just begun.” —From the publishers
Where is your favorite setting for books in the festive season? Are you a tropical person or snowy cabin lover? I hope these satisfy all your cozy needs!