"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Friday, November 28, 2014

Books I'm thankful for

This is a week to express our thankfulness. I am thankful for these books:
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle---I can still remember the day I found this book on the shelf of my grade school library when I was in 6th grade. It was my first favorite book. I reread to my children when they were young, hoping to pass on the magic to them.
  • The Holy Bible. Though I was raised in the church I didn't start reading the Bible for myself until I was in 8th grade. I remember feeling like God was coming alive for me as I read through its books and chapters. He continues to speak to me through its words.
  • My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers is my favorite devotional guide which I've read through several times. Sometimes I need an inspirational thought to help get me through the day. Though this was written in 1924 it is still relevant today.
  • Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. This is the first book I remember reading to and for myself. I went to school in the era when beginning readers were so boring---"See Dick. See Jane. See Dick and Jane."---Then I read this Dr. Seuss book and fell in love when the sing-songy rhymes that rolled of my tongue.
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas also by Dr. Seuss. My dad read this Xmas favorite book to us every Christmas Eve. I learned about the power of books to transform family-time and to serve as a bonding experience.
  • The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. To piggyback on my previous comment about family bonding, this series created a a deep bond between my daughters and me when we read it aloud together. 
  • A few years later we read the first few Harry Potter novels aloud also. But when the girls got older they wanted to read faster so we had to take turns with the books. As a librarian I am deeply grateful to JK Rowling for transforming the reading experience for a whole generation of children.
  • I am always grateful for the most recent book that has touched my heart or my imagination in some way. A few books I've read in the past few months that fit that description are  I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson; A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki; Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya.
  • I am always thankful for good audiobooks. One of the first audiobooks I listened to was Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx read by Robert Joy. It was an abridgment of the book but I still loved it and think back to the listening experience with it fondly. Now I listen to audiobooks all the time and many are jumbled together in my mind but not this one.
What books are you thankful for? 

4 comments:

  1. I felt enriched and touched by A Tale for the Time Being. I can't wait to discuss the end at BC though. Not too sure about that.

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  2. I know that everyone didn't like it and that usually makes for a better discussion.

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    Replies
    1. I can't imagine why anyone won't like it. But then I listened to it on audiobooks, which can make a difference.

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