As I write this, the outdoor thermometer says it's about 1 degree outside! Much too cold to do anything except stay inside and, since we can't hibernate like bears, the next best thing is to be next to the fire, under a blanket, with a good book for a companion. Here are a few new releases that will surely take your mind off the cold.

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World (Penguin) by Niall Ferguson goes a long way toward helping us understand the financial mess we are in. This is compelling reading for our time. The author follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance.

Things I've Been Silent About (Random House) is a new memoir by Azar Nafisi (Reading Lolita in Tehran). This is her personal story of growing up in Iran during the revolution and how this gifted writer found real freedom outside the boundaries of both the constraints of family and the wider political oppression in the land where she was born.

Malcolm Gladwell, one of the more interesting thinkers in our society, brings us The Outliers: The Story of Success (Little, Brown), in which he takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"—the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. It's all quite fascinating.

Want a little escape from the daunting realities of today? Can't get enough of Stephanie Plum? Try Plum Spooky (St. Martin's), the latest installment by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie is the all-American girl stuck in an uncomfortable job, succeeding on luck and tenacity. Usually she gets her man. This time she gets a monkey. This is vintage Evanovich, delicious, a little naughty but with a dash of the supernatural thrown in, as well as a sexy mystery man who smells like Christmas.

Knit Two (Penguin) is the sequel to The Friday Night Knitting Club. Kate Jacobs takes us back to the club and the yarn shop of Georgia Walker and her daughter, Dakota. As the club's projects—an afghan, baby booties, a wedding coat—are pieced together, so is their understanding of the patterns underlying the stresses and joys of being mother, wife, daughter, and friend.

The Charlemagne Pursuit (Random House) is number four in Steve Berry's Cotton Malone series. This time our hero wants to find out the truth about his father's death in a submarine accident in the North Atlantic. The plot involves Nazis, Charlemagne's tomb, an ancient German cathedral, a remote French citadel and, of course, the forbidding and dangerous ice of Antarctica.

The Hour I First Believed (HarperCollins) is already a bestseller and it's only been released a short time. Wally Lamb (This Much I Know Is True, She's Come Undone) writes epic novels of relationships and redemption. In his new book, the author travels well beyond his earlier work and embodies in his fiction myth, psychology, family history stretching back many generations, and the questions of faith that lie at the heart of everyday life. The result is an extraordinary tour de force, at once a meditation on the human condition and an unflinching yet compassionate evocation of character.

You'll find more excitement in W.E.G. Griffin's new thriller, Black Ops (Penguin), number five in his Presidential Agent series. Lt. Col. Charley Castillo, a member of the Office of Organizational Analysis, is given a special task—track down the terrorists who murdered an American diplomat in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When Castillo's inquiries lead him to a pair of defecting Russian spies, they offer information about an Iranian-run bioweapons factory hidden in the Congo.

These are only a few of the great new books—perfect for a cold winter's night—that have arrived at Books & Crannies. Stop by today and see for yourself.

Genie Ford is co-owner of Books & Crannies in Middleburg