With winter finally here in earnest, it’s time to hunker down with a cup of tea or coffee and read indoors where it’s warm and cozy. And, most of the time, there’s a cat willing to sit on my lap — so it’s all good.

“Landline” (2014) by Rainbow Rowell. This sounds light and fun. It is; but, it’s so much more. Georgie McCool has it all, a job writing a popular comedy in Hollywood with her partner and best friend, Seth; a husband she loves, Neal, and two daughters. But, things between Georgie and Neal haven’t been right for a while. He hates the LA scene and only tolerates it and Georgie’s erratic schedule.

When Georgie can’t go home to Omaha with him for Christmas because of a chance to write her dream show, Neal takes the girls and goes without her. When Georgie calls him from her mother’s old landline, she reaches the Neal of her college days. Is this a second chance for them or is Georgie supposed to put a stop to the relationship before it gets started? This is an honest, fresh look at love and marriage and life and how we manage to make it work.

“Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites” (2013) by Kate Christensen is an odd book. There were many glowing reviews and they all mention the food and cooking (there are recipes at the end of some of the chapters); but, a third of the way in and all the food references were typical childhood memories — grilled cheese and tomato soup, boiled eggs and toast, fish sticks, graham crackers — not very interesting. As she grows up, she alternates between eating herself pudgy and not eating until she’s rail thin.

The beginning two-thirds seem to be written by a different person than the final third of the book (which I enjoyed). Maybe it seems that way because she wrote some of the chapters as essays and then cobbled them into a book. She loves adjectives and uses them unstintingly; but, then you realize she’s painted such vivid pictures of her family and friends. I’m curious to try one of her six novels. And, there are a few good recipes.

“Case Histories” (2004) by Kate Atkinson is the best mystery I’ve read in a long time; although, it’s as much a series of family dramas as crime fiction or a mystery. I was a huge fan of the PBS TV series and the book is even better. Jackson Brodie is a world-weary private detective with a selfish ex-wife and young daughter.

The cases he works on are myriad — from tracking what might be a philandering wife and a strayed cat to a 34-year-old missing child case and an unsolved murder. The people involved in each case are so detailed and believable. And not always likable. There’s an underlying dark sense of humor that’s very appealing amid such serious cases. There are three more Jackson Brodie novels and I’m just starting the second now. It’s even better.

“The Sense of an Ending” (2011) by Julian Barnes. This book received so many awards and over-the-top glowing reviews, I was wary. But, I’m such an anglophile and I wanted to check out Barnes. He’s a graceful writer who makes you think. And, I identified with the theme of memory and time. Who hasn’t had a family discussion, where everyone remembers the same event differently (or not at all)?

Tony Webster, now middle-aged, lives a fairly dull life. But, an event forces him to remember his schools days, friends and a particular girlfriend. But, how accurate are those memories? Will they help him unravel a mystery? The book starts a little slow, but the second half just flies by. It’s a small book anyway (163 pages).

“Sharp Objects” (2014) by Gillian Flynn. Flynn’s huge hit, “Gone Girl,” wasn’t a favorite of mine. I found the first half so annoying, I almost didn’t finish it. The second half paid off, but emphasized how manipulative the first half had been. (It’s the first time I remember liking a movie better than the book). So, I was curious to read something else she wrote.

“Sharp Objects” is a better book, if a much more disturbing one. Camille Preaker is one damaged lady, a reporter for a Chicago newspaper forced to return to her hometown in Missouri to cover the murder of two little girls. As she fights her own demons, she has to deal with her dysfunctional family and a bunch of really obnoxious people and sickos. Who would want to live in this town? The book is a page-turner if you have the stomach for dark, psychological thrillers.

“I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats” (2012) by Francesco Marciuliano. I needed something more cheerful, so I read this tiny book, a gift from a friend. It made me laugh out loud. If you have cats, you will totally appreciate the poems. Even the titles are funny — “I Lick Your Nose,” “Who is That on Your Lap?”, “O Christmas Tree,” “This is My Chair” and “Some of My Best Friends are Dogs.” Here’s a sample:

“Sushi”

Did you really think

That you could hide fish in rice?

Oh, the green paste burns!

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