I love winter--the cold and the dark bring me a sense of peace and calm. I look forward to the season all year, so when I saw this book I did not hesitate. I thought it would be a book for me and I was right. From the wonderful introduction by Nancy Campbell through each of the writing selections with winter at their heart, this book plunked me right down in my favorite time of year. I was sorry to see it end.

There are many different authors and styles collected here. Everyone will have their favorites. I read the book straight through, but it would also be an excellent book to keep out and dip into whenever you feel like a dose of winter. Whether you're sipping cold beverages in the heat or have your hands wrapped around a mug of something hot by the fire, this book has something for everyone.

This delightful collection of essays about the natural world during the season of sleep will entertain and enrich readers, showing them the beauty of what is often thought of as the bleakest time of year

*Thank you NetGalley and Elliott & Thompson for an ARC of this book.

Upon starting to read this book I immediately fell in love with the author’s telling of her own story, of her stay in the castle while at the same time allowing for a stream of consciousness to both envelop her and the reader. She draws on experiences and pieces of literature that draw me in. The description of seasons being a cultural construct and as such being different from culture to culture is a highly interesting topic. I could have read an entire book just on this topic. However, the great introduction may be why I was a bit disappointed with the book in general as I was missing the voice of Nancy Campbell throughout.

After the introduction the book immediately jumps to a section of Anne Frank’s diary without introducing this fundamental piece of literature at all. After dropping a rather disconnected piece by Anne Frank, there is a seamless, not explained jump to Sei Shōnagon. This is how the book progresses and quite frankly, it appears lazy and incomplete. Sure, it is an anthology, but the editor of the book could have made an effort to talk a bit more about the chosen works especially as some of them are randomly cut off or are only a part of a bigger work of literature.
Furthermore, it would have been nice to learn more about the period in which the pieces were written. What was the political situation like and more importantly maybe, tell the reader more about the geography and what winters are like in the area in which the story is set.

Some of the selected works have enjoyed greatly even though some context would have been good. Others, like for instance “Snow Mountains Everywhere” did not spark my interest very much. In some instances, I was also not sure why the piece of fiction was chosen as the only real allusion to winter was a side note in order to set the scene. The winter season, however, seems to have little impact on the story per se.

Nature Tales for Winter Nights is a fascinating compendium of writing covering the words of continents and countries and different periods in time.

Exploring our sensory responses to the changing of the seasons into shorter days and darker nights and the seasonal changes that come with it through deep snow, crisp days, the gloom of fog and the cold that dig deeps

The selection of tales cover a range of authors - some well known and others less so - not the obvious Dickensian snapshots of winters past

There is a pervading sense of melancholy and the desire to hibernate away from the darkness and unknown within some of the tales but others enlighten us with a sense of cleansing and approach of renewal.

This is a read for winter evenings - to be read in order or to just dip into; many of the stories yield a poetic stance and through this the season overtakes us .

A curious selection and probably not what you might expect but certainly interesting and varied

I really enjoyed this collection of tales in nature, it was a relaxing read that each essay had me wanting to read more. I loved that the topics were different and all around interesting. I appreciated that it wasn't just Winter and enjoying learning about new things.

This is such a great idea for a short story collection. I really enjoyed the introduction and the stories have clearly been picked carefully.

As with any anthology, some I like more than others, but overall it's a great collection to have.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC