Maybe it's a little cliched, but I'm writing a post in honor of Thanksgiving this week. Of course we can and should be thankful all year round, but I think it's good that we have a special time of year set aside particularly for gratitude. It's like pushing a reset button where we reorient our perspectives and, no matter how crappy our year has been, remember everything we have to thank God for.
Every year, my mom makes a Thanksgiving tree out of torn-up scraps of paper grocery bag glued to a huge sheet of freezer paper. We cut leaves out of construction paper and every night from November 1 until Thanksgiving Day, we write one thing we're thankful for on a leaf and tape it to the tree. By Thanksgiving, the tree is full of gratitudes.
I moved out this past year, but I wasn't ready to give up the Thanksgiving tree, so I made one for my husband and I and we've enjoyed putting up a leaf each night. In fact, part of our bedtime ritual (whether it's November or not) it to tell each other one thing we're thankful for or that we appreciate about the other that we noticed during the day.
The first thing that springs to my mind whenever I sit down with a blank leaf in front of me is "Books!" But my mom has a rule that what you write has to be something specific. If you want to write "books", you should specify which book in particular you're thankful for.
All this got me thinking, why am I thankful for books? Here are just a few reasons ...
1. Books are like a mini vacation.
Reading is my stress relief. I've heard some people argue that enjoying fiction is escapism. In my case, at least, fiction reading is not escapism; I enjoy my life, and I like being present in it, but I also like retreating for a little bit. I'm what I like to call an "extroverted introvert", which means that I enjoy being around people (sometimes), and I recharge by being alone. Reading a book, in my opinion, is the best of both worlds! You get to listen in on conversations and peek at others' lives while resting comfortably in the fact that you won't be called upon to engage socially. Plus, depending on where the book is set, you could be whisked to Hawaii or Moscow or anywhere in between!
2. They expand my imagination and make me think in different ways.
I love coming across a totally unique magic system (Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series: allomancy), a carefully crafted world (J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: Middle Earth), or an intriguing "what if" carried out in a fictional setting (Robert A. Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress: what if the moon was a prison colony).
3. They teach me things.
It's obvious how nonfiction can teach us, but fiction can teach us too! (Contrary to some people's belief, I do read nonfiction.) One of my favorite quotes is by Max Lüthi: "Fairytales are unreal, but they are not untrue." While nonfiction teaches us concrete facts, fiction teaches us broader truths about life and the human condition.
Just for fun: Some of my favorite nonfiction books (besides memoirs) are by Chip and Dan Heath. I've read Made to Stick, Decisive, and Switch, and I just added their book The Power of Moments to my TBR list!
4. Books are just fun!
I love getting cozy with a good book and losing myself in a fictional world. I'd even argue that reading makes my real life deeper and more satisfying.
Why are you thankful for books? I'm sure there are many more points I could have touched on! Let me know in the comments!
Next week, I'll be shaking things up with a Tuesday post (because the Top Ten Tuesday prompt for November 28 looked fun 😜). See you then!
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