I realize Thanksgiving is over a week past, but I’m thankful for these books everyday. So I figured, I could do a bit of catching up and have this be the first real post on my blog.
Alright—in some order (basically what I thought of them in) but not in order of how much they mean to me or anything like that I present
10 Books (more or less) Which I Am Thankful For
Harry Potter: That’s right—the whole goddamn series. Because seriously, I have no idea what tragedy my life would even be without these suckers. I was 11 years old when these suckers came out and fell into my hands. I remember waiting in the library for my librarian to finish wrapping the third book so I could check it out and read it immediately. My life has just revolved so spectacularly around this series since I was in 3rd grade that I just can’t even explain it. I really just feel that someone who hasn’t read these books will miss a fundamental part of me.
Wuthering Heights: Oh my good lord, this book. I fell in love with it the first time I read it—my freshman year of college. I will admit, it took me a while to fall in love. Frankly, I did not like it at all for the first fourteen chapters. Then Chapter Fifteen hit. And from that point on, I had found my new favorite book. It’s dark and gloomy and so romantic I could die. Which would be appropriate for the novel.
White Oleander: I read this book as a junior in high school and it was just so phenomenal and sad. The main character has to go through so much heartbreak just to find the same life which pretty much every body wants. This book is pretty fundamental in my desire to become a foster parent because it shows so many negative families. I’m afraid that’s pretty indicative of the foster family system and I would like to be a weight on the other end of the spectrum.
Little House on the Prairie: Yeah, yeah, yeah I’m putting in another series (and it isn’t the last…eeep!). There was a time when I was in probably first or second grade that I was obsessed with these books. I read them all several times, and there was cook book that I checked out from the library every time we went. I just remember making an oatmeal recipe that was in there like every morning. It was delightful. They’re just such fundamentally wonderful novels. They don’t have big scary monsters, and they aren’t romances. They’re just books about a family and trying to live life in a good way. It’s a nice change from the other books.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See: This is literally the book with which I learned to read. I more or less memorized it and then “read” to people, but after a few times of doing this, the words did start to make sense. And I don’t know why or how, but something just clicked for me. I don’t have it memorized anymore, but most days I wish I did.
Eleanor & Park: Oh dear god this book. I obviously just read this book since it just came out, but it permanently joined Wuthering Heights as one of my favorites. I can’t even explain how much I love this book because I just end up in tears. Like that’s how much it means to me. I just connected to the characters so immediately and so much and ugh. SOOOO GOOOD.
Twilight: Ugh I know, I know: It’s terribly written and she’s a terrible character and he’s a terrible character and it’s all just the worst thing ever ever ever. BUT…I loved this book. When I read it, nobody at my school had even heard of it. It was the first book which I read through my Biology class. I just couldn’t put it down. It was such a perfect story that I wanted to happen to me. Like who wouldn’t want to be unreasonably attractive to someone? And before the hype (and utter utter let down) of the movie, and before the subsequent books which became a very very strange story, the original Twilight was a wonderful piece of fluffy literature. It was what I’d read when I’d had a bad day and all I wanted was to feel happy again.
The Hobbit: This book is entirely different than the other books on this list. I hated the Hobbit. Like it took me almost a year to finish reading it because it felt like I was slogging my way through molasses the entire time hated it. But I am thankful for it. Because it reminds me of two things. First of all, movies can occasionally be better than books. And secondly, I’m not always gonna like what everyone else likes. I’ve already angered a few people over my distaste for the Hobbit, but I’ll stand by my opinion. Cause it’s mine.
The Golden Compass: On the other hand, books are usually vastly, vastly better than their movies. Case in point here. The Golden Compass was one of my favorite books growing up. I’ve read it so many times. And every time I feel like I get something different out of it. This is another series. But frankly. The Golden Compass is the one which matters to me. This book made growing up a little bit easier. And so what if I wonder occasionally (okay, okay every day) what shape my daemon would have taken? I guess I’ll never know.
The Little House: This is another one from my childhood. I would spend ages flipping through this book. It has the most detailed illustrations ever and while the story is simplistic, it’s wonderful and definitely gets children thinking about important concepts like pollution and over population.
And that’s it! Those are my ten books I’m thankful for! What books are you thankful for?
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