RED FRIDAY: When winter weather walks off the page

There’s something about December that begs you to slow down. Maybe it’s the frost spreading across the windows, or the stubborn gray of the clouds that settle in mid-afternoon, or just that deep ache for warmth and light and stories that keep you company through the long nights. At RED (Read, Eat, Drink), we’re all about cozy — and honestly, there’s no better time of year to make a book club gathering more than just “let’s finish the chapters and chat.”

READ: Jennifer McMahon’s The Winter People. This month, we’re leaning into the cold. The kind of books where the weather isn’t just backdrop — it’s in the walls, under your skin, half the menace and half the reason you can’t go anywhere.

If you haven't read it yet, set aside a quiet evening. The Winter People is a ghost story wrapped up in the ice and secrets of rural Vermont. The snow doesn’t just fall; it encroaches. People disappear in it, and the past never quite melts. McMahon uses the cold as more than a metaphor — it’s a force that shapes grief, memory, and even the supernatural threads running through her story. You close the book wanting a heavy sweater and maybe a little extra light in the room.

Eat: Warm up the crew with Cranberry Baked Brie. Picture this: gooey melted cheese, tart cranberries, a little crunch from toasted pecans — it’s a whole blanket in appetizer form. It looks special but is stupidly easy. Bonus points if you let everyone break into it at once with crackers or little hunks of bread.

Drink: When the weather outside feels like McMahon’s pages, it’s time for drinks that promise thaw. The Fireside Toddy—lemon, honey, whiskey, hot water—warms you up from the toes, and feels just the right side of old-fashioned. If you want to go nonalcoholic, a hot apple cider does the trick. Let the wind howl outside—inside, you’re golden.

Book clubs, at their best, aren’t about how quickly everyone races to the ending. They’re about gathering, sharing, and all the little tangents that come with food, warmth, and company.

So, while the snow piles up, consider these book club discussion starters:

Book Club Topic Ideas:

• When does the weather in “The Winter People” make you feel safe? When does it make you feel trapped?

• How does the setting shape the choices the characters make?

• Have you ever been snowed in or forced to slow down because of weather? How did it change what you noticed or how you felt?

• What do you think about the line between grief and the supernatural in the story?

• What book (or movie) do you think uses winter, cold, or weather just as powerfully?

  
  

Let the cold be your excuse to gather, eat, talk, and chase shadows out of the corners together—just like any great December should be.

Happy Reading, Eating and Drinking!