With the days getting shorter and the weather getting colder, we’ll be spending more time inside snuggled up with a cozy blanket and a good book, but what do you want to read? December 21 is short story day and the first day of winter. In honor of these occasions and the upcoming holidays, we have reading recommendations for you from authors known for their short stories and anthologies. Just for fun we’ve included some winter romance, holiday cookbooks, and a biography or two.

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl – Best known for the bands Nirvana and Foo Fighters, Grohl has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He shares his passion for music and life with these candid tales of performing, surviving, and thriving in the music industry while still making family time a priority.

The Art of the Short Story by Dana Gioia and R. Gwynn – Fifty-two stories by authors known for their short stories plus their insights into story writing.

Bradbury Stories by Ray Bradbury – This book includes 100 of his best short stories spanning six decades of his writing career.

American Short Story Masterpieces edited by Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks – The editors have selected stories from the greatest American short story authors of the past four decades including James Baldwin, Joyce Carol Oates, and Flannery O’Connor.

The Christmas Train by David Baldacci – Disillusioned journalist, Tom Langdon must get from Washington to Los Angeles in time for Christmas. The only available transportation is by train and Langdon seemed resigned to endure the next few miserable days. Imagine his surprise when his unplanned interactions with other passengers begins his healing process.

Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002) by David Sedaris – For forty years Sedaris has kept a diary including his thoughts, feeling, ideas, snippets of overheard conversations, soap opera plot twists, and more. Funny and touching at times, this is an incite into the man who can make us laugh.

If You Ask Me by Betty White – The touching and funny memoir of a national treasure. Betty White shares her observations about life, love, and being a celebrity.

A Lakehouse Holiday: A Small-Town Christmas Romance Novel by Megan Squires – Still grieving the loss of her finance five years earlier in a climbing accident, Jolene keeps busy helping others in her tight nit community. One of the many favors she’s doing this winter is managing her friend’s holiday rental. She never expected the new tenant Luke to be so handsome or to have recently had his heart broken. As Luke and Jolene begin to get close, Luke’s ex arrives to claim her half of the holiday rental. Will there be ore heartache?

2021 Christmas with Southern Living: Inspired Ideas for Holiday Cooking and Decorating by the editors of Southern Living Magazine – Full of clever and fun ways to decorate for the holidays, delicious recipes, and instructions on how to make handcrafted gifts, this book has it all.

The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen – Over 500 delicious and healthy recipes to get you started on a healthier lifestyle. Don’t settle for boring when you can prepare healthy beautifully presented meals. Get an early start on a New Year’s resolution you’ll be happy to keep.