The best winter books and audiobooks: snowbound, chilling and cosy
The best winter audiobook is Dark Matter by Michelle Paver, a ghost story set on an Arctic expedition, read by Jeremy Northam in just over six hours. For a novel to sink into, The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, a 2013 Pulitzer Prize finalist set on a frozen Alaskan homestead, is the pick, and for a true story, Endurance, Alfred Lansing’s account of Shackleton’s Antarctic voyage, is the highest-rated audiobook on this list. Below are fourteen winter books for the weeks after Christmas, with narrator, length and whether each one is better read or heard.
Top picks: Dark Matter, The Snow Child, Endurance. Picks come from critics’ reviews, prize lists and Audible UK listener ratings, checked 6 November 2026. No paid placements. Prefer winter books on the page? See the better on the page box. For festive listening, see the best Christmas audiobooks.
- Best overallDark MatterJeremy Northam, 6h 4mSee pick
- Best snowbound novelThe Snow ChildDebra Monk, 10h 49mSee pick
- Best true storyEnduranceSimon Prebble, 10h 21mSee pick
- Best midwinter magicThe Dark Is RisingAlex Jennings, 8h 42mSee pick
- ShortestThe Wood at MidwinterSusanna Clarke, 34mSee pick
- LongestThe TerrorTom Sellwood, 28h 27mSee pick
How we ranked: how strongly winter shapes the book, named critics’ reviews and prizes, and Audible UK listener ratings. More on the method
Quick picks
| Best for | Pick | Narrator | Length | Our verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Dark Matter Michelle Paver | Jeremy Northam | 6h 4m | None yet |
| Snowbound fiction | The Snow Child Eowyn Ivey | Debra Monk | 10h 49m | Listen 56% |
| Winter crime and ghost stories | Dark Matter Michelle Paver | Jeremy Northam | 6h 4m | None yet |
| Midwinter magic | The Dark Is Rising Susan Cooper | Alex Jennings | 8h 42m | None yet |
| Long listens and true stories | Endurance Alfred Lansing | Simon Prebble | 10h 21m | None yet |
| Shortest | The Wood at Midwinter Susanna Clarke | Susanna Clarke | 34m | Listen 68% |
| Longest | The Terror Dan Simmons | Tom Sellwood | 28h 27m | None yet |
Lengths from Audible UK, 6 November 2026. “None yet” means Read vs Listen has not checked that book.
Snowbound fiction to sink into
Novels where snow, ice and cold shape the story.
The Snow Child
A childless couple on a 1920s Alaskan homestead build a girl out of snow, and the next morning a real girl appears in the woods.
- Narrator
- Debra Monk
- Production
- One narrator
- Length
- 10h 49mAudible UK
- Recording
- Headline Digital, 2012
- Listener rating
- 4.4 from 577Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.6 from 428
Why it is here
Eowyn Ivey was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Audible UK lists Debra Monk’s 2012 recording first.
Good to know: The Read vs Listen verdict scored Therese Plummer’s 2018 US recording (10h 57m); the verdict is the same either way.
Listen on Audible
Kindle
Small Things Like These
A short novel set in the cold weeks before Christmas 1985 in New Ross, Ireland.
- Narrator
- Aidan Kelly
- Production
- One narrator
- Length
- 1h 57mAudible UK
- Recording
- Faber & Faber, 2021
- Listener rating
- 4.63 from 1,523Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.74 from 1,372
Why it is here
It was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize and won the 2022 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. It leans to print for the prose, but it is short enough to hear in one sitting.
Good to know: Content note: the Magdalene laundries.
Read on Kindle
Audible
Wild Dark Shore
A family are the last caretakers of a remote island near Antarctica when a woman washes ashore.
- Narrator
- Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld and Steve West
- Production
- Multi-narrator
- Length
- 9h 34mAudible UK
- Recording
- Canongate, 2025
- Listener rating
- 4.4 from 794Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.5 from 773
Why it is here
The recording was a finalist for Audiobook of the Year at the 2026 Audie Awards, and the novel was longlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Listen on Audible
Kindle
The Bear and the Nightingale
A village in the medieval Russian wilderness, where winter and folklore shape daily life.
- Narrator
- Kathleen Gati
- Production
- One narrator
- Length
- 11h 48mAudible UK
- Recording
- Ebury Digital, 2017
- Listener rating
- 4.37 from 1,011Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.42 from 903
Why it is here
Tor.com’s Caitlyn Paxson compares it to “a story being told next to a glowing fire” with a cold wind outside.
Sources Tor.com review
Listen on Audible
Kindle
More literary picks: the literary fiction shelf and the best fantasy audiobooks.
Winter crime and ghost stories
Ghosts, snowbound trains and a hotel cut off for the winter.
Dark Matter
An Arctic expedition goes badly wrong, in a ghost story read by Jeremy Northam in just over six hours.
- Narrator
- Jeremy Northam
- Production
- One narrator
- Length
- 6h 4mAudible UK
- Recording
- Little, Brown, 2010
- Listener rating
- 4.4 from 2,949Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.7 from 2,420
Why it is here
The Guardian called it “a spellbinding read”, and the Observer’s reviewer was “suddenly afraid to look out of the windows” (both quoted on the author’s site).
Sources Michelle Paver’s site
Listen on Audible
Kindle
Murder on the Orient Express
The train is stopped by snow, leaving Poirot with a carriage of suspects and nowhere to go.
- Narrator
- Kenneth Branagh
- Production
- One narrator
- Length
- 6h 13mAudible UK
- Recording
- HarperCollins, 2017
- Listener rating
- 4.77 from 384Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.85 from 339
Why it is here
Branagh’s reading won an AudioFile Earphones Award.
Good to know: Also on Audible: a full-cast drama (5h 47m, 4.55 from 4,470 Audible UK ratings), which is a dramatisation, not the full text.
Listen on Audible
Kindle
The Shining
A family caretakes a mountain hotel cut off for the winter.
- Narrator
- Campbell Scott
- Production
- One narrator
- Length
- 15h 49mAudible UK
- Recording
- Hodder & Stoughton, 2012
- Listener rating
- 4.7 from 5,404Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.7 from 4,839
Why it is here
Campbell Scott’s reading was a 2006 Audie Award finalist, and AudioFile called it “understated, yet fully engaged”.
Good to know: Content note: horror, with family violence.
Listen on Audible
Kindle
Mystery in White
Snowbound train passengers on Christmas Eve find an empty house with dinner laid.
- Narrator
- Patience Tomlinson
- Production
- One narrator
- Length
- 6h 59mAudible UK
- Recording
- Soundings, 2015
- Listener rating
- 3.96 from 168Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.39 from 148
Why it is here
First published in 1937. Fine Books Magazine reports that the British Library reissue sold about 60,000 copies in 2014 and outsold Gone Girl and The Goldfinch that Christmas.
Sources Fine Books Magazine
Listen on Audible
Kindle
More in this vein: the best thriller audiobooks and the horror shelf.
Midwinter magic
Winter tales with magic in them, from 20 December on.
The Dark Is Rising
The story begins on Midwinter’s Eve, 20 December, and many readers re-read it a chapter a day from that date.
- Narrator
- Alex Jennings
- Production
- One narrator
- Length
- 8h 42mAudible UK
- Recording
- Listening Library, 2003
- Listener rating
- 4.80 from 396Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.81 from 351
Why it is here
Robert Macfarlane calls the re-read “a ritual of winter as much as Christmas” (The Telegraph, via Yahoo News, 18 December 2023).
Sources The Telegraph (via Yahoo News)
Listen on Audible
Kindle
The Wood at Midwinter
A winter tale by the author of Piranesi, read by the author with original music.
- Narrator
- Susanna Clarke, with original music by Rusty Bradshaw
- Production
- One narrator (the author), with music
- Length
- 34mAudible UK
- Recording
- Bloomsbury, 2024
- Listener rating
- 4.18 from 22Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.42 from 19
Why it is here
It won an AudioFile Earphones Award, and AudioFile called it a “spellbinding performance”.
Good to know: The hardback has illustrations by Victoria Sawdon that the audio cannot show.
Listen on Audible
Kindle
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Narnia is held in endless winter by the White Witch.
- Narrator
- Michael York
- Production
- One narrator
- Length
- 4h 22mAudible UK
- Recording
- HarperCollins Children’s Books
- Listener rating
- 4.56 from 1,307Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.48 from 1,044
Why it is here
The only children’s book on this list, and the best-known winter book there is. The book has one storyteller’s voice, and York reads all of it.
Good to know: The Pauline Baynes illustrations are only in print.
Listen on Audible
Kindle
More winter magic with a verdict: The Snow Queen (Listen) and Hogfather (Listen).
Long listens and true winter stories
Polar expeditions, a long Arctic novel and a memoir about the winters in life.
Endurance
Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition after his ship is trapped and crushed by ice.
- Narrator
- Simon Prebble
- Production
- One narrator
- Length
- 10h 21mAudible UK
- Recording
- Blackstone, 2008
- Listener rating
- 4.86 from 3,951Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.87 from 3,565
Why it is here
The highest-rated audiobook on this list. Kirkus says Prebble “gives each a unique voice, from Cockney to Scot”.
Good to know: Avoid the 5h 59m abridged reading by Tim Pigott-Smith unless you want the short version.
Sources Kirkus audiobook review
Listen on Audible
Kindle
The Terror
Sir John Franklin’s 1845 expedition, with HMS Terror and HMS Erebus trapped in Arctic ice.
- Narrator
- Tom Sellwood
- Production
- One narrator
- Length
- 28h 27mAudible UK
- Recording
- Transworld Digital, 2018
- Listener rating
- 4.46 from 1,400Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.70 from 1,260
Why it is here
The Historical Novel Society reviewer was kept “on the edge of my seat”. The print book runs to 769 pages, so the audiobook suits long winter evenings.
Good to know: Content note: violent deaths on a doomed expedition.
Sources Historical Novel Society review
Listen on Audible
Kindle
Wintering
May turns a hard six months of illness and family worry into a book about rest.
- Narrator
- Rebecca Lee
- Production
- One narrator
- Length
- 6h 54mAudible UK
- Recording
- Ebury Digital, 2020
- Listener rating
- 4.47 from 1,044Audible UK, 6 Nov 2026; performance 4.57 from 944
Why it is here
Publishers Weekly describes winter rituals such as a solstice visit to Stonehenge and cold-water swims. It is read by Rebecca Lee, not the author.
Good to know: Content note: illness, and a child’s anxiety and school refusal.
Sources Publishers Weekly
Listen on Audible
Kindle
More true stories: the best non-fiction audiobooks.
Winter books that are better read
- Frankenstein, Mary Shelley. The story opens and closes with an explorer’s letters from a ship in the far north, and those letters contain Victor’s story, which contains the creature’s. Print shows the letter headings, so you always know whose account you are in. Dan Stevens reads the Audible recording (8h 35m, 4.45 from 3,170 UK ratings). Our verdict: Read 80% Read the full verdict for Frankenstein.
- The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin. Set on Gethen, a planet called Winter because it is “in the grip of an Ice Age” (Encyclopedia.com), and winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards. The main Audible UK recording, read by George Guidall (9h 39m), has a performance rating of 3.98 from 622 ratings. A 2024 recording read by Alyssa Bresnahan and Michael Crouch rates 4.48, but from only 21 ratings. We have not given it a verdict yet. More science fiction: the best sci-fi audiobooks.
- Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan. It also leans to print (Read 64%), though at under two hours it is an easy listen too. See the pick.
Also with winter in them and a verdict on the site: Hogfather (Listen, 60%), Midwinter Murder (Either, 50%), The Midwinter Daughter (Listen, 56%) and The Snow Queen (Listen, 76%). For older classics, see the classics and gothic shelf.
How long each winter audiobook is
| Book | Narrator | 1.5x | 2x | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke | 34m | 23m | 17m |
| Small Things Like These | Aidan Kelly | 1h 57m | 1h 18m | 59m |
| The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | Michael York | 4h 22m | 2h 55m | 2h 11m |
| Dark Matter | Jeremy Northam | 6h 4m | 4h 3m | 3h 2m |
| Murder on the Orient Express (Branagh) | Kenneth Branagh | 6h 13m | 4h 9m | 3h 7m |
| Wintering | Rebecca Lee | 6h 54m | 4h 36m | 3h 27m |
| Mystery in White | Patience Tomlinson | 6h 59m | 4h 39m | 3h 30m |
| The Dark Is Rising | Alex Jennings | 8h 42m | 5h 48m | 4h 21m |
| Wild Dark Shore | Cooper Mortlock | 9h 34m | 6h 23m | 4h 47m |
| Endurance | Simon Prebble | 10h 21m | 6h 54m | 5h 11m |
| The Snow Child (Monk) | Debra Monk | 10h 49m | 7h 13m | 5h 25m |
| The Bear and the Nightingale | Kathleen Gati | 11h 48m | 7h 52m | 5h 54m |
| The Shining | Campbell Scott | 15h 49m | 10h 33m | 7h 55m |
| The Terror | Tom Sellwood | 28h 27m | 18h 58m | 14h 14m |
Audible UK lengths, checked 6 November 2026. The 1.5x and 2x lengths are calculated.
How this list was put together
Books were picked because winter shapes the story, then ranked on named critics’ reviews and prizes, and on Audible UK listener ratings checked on 6 November 2026. Dramatisations are mentioned but not ranked against full-text readings. No publisher paid for placement.
Where Read vs Listen has a full read or listen verdict for a book, it is shown on its entry. Site verdicts were not used to rank the list.
Questions people ask
What are the best winter books?
The best winter books are Dark Matter by Michelle Paver, The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey and Endurance by Alfred Lansing: an Arctic ghost story, a snowbound Alaskan novel and a true Antarctic survival story. For crime, add Murder on the Orient Express; for something short, Small Things Like These.
What is a good winter audiobook?
Dark Matter, read by Jeremy Northam, is a good winter audiobook: just over six hours, with 2,949 Audible UK ratings and a performance score of 4.7 (6 Nov 2026).
What are some good books set in winter?
The Snow Child (1920s Alaska), Wild Dark Shore (an island near Antarctica), The Shining (a snowed-in hotel) and The Bear and the Nightingale (a medieval Russian winter) are all set in winter.
What is a good cosy winter read?
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper is a good cosy winter read: it starts on 20 December and many readers re-read it a chapter a day through the holidays. Mystery in White, a 1937 snowbound country-house mystery, is another.
What is a short winter audiobook for one evening?
The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke is 34 minutes long, read by the author with original music. Small Things Like These runs 1 hour 57 minutes.
What are the best winter ghost stories?
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver is the best winter ghost story here, followed by The Shining. Both are set somewhere cut off by snow and ice.
Which book do people read from 20 December?
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper, which begins on Midwinter’s Eve, 20 December. Readers take one chapter a day, and the BBC audio drama has been played the same way.
What is Wintering by Katherine May about?
Wintering is a memoir about getting through a hard season of life, using winter rest and rituals as a guide. The audiobook is read by Rebecca Lee and runs 6 hours 54 minutes.
What is the longest winter audiobook on this list?
The Terror by Dan Simmons, at 28 hours 27 minutes (about 18 hours 58 minutes at 1.5x, calculated).
Should I read or listen to winter books?
Listen to most of them. Of the winter books with a Read vs Listen verdict, The Snow Child, Murder on the Orient Express, The Wood at Midwinter and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe come out as Listen, and Wild Dark Shore and The Shining are close calls. Small Things Like These and Frankenstein are better read.
More to read and listen to
More for the season: the Christmas books hub and the best Christmas audiobooks. More by genre: thrillers, fantasy, non-fiction and sci-fi, and the horror, literary fiction and classics and gothic shelves.
Spotted an out-of-date length or price? Tell us. Buy buttons go to Amazon UK or US; how we handle affiliate links.