"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=========

Monday, November 25, 2019

TTT: Books I am Thankful for

Top Ten Tuesday: My gratefulness extends to books this week. Here is a list of books I am thankful for:
REPRISE from November 2017...

1. The Bible. I thought I'd get that out of the way "in the beginning" (yes, that is a pun!) This book is a life-changer.

2. Pride and Prejudice. I know. Everyone loves this book (and movie) but honestly this book and all of Austen's novels have really helped me as a reader...to not be afraid of reading classics; to understand that there is a good feeling of accomplishment when one finishes a challenging book; and recognizing that it is OK to love a book and reread it when I need it.

3. Ten Poems to Change Your Life by Roger Housden. When I discovered the Ten Poems series by Housden suddenly poetry was revealed to me. In his books Housden highlights ten poems and explains aspects in each against modern life. I read and reread these books for inspiration and I am no longer afraid to read poetry, in fact I crave it.

4. To Kill a Mockingbird. No book speaks to me more about being an ethical person  than TKAM. Atticus Finch is not only a good lawyer but an excellent parent, someone I try to emulate in my life. Plus, I love Scout and Jem.

5. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Western Edition. Bet you weren't expecting this, huh? I consult my bird book often as I sit and look out at the backyard when birds visit it. I love identifying a bird I haven't seen before.

6. The Chronicles of Narnia. I loved this series as a child. I read them to my children when they were little. We read them together after they grew up. I am grateful for all the positive moments spent with these books.

7. The Worst Best Christmas Pageant Ever. My mother read this book to us when my sibs and I were kids (actually the book was just a short story from a magazine at that time) and I have read it aloud for my family every Christmas since I had a family. I am grateful for special moments spent with family and special books.

8. Looking for Alaska. Before I became a teen librarian I hadn't been reading YA lit as a practice. I remember my first year of torturous book talks since I basically had no books to talk about. Then I read LFA by John Green. I was blown away by it and realized that YA lit had a lot to offer. The book also won the Printz Award that year, so I became aware of other fantastic books through that gateway.

9.  Cold Sassy Tree. If you have read my blog for years, you will notice that I list this book often because it is the book which brought me back to reading. I read a lot as a child and a young teen then basically abandoned reading (except books for classes) until I was around 30. Then I read this book. It blew me away and whet my appetite for reading good books.

10. Burial Rites, or my current read. This book represents my gratefulness for the book I am currently reading. There are so many great books and when I start a new one, I am always grateful for authors who think up the stories and write them down,  for publishers who make them available for readers, and for libraries where I can get them for free.

What books are you grateful for?


36 comments:

  1. I'm thankful for To Kill A Mockingbird as well. Such an incredible book.

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  2. I read the 'Narnia' (first book) novel when I was teen (when the first box office film released), but oh my! Was I ever transported to a world I so wanted to be a part of. Needless to say, at some point I need to read the rest - I read three in coloration with the films. :)

    Happy Thanksgiving, Anne - and thanks for the visit.

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    1. I hope you do read on the Narnia series. Read them in the "correct order": 1. Lion, Witch, Wardrobe 2. Prince Caspian 3. Voyage of the Dawn Treader 4. The Silver Chair 5. The Horse and His Boy 6. The Magician's Nephew 7. The Last Battle

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  3. Hooray for Cold Sassy Tree! The book I've enjoyed that was most similar was The Homecoming of Samuel Lake.

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  4. This is a great list Anne and I'm particularly happy to see the Bible on your list, first because its brave and second because its a book to def be thankful for!!

    I love top 10 Tuesday... Here is my post if you're interested in my choices <3 https://perspectiveofawriter.wordpress.com/2017/11/21/top-10-tuesday-bookish-things-to-be-thankful-for/

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  5. Yes! I'm so glad to see Pride and Prejudice on your list too! I totally understand what you mean when you said it helped you to not be afraid of the classics. I'm the same way. You have a great list here!

    Thanks for stopping by The Novelistics,
    Elena @ The Novelistics

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  6. I'm thankful for The Chronicles of Narnia as well. What a wonderful series.

    Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thanks!

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  7. Pride and Prejudice and To Kill A Mockingbird should be read by everyone, in my opinion - the latter is because of its relevance to this day, P&P because I feel like it can should people who dislike classics that classics can be fun and even light. Great list!

    Veronika @ The Regal Critiques

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  8. I see some great classics here! :-)

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  9. Cold Sassy Tree. We read that for my book club so long ago that I don't remember the details, but I remember that I loved it at the time.

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  10. Great addition with The Chronicles of Narnia! I almost put that on my list, too. It was one of my favorite series as a kid.

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  11. Pride and Prejudice was one of those classics I had wanted to read for a while but never picked up because classic. But it was actually so easy to read for me. So it is great that the book did something similar to you.

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  12. Great list! Definitely agree with Pride and Prejudice, Chronicles of Narnia and To Kill A Mockingbird.

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  13. I just read La Belle Sauvage a few weeks ago and hope you love it as much as I did! And I love that you included your Audubon guide :)

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  14. You've got some great books on your list! I'm super grateful for The Bible, too! :)

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  15. I think the Bible is perfect.
    http://thebestbasicblogger.blogspot.com/2017/11/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-authors.html

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  16. I'm thankful for all books. I never know when I'll fall in love with another one. There are so many possibilities.

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  17. Shame on me! I failed to mention the bible, and it is the most important book I own, although I haven't read all of it. I plan on getting the chronological bible and a journaling bible (both on amazon) for the new year! Happy holidays and have a great week!

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  18. I'm definitely going to have to try Pullman - I don't know where I've been...

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  19. Is it horrible that I was so focused on books I have read this year that I am thankful for that I didn't even think to include the Bible? Shame on me.;)
    I didn't include classics like P&P or To Kill a Mockingbird, both of which would be on my extended list.

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  20. The Bible and Narnia- so true! And I love watching the birds too- I never thought about getting a book like the National audubon one, but that's a great idea to have something like that handy.

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  21. I'm thankful for the Bible too. And I LOVE The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! I was in the play twice.

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  22. I've read Burial Rites and it didn't affect me as much as I expected it to, but I hope you like it! It's a good book nevertheless.

    Ronnie @ Paradise Found

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  23. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favourite books I've ever read, so it's definitely one that I'm thankful for too :)

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  24. Burial Rituals does sound like an interesting read.

    Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.

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  25. Each of these books has brought you great joy. I loved hearing the stories that each of these books reminds you of.

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  26. Happy Thanksgiving! To Kill a Mockingbird is an amazing book.

    My TTT.

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  27. TKAM is my favorite book of all time, so I wholeheartedly agree with that one! THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER is a hilarious book. I remember when my stern, unsmiling third grade teacher read it aloud to us. She laughed so hard while reading that she had to hand off the book to a student so we could finish the chapter! We were all shocked :)

    Happy Thanksgiving!

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  28. Today is a great day to be thankful for. (I did this topic, too!) I loved Looking for Alaska when I read it. It's a great book to be thankful for.

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  29. I love P&P so much. I'm so glad I took a chance on that one way back when.

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  30. So many transformative books. Nice list

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  31. I'm grateful for all of them! :D

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  32. All of these are so wonderful. And said wonder is, of course, a great thing to be thankful for. Also, ah! I love Burial Rites.

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