Happy Tuesday!! It’s one of my favorite times of the year: THANKSGIVING! Even though I won’t be in the States for Thanksgiving this year (shout out to my college at Oxford for having a dinner for the American students!) it’s still fun to get into the festive spirit. Today I’ll be sharing ten books that I’m thankful for (besides Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings because I feel like those are a given for me).
The BFG by Roald Dahl
I distinctly remember my fourth and fifth grade teacher reading this book aloud to us on multiple occasions and I simply adored it. Dahl’s creative, whimsical, witty stories are one of the things that made me fall in love with reading from a young age.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
I read this novel several summers ago and it is one of the books that made me realize how fun and rewarding reading classics can be. It also expanded my horizons of romantic classics beyond the usual Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
My Ántonia by Willa Cather
THIS. BOOK. I read this book in on of my freshman year literature classes in college and I’m convinced that it’s one of the reasons I fell in love with literary criticism and now want to be a professor. It’s amazing how one book can change everything!
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
I read this in the very first college literature class I ever took and it completely changed the way I think about narrative, form, and linguistic expression. In many ways it’s the text I keep coming back to over and over again what it is that I really love about literature.
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
Not only did this collection spark me to read and write more poetry recently, but it also made me think about myself and the world from a different perspective. Rupi Kaur’s words have gotten me through many rough days, for which I am incredibly grateful.
How to Ruin Everything by George Watsky
I couldn’t be more thankful for this essay collection’s wit, humor, and important message: absolutely no one is perfect. Reading this book also launched me into the world of Watsky’s music, which you should definitely check out if you haven’t already!
1984 by George Orwell
I’m so grateful for this novel’s ability to spark and continue important conversations about where today’s society is headed tomorrow. The parallels between our modern world and the fictional society in this novel are terrifying and uncanny and real.
Looking for Alaska by John Green
I’m thankful for the way this book has made me laugh, think, and realize that I wasn’t the only one experiencing frustrating high school drama. John Green is amazing at making you feel less alone.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
This book is a hilarious reminder that success doesn’t come easy, not even for those who you admire or who seem like they have everything figured out. (Besides, Mindy always makes me smile!)
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg
I’m thankful for the way this book has made me smile, laugh, think, and look back on my own childhood nearly every summer for over a decade now.
Which books are you thankful for? What do you think about the ones I’ve mentioned? Do you have any fun Thanksgiving traditions or plans? Let me know in the comments section below!
Yours,
HOLLY
Looking for Alaska is such a good pick, I’m just thankful for John Green as a person to be honest! Great list!
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Same!! John Green’s books were such a huge part of my reading experience in middle/high school. ❤
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yeeees, „jane eyre“ 😍😍😍
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My fave!! ❤
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Great picks! I was very close to putting Jane Eyre on my list too. My TTT https://franlaniado.wordpress.com/2017/11/21/top-ten-tuesday-ten-books-im-thankful-for/
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Thanks! I love Jane Eyre so much ❤
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I’m thankful for so many books; ones that are comforting as tea and as uncomfortable as a bed of nails, for expanding my horizons.
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That’s so eloquently put!! I completely agree ❤
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I love this list! Makes me think I should read a lot more books from this list, and the BFG is such a childhood memory of it being read to me in class! Ah! xx
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Thanks!! 🙂 The BFG is amazing ❤
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Aw, The BFG! Such a legendary book. 🙂 It’s incredibly special to me. Great list!
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Isn’t it fantastic?! ❤ I'll never get tired of reading it!
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I love your list! it’s great to see insight into what other bloggers love and why! My TTT
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Thanks so much!!
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Is Everyone Hanging Out WIthout Me is such a fun book! Looking For Alaska is one of those John Green books I haven’t read yet, so I should DEFINITELY get to that one soon 🙂 Milk and Honey is on my TBR as well.
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Oooh definitely read Looking for Alaska and Milk and Honey ASAP! They’re both pretty emotional, so maybe not one right after the other 🙂
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I’m so glad to see John Green on your list, I think this one would be on my list too ❤ ❤ Great choices, Holly! Also how cool is your college for doing a special Thanksgiving dinner??! 🙂
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Ahhh I know right?!?! Thanksgiving dinner here was amazing! ❤ It was also really fun to share the new experience with my British friends.
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I’m so glad to hea r you had a good time ❤ ❤
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I wasn’t aware Mindy Kaling wrote a book! I will deff have to check that out.
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Definitely! She’s also written another one called Why Not Me? and both are fantastic ❤
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I will deff have to check these both out! I love her, she’s awesome.
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Great list! Have a Happy Thanksgiving in Oxford. I’ll be spending most of the day with my mom and aunts and cousins, but after that big family meal, my boyfriend and I get to go to his dad and stepmom’s for another big meal…so I predict that I will be overly stuffed with food on Thursday.
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Everyone loves Milk and Honey so much I need to read it! The only poetry book I’ve read is Love, and You but I loved it so much it made me feel so many things, excited to read some more 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving! We don’t celebrate that in australia but hope you have a great time ❤
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I love this list Holly… I recognize many of these books from lists of yours in the past… I can see how they shaped who you’ve become! ♥️ The BFG was a big book in my youth… I feel like I constantly found books like it that I ADORED but they were rather one of a kind, even for the same author…
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If I made a list, I’d included Mindy Kaling’s books on mine. I love all her books and she gave some awesome advice and made me feel like we were best friends.
My Thanksgiving traditions are basically me rooting for the Cowboys on Thanksgiving and my uncle and I making the rolls as we’re the ones who are usually be the oven when it’s time to make them haha 😛
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The Handmaid’s Tale is such a creative and disturbing book that I’m not sure why I’m thankful for it. Maybe because it’s the last great book I read.
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Happy Thanksgiving! I almost included The BFG too in my most recent post about books I’m thankful for. The BFG will always remain one of my favorite book characters.
Before moving abroad, I would spend Thanksgiving with my family and a big feast. For now I have to settle with store bought pumpkin pie 🙂 I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
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Great list. John Greene is a great author. I am currently reading Leonardo da vinci by Walter Isaacson, check it out if you have time!
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Oooh thanks for the recommendation! 🙂
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