8 Local Reads to Cozy Up with this February

Photo via Getty Images/Olezzo

Now that a full New England winter is upon us, the only thing I want to do is curl up on the couch, nestled under a blanket, with a hot cup of coffee and a book. If, like me, you much prefer indoor winter pursuits — think après-ski over skiing, etc. — to actual outdoor pursuits, then I’ve rounded up books by local authors worthy of your time this season.

So brew up a bracing pot of joe and settle in for a midwinter literary feast. 

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Cover courtesy of the author.

The Secret of Honeycake

By Kimberly Newton Fusco

Kimberly Newton Fusco’s fifth book for young readers centers on Hurricane, a quiet girl who finds her life upended when she must live with her spirited and opinionated Aunt Claire. A host of new friends, plus one mangy cat with a crooked tail, helps Hurricane find her voice. A former journalist turned novelist, Fusco lives in Foster. The Secret of Honeycake was published in January.

Cover courtesy of the author.

The Stark Beauty of Last Things

By Céline Keating

When outsider Clancy inherits the last undeveloped parcel of land in Montauk, New York, the hamlet’s residents all have opinions on the outcome. The novel explores our connection to nature and what happens when that link is threatened. Author Céline Keating lived in New York City and Montauk for many years before settling in Bristol. 

Cover courtesy of the author.

The Care and Maintenance of a New England Home

By Tom Lopatosky

New England homes are just built differently: Some date back to the 1700s, some marinate in the salty sea air year-round, and some have been lovingly — but questionably — added on to throughout the years. Whatever the state of your abode, you’ll likely find the answers to your home maintenance questions within the 500 pages of The Care and Maintenance of a New England Home, penned by home improvement expert Tom Lopatosky, owner of Rumford-based Lopco Contracting.

Cover courtesy of the author.

The Couscous Chronicles: Stories of Food, Love, and Donkeys from a Life Between Cultures

By Azzedine T. Downes 

Animal welfare activist and cultural shapeshifter Azzedine T. Downes — a Providence resident who heads the International Fund for Animal Welfare — has shuttled between northwest Africa, Eastern Europe, Morocco, Israel and his native United States throughout his career. Along the way, he’s broken bread with Fez shoemakers, been cursed at a couscous feast gone very wrong, and dodged bullets during his daily commute. Downes recounts all the adventures in The Couscous Chronicles, his first book. 

Cover courtesy of the author.

Barnflower: A Rhode Island Farm Memoir

By Carla Panciera

Westerly native Carla Panciera recounts her childhood growing up on the Tum-A-Lum dairy farm with her parents, especially her father, Aldo, a famous cattle breeder. Barnflower is a tender love story about the bond between a daughter and her father, a way of life that’s slowly vanishing, and the special ties between humans and animals.

Cover courtesy of the author.

Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough

By Hayley Rocco with illustrations by John Rocco

Ideal for any budding conservationist in your life, this picture book biography details the career of naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough, whose nature documentaries have fascinated viewers for seven decades. Rhode Island husband-and-wife team Hayley and John Rocco collaborated on the children’s book, with Hayley writing the story and John, a Caldecott Honoree, providing the illustrations. 

Cover courtesy of the author.

The Holy Land at War:  A Journey Through Israel, the West Bank and Gaza

By Mark Patinkin 

Longtime Providence Journal columnist Mark Patinkin traveled to the Middle East in January 2024, talking to parents of Israelis taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, to Palestinians scrambling to survive inside battered Gaza, and to folks he first interviewed during a similar trip in 1991. He traveled on his own and wrote the dispatches for The Journal, captivating readers with voices from both sides of the war-torn struggle. 

Cover courtesy of the author.

Rescue Cats: Portraits and Stories

By Traer Scott

“Does anyone really know cats?” Providence-based photographer Traer Scott asks in her newest book, Rescue Cats: Portraits and Stories. Perhaps not, but the severely allergic Scott tries her best to illuminate the stories of rescue cats and kittens with sparkling prose and full-color portraits. “Holding a purring cat in your arms is like cradling a mythical creature,” she writes, “one that has chosen you, if only for now.”