– By Katie Fisher, BWB Contributor
Thanksgiving is basically the very definition of an American holiday: celebration filled with pure, unadulterated indulgence and the acknowledgment that, hey, this indulgence is completely awesome and we are so lucky to be able to indulge. Pass the gravy!
I particularly enjoy the pairing of Turkey with Thanks. Gratitude somehow makes those cranberries all the more sweet. On this, the most traveled holiday of the year, I’m thankful for being able to exercise my unapologetic book nerdiness. While heading for my friends and family for the holidays, books have always served as my steadfast travel companions during long layovers and even longer flights. I take special comfort in knowing that rather than paying to watch a terrible movie on a 13” screen, I get to do something I love and, frankly, don’t spend enough time doing.
Reading and simply being able to read are literally life changing. (I’m also unapologetic about my puns.) Literacy happens slowly and early in life for many of us, but whether you’re trying to learn something completely new, looking for an imaginative travel distraction, or simply trying to navigate an airport, literacy is more than worthy of our thanks. So this year, in addition to family, friends and delicious pie, I’m thankful for Green Eggs and Ham—the book that started it all for me way back in kindergarten. It may not be a New York Times bestseller or even a Newberry Award winner, but I consider it a seminal work of profound importance.
But enough about my sappy childhood, already. What are you thankful for this year? What books or authors changed your life? And what books are keeping you company during your Thanksgiving travels? Seriously, I need suggestions; I’m already planning ahead for my flight home at Christmas.
I’m reading books on child raising this year, and so grateful to have my (foster) daughter Ellyanna in my life. This Thanksgiving, I’ll take a break and read something JUST FOR ME, like Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet. Even then, I’ll be thinking, yeah of course you lot can decamp to Alexandria; you don’t have kids.
I have never thought of Thanksgiving this way, but it really is the All-American holiday!
I have been blogging my way through 52 books in 52 weeks this year. Quite the challenge (and I am a bit behind). Some books I have covered have been so so, some have been spectacular. I am just thankful for libraries so that I don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on my literacy 🙂