Captain's Choice, Vol. II: Winter Reads

We consider our options

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It’s Boxing Day: a day for bracing walks, red-eye gravy spooned over leftovers, and a mild if smiling sense of regret. It’s also a day when we Enthusiasts begin to make productive plans for the deep freeze ahead. Armed with Barbour jackets, wool socks, and maps of local hiking trails, we consider our options for staying red-cheeked and keeping our eyes clear, as Heaney says, as the bleb of the icicle.

But there will inevitably also be days of what Icelanders call “window weather,” when the elements are too harsh, or our daytime schedules too busy, to allow us to make it outdoors. On those days, we can and should embrace winter for what it is: the reading season. And to guide you like a brass lantern through the uncertainty, Captain’s Choice is back with winter reading recommendations.