Lifestyle
A wintry mix: 12 reading recommendations to get you through the storm
A woman walks through a snowy street in Manchester in 1939.
Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
If you’re hunkering down ahead of the big winter storm this weekend, we want to make sure you’re well prepared. Yes, with batteries, flashlights, toilet paper, and food but — perhaps most importantly — with good reading material.
We looked back through some recent interviews and Books We Love, our annual year-end reading guide, to find snowy suggestions to get you through the storm.
For the nonfiction lovers
Winter: The Story of a Season by Val McDermid, 2026
Scottish author Val McDermid is best known for her crime writing, a world of brutal murders and dark alleyways. But her new book, a work of creative nonfiction, is an ode to memories of winters past and a heartfelt appreciation of all the season has to offer. “I’m kind of hoping it charms you into winter as well,” McDermid told NPR’s Daniel Estrin. Her book meditates on warm soup, and winter festivals, and the comfort of coming indoors on a frigid day. “I like the contrast with being out in the outside, where it’s crisp and cold and when you come indoors and it’s all warm and lovely, and you can sit down with a good book and a good fire or a wee glass of whiskey,” she says. “What’s not to like about that?” — Samantha Balaban, senior producer, Weekend Edition
Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks – a Cool History of a Hot Commodity by Amy Brady, 2023
Amy Brady’s cultural history of ice in America is the unexpected nonfiction pleasure read I turned to in lieu of air conditioning one summer. Brady fascinates and educates, covering the immense impact and complex social histories of this now-ubiquitous and indispensable part of American life. There’s a lot to learn! Helpfully, Ice is divided into four parts: The Birth of an Obsession, Food and Drink, Ice Sports, and The Future of Ice. With clear prose and a lot of passion, Brady touches on many manifestations of ice; however, it feels like just the tip of the iceberg. Do you like surprisingly expansive niche subjects? I can’t recommend this one enough. — Jessica P. Wick, book critic and writer
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May, 2020
English writer Katherine May’s beautiful and unintentionally but uncannily timely 2020 book is about what she calls “wintering,” a way to weather tough periods when you feel cut off, sidelined or overwhelmed. Brought low by a perfect storm of personal challenges, May learns to slow down, hibernate and regroup. She becomes convinced that the cold has healing powers and explores how other creatures and cultures cope with the dark, frigid season. She takes up ice swimming, cradles an amazingly soft hibernating dormouse and considers the profusion of wolves and snow in fairy tales. May finds solace in her explorations, and readers, especially in these trying times of social distancing, will too. — Heller McAlpin, book critic
For the fiction lovers
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller, 2025
There’s a storm beneath the somber surface of The Land in Winter, Andrew Miller’s 10th novel. The land is the rural West Country of England during the legendary Big Freeze of the early 1960s, when blizzards engulfed trains on their tracks and froze over rivers. The two young couples who anchor the book are, unsurprisingly, frozen too: a gentleman farmer uneasily married to a former nightclub hostess, and a posh doctor’s wife whose husband is conducting an affair with a patient. The action unfolds like a thaw, and by the end of this Booker-shortlisted novel, it feels as though the drama has soaked itself into your soul. — Neda Ulaby, correspondent, Culture Desk
The Trouble Up North by Travis Mulhauser, 2025
Travis Mulhauser perfectly evoked northern Michigan, in all its beauty and icy menace, in his previous novel, Sweetgirl. He returns to the region in this book, which is just as accomplished as his last. The novel follows a family of bootleggers and smugglers whose criminal enterprise has fallen on tough times, leading one member of the clan to take matters into her own hands. This is a top-notch literary thriller that’s extremely difficult to put down. — Michael Schaub, book critic
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, 2023
Dig your crime novels blanketed with a late 18th-century, New England snow? How about with a capable, middle-aged midwife in the role of detective, telling the men in power things they absolutely do not want to hear? This compelling story begins in a river community in Maine with a body frozen in the ice; it unspools with the alleged assault of a minister’s wife. This is a most uncozy mystery that addresses the unbalanced power dynamics of men and women, rich and poor. Bonus: The character of the midwife and some plot points are based on a real person, Martha Ballard. Not quite true crime but true enough! — Melissa Gray, senior producer, Weekend Edition
Every Reason We Shouldn’t by Sara Fujimura, 2020
Olivia Kennedy is 15 going on 16 and the prodigal daughter of two Olympic figure skating darlings. A gold medal pairs skater at the junior level, Olivia no longer competes due to lack of funds and a crash-and-burn performance when she was 13. But things start looking up when short track speed skater Jonah Choi comes to town. The two bond immediately over mild teenage rebellions, workouts and the concept of being “normal.” They challenge each other because they know no other way – second best is not an option in the life of champions. — Alethea Kontis, author and book critic
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead: A Novel by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, 2019
I originally picked up this book just because of the title. Later, I heard that Olga Tokarczuk had won the (delayed) 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature, and it made total sense because this book (originally published in 2009, released in English translation in 2019) is both deeply strange and deeply personal – a kind of noir murder mystery with feminist, leftist, vegetarian and academic undertones. Gorgeously written and immediately engaging, it is a complicated story about deer, hunters, age, infirmity, chaos and William Blake, driven by the rigorously no-BS practicality of its elderly narrator, Janina Duszejko, who is trying to figure out who is murdering all the hunters in her small, snowbound Polish village, all while contemplating the greater mysteries of life, Poland and the universe in general. — Jason Sheehan, author and book critic
And for the kids …
My Antarctica: True Adventures in the Land of Mummified Seals, Space Robots, and So Much More by G. Neri, illustrated by Corban Wilkin, 2024
Take a trip to the coldest, windiest, highest and driest continent in the world. Here, young readers will find answers to every question they’ve ever had about Antarctica – not to mention ones they hadn’t even thought to ask. Who is there now? Why? What do you eat when you’re there? G. Neri’s easygoing narrative reads like a journal, full of cartoons, photos and the occasional mummified seal. Plus, he profiles the many different scientists at work at McMurdo Station with humor, candor and wonder. Just be ready for one inevitable question after reading this book: “Can we go?” (For ages 7 to 10) — Betsy Bird, librarian and author of POP! Goes the Nursery Rhyme
Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper, illustrated by Kenard Pak, 2020
A gentle, affirmative story of a little girl’s winter walk through her neighborhood to visit a beloved grandmother. Lina is Lebanese American, she addresses her grandmother as “Sitti” and the two joyously cook stuffed grape leaves together. But the story’s focus is on Lina’s independence and connection to the sensory magic of a snowy day. Author Cathy Camper humorously evokes the “snyak, snyek, snyuk” of a child’s boots “crunching snow into tiny waffles” and the “scraaape, scrip, scrape” of shovels against the sidewalk. Kenard Pak’s softly saturated watercolors evoke winter’s diffused light and vivid pop of children’s mittens and hats, making cold days something to savor. (For ages 4 to 8) — Neda Ulaby, correspondent, Culture Desk
Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell, 2017
As every schoolchild knows, little girls in red-hooded outerwear rarely fare well when encountering wolves in the wild. Yet in this nearly wordless tale, a girl’s meeting with a wayward wolf cub fuels a wary friendship that transcends their very different worlds. From the hyperrealism of the wolves, frightening in their detail, to the sketched-out, almost cartoonish, rendering of the girl, Matthew Cordell offers young readers a dreamy fable with a lot to say about making connections outside your comfort zone. (For ages 4 to 8) — Betsy Bird, librarian and author of POP! Goes the Nursery Rhyme
Toys Meet Snow by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, 2015
Whether you’re already acquainted with Lumphy, StingRay and Plastic from their chapter books, or are just meeting them now, you’re sure to love Toys Meet Snow. As the three venture out into the snow for the first time, their unique personalities shine through. Each toy’s impressions and observations are full of imagination and charm. Emily Jenkins’ masterful text is deceptively simple, and Paul O. Zelinsky’s warm and wonderful illustrations make this book an enchanting read for all seasons. (For ages 3 to 7) — Lisa Yee, author of “The Misfits” series
In the year since his death, there has been no hard pivot at Armani. The shadow of the founder has stayed in place over the Milan HQ, where the brand seems happy to leave it. Armani is not just plumbing the past for continued inspiration, it’s reselling it.
Today, Giorgio Armani is announcing Archivio, a grouping of 13 men’s and women’s looks, plucked from the brand’s back catalog and remade for today. (And, yes, at today’s prices.) There’s a jacket in pinstriped alpaca of 1979 vintage; a buttery one-and-a-half breasted jacket with a maitre d’s flair that first appeared in 1987; and an unstructured silk-linen suit that will activate ’90s flashbacks for die-hard Armani clients and those who want to capture that era’s nostalgia. The advertising campaign was shot and styled by Eli Russell Linnetz, who has his own label, ERL, but always seems to be the first call brands make when they want sultry photos with the aura of Details magazine circa 1995. (He did a similar thing for Guess recently.)
Linnetz’s images are a reminder of how Armani’s work still reverberates decades later.
Archivio is also a canny recognition of what shoppers crave now. On the resale market, Armani wares are as coveted as can be. Every week it seems as if I get an email from Ndwc0, a British vintage store, announcing a new drop of meaty-shouldered ’90s Armani power suits. They sell for less than $500. At Sorbara’s in Brooklyn, you can buy a tan Giorgio Armani vest for $225.
That vintage-mad audience is in Armani’s sights: To introduce the collection, it’s staging an installation, opening today, at Giorgio Armani’s Milan boutique. It will feature the hosts of “Throwing Fits,” a New York-based podcast whose hosts wear vintage Armani button-ups and shout out stores like Sorbara’s.
It’s prudent, if a bit disconnected. Part of the charm of old Armani is that it can be found on the cheap. I’m wearing a pair of vintage Giorgio Armani corduroys as I write this. I bought them for $76 on eBay. Archivio is reverent, but its prices, which range from $1,025 to $12,000, may scare off shoppers willing to do the searching themselves.
If you ask me, the next frontier of this archive fixation is that a brand — and a big one — will release a mountain of genuine vintage pieces. J. Crew and Banana Republic have tried this at a small scale, but a luxury house like Armani hasn’t gone there. Yet. Eventually, Armani (or a brand like it) is going to grab hold of the market that exists around its brand, but through which it gets no cut.
Other things worth knowing about:
Lifestyle
The story behind this rare architectural speaker from cult Japanese fashion brand TheSoloist
This story is part of Image’s April’s Thresholds issue, a tour of L.A. architecture as it’s actually experienced.
You hear it before you see it.
Turning the corner of the 15th floor corridor of the historic American Cement Building, a low thrum of electronic sounds seeps through the door of Archived, an L.A. luxury vintage curator. Inside, standing 43 inches tall, a silver speaker from Takahiro Miyashita’s brand TheSoloist vibrates high fidelity through the showroom.
Constructed of 3D-printed polycarbonate resin and aluminum, with a wide amp frequency range of 20Hz to 25KHz, the object looks less like a speaker and more like a relic of time. It is an artifact set in concrete, chiseled away to reveal a replica of the Flatiron Building in New York City. Containing seven audio channels and two bass speakers, its vibrations can be felt against the skin.
Dream Liu, along with his partner Marquel Williams, founded Archived in 2019 to resell rare vintage collectibles. Their designer wardrobe houses some of the most sought after pieces in the industry — like a 1990 Chrome Hearts biker jacket— but the collection of homeware, including a Giovanni Tommaso Garattoni glass chair or a Saint Laurent arcade machine, is what greets you when you walk in. “That’s one way we stand out from all the other archival brands,” Liu says. “We’re very much deep into everything design-related, not just fashion.”
Liu first encountered TheSoloist speaker a few years ago at the home of a friend, a lighting designer working in music who he admired. The speaker, he says, lived at the back of his mind ever since. Archived eventually sourced it directly through TheSoloist’s manufacturer, now acting as an intermediary seller. Only a few hundred of the silver color-way, on display in the showroom, were produced. Even fewer exist of the black, for sale on their website for $9,500.
Miyashita, the cult Japanese designer behind early-2000s punk label Number (N)ine and later TheSoloist, is known for fusing meticulous Japanese craftsmanship with distinctly American motifs. The speaker, for instance, pays homage to New York City, where he opened his original store. Without even seeing a single garment, his style is clear: avant-garde, grunge and very rock ’n’ roll.
(Archived)
Six months ago, Archived opened its MacArthur Park showroom, a brightly lit loft with exposed beams, floor-to-ceiling windows and a panoramic view of downtown. Today they are a team of about six people. Distinctive objects like TheSoloist speaker are an extension of not only the brand’s imprint, but the architecture that houses it. “The speaker fits perfectly into this space.”
Archived, whose clientele consists mostly of celebrities and high-profile curators such as Timothée Chalamet, Travis Scott and Don Toliver, sources its pieces through consignments from sellers and endless hours spent hunting across international marketplaces. When it comes to selecting which piece makes it to the floor, Liu looks for collectible items and whatever fits the brand’s taste, which can be described as minimal avant-garde with a touch of fine craftsmanship.
“Nothing is random,” Liu says. Every item at Archived has a story, from the Giseok Kim aluminum shelf where an unworn pair of 2005 reconstructed Nike Dunks are displayed, to the Marc Newson racks which archival Rick Owens hangs off.
The speaker is valuable, Liu admits, because of Miyashita’s reputation as one of the greats, placing him alongside designers like Jun Takahashi and Yohji Yamamoto. “Our audience knows his designs and all of his great collections,” he says. “So the speaker itself speaks volumes.”
Originally from West Palm Beach, Fla., Liu moved to California to study fashion merchandising at FIDM in San Diego. Before that, he had dabbled in architecture. “It’s always been in the back of my mind,” he says.
Liu said he recognizes that designers, after a time, get fatigued with profit-driven conglomerates and begin to delve into other art forms. “Fashion is just another art form, and I think eventually, when [designers] tire of making clothes — Helmut Lang as an example, even Tom Ford — they transition to art.”
If the nature of design is building upon and taking from existing works, then creating an archival space is collecting pieces of history. “Everything is a reference point,” Liu says. “Every piece here has made an impact on the current climate of fashion.”
To Liu, items like the speaker are worthy of preservation because some of them are only getting rarer and rarer to find. “Pieces like this deserve to be presented properly, and be in spaces that reflect the caliber of the clothing,” he says. “You can put random objects in a beautiful space and that object becomes important.”
The scene recalled the frenzy that unfolds backstage during fashion week: On a recent Monday, in a room full of clothing racks, the stylist Micaela Erlanger was working alongside a team of tailors and assistants. But they were not preparing for your average fashion show.
Ms. Erlanger and the group had assembled at her studio in Manhattan to prepare looks for the actress Meryl Streep, Ms. Erlanger’s client of 11 years, to wear during the press tour for “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” the buzzy sequel to a beloved film set at a fictionalized version of a certain glossy fashion magazine.
In the sequel, Ms. Streep steps back into the stilettos of Miranda Priestly, the publication’s glamorous editor in chief. She stars alongside Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt, who also reprise their roles as Andrea Sachs and Emily Charlton, characters who served as Miranda’s assistants in the original film. Based on a novel and released in 2006, it has become a cult favorite among serious and casual followers of fashion alike.
To prime fans for the sequel, Ms. Streep has appeared on the cover of Vogue and, along with some of her co-stars, has traveled to Mexico, South Korea, China and Japan in recent weeks for premieres. On Monday, cast members appeared in New York, and they will travel to London for more events before “The Devil Wears Prada 2” is widely released on May 1.
Each affair has offered the cast members a chance to turn heads in finery on par with the clothing worn by the characters they play in the movie. Balenciaga, Chanel, Valentino and — yes — Prada are just some of the labels they have sported as they have traveled the globe.
To pull off this fashion feat — and to avoid any style faux pas — Ms. Erlanger, 40, has been in constant communication with Erin Walsh, 43, Ms. Hathaway’s stylist of seven years, and Jessica Paster, 60, who has been styling Ms. Blunt for going on two decades. The women have been operating as something of a hive mind for months, sharing details of the actresses’ looks — the brands, the accessories, the color palettes — in group chats, calls and conversations on the sidelines of runway shows.
“I got to see Erin and Micaela at fashion shows,” Ms. Paster said. “We would whisper: ‘I like that. I like that. I like this. I like that.’”
In a conversation that has been edited and condensed, Ms. Paster, Ms. Erlanger and Ms. Walsh discussed their collaborative relationship, the stakes of styling press tours and the ways they have used fashion to build hype for “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”
How have you each approached dressing your client for the press tour?
MICAELA ERLANGER With Meryl, we leaned into this idea of powerful silhouettes and shapes that you haven’t necessarily seen her in. This is a fashion movie — we’re leaning into it. I would say that there are a lot of references that the fashion community will appreciate and enjoy. We have not just been referencing the first film, but referencing references within the film. I call it “meta dressing.”
JESSICA PASTER You have to remember that Emily Charlton was an assistant 20 years ago. She has evolved. So I’m approaching her as a little stronger — a girl with power. She doesn’t need to borrow clothes anymore. Designers are now giving her the clothes, and she’s out buying clothes.
ERIN WALSH I guess I am hesitant to tell you a theme. I don’t want to encapsulate it. Ultimately, it’s always about how we make a person feel their very best.
You said you communicate via group text. What are you saying to one another?
ERLANGER We have been, from logistics to creative, kind of strategizing among ourselves. What look works best here or there? What’s the other person wearing? Will they look great together?
PASTER I remember one text among us was like: “I’m thinking red. I’m thinking a little burgundy red. And I’m thinking red, too. Is it weird that they’re all wearing red?” I said, “No, let’s lean into that, and let’s do it all in red.”
What we do is make a picture more beautiful. If we have two people who are wearing red, and one is wearing white or purple or black, that is the girl that should be in the middle of a photo. It’s not about, “My girl needs to be in the middle.” If something goes viral, it’s going to help Erin; it’s going to help me; it’s going to help Micaela; and it’s going to help the movie because it gets everyone buzzing and excited.
WALSH With our job, there are always curveballs thrown your way. By working together, we can better navigate any kind of situation in a joyful way without having breakdowns.
Styling has a competitive aspect, in that there are only so many looks, and everyone can’t always get what she wants. How are you navigating that together?
PASTER There are a lot of stories about stylists competing with each other. We’re not. We are so busy. We do not have time. Micaela is calling me because she needs something. I have so many questions to ask Erin and Micaela. If one of these two girls needs me, I will be there for them.
WALSH Removing anything competitive or not collaborative from the equation makes us stronger. It makes our work better.
ERLANGER Collaboration also benefits our clients. Everybody wins when we are aligned.
I’m curious, where were you in your careers when the original “The Devil Wears Prada” premiered?
ERLANGER We have stages of our careers that directly relate back to the first movie. I was an intern at Condé Nast, the company that owns Vogue.
WALSH I was an assistant at Vogue when it came out. I watched Anne onscreen. “The Devil Wears Prada” I knew, you know, in my skin.
PASTER I was a stylist, and, in fact, I was trying to get Emily Blunt as a client.
Modern press tours can involve several premieres in addition to other events. How has that changed how you work?
ERLANGER Social media has made every moment a photo op. Even if it is a junket day when your clients are sitting in a room for on-camera interviews, those pictures get picked up. So every single moment has become press-worthy. And, therefore, there’s more intentionality behind what clients are wearing.
PASTER People forget that we just can’t bring in a dress or two, bust out a look and call it a day. Micaela and Erin are going with nine suitcases all over the world to fit their girls, and I have two trips of fittings in Ireland.
What clothes have you been wearing during the press tour?
WALSH You’ve got to look the part. I tend to, in these situations, reach for more empowering pieces, like a shoulder pad and heels. I don’t work in flats.
ERLANGER I need a flat, and I kind of want to be more comfortable. I’m in jeans and a blazer and a button down and a flat.
PASTER I’m working in sweats and with my hair in a bun.
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