It’s Thanksgiving 2013! – Books I’m Thankful For

I almost didn’t post anything special for Thanksgiving this year, but I thought: Why not? Last year I wrote about authors I am thankful for, so this year I thought it would be fitting to talk about books I not only love, but am beyond grateful to have. So let’s get right into it, because this is sort of a long one. (List is in alphabetical order)

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield
I don’t really like mysteries. Correction: I don’t like mass market paperbacks that are produced more for financial gain than to actually tell a story. For the longest time I assumed that’s what all mysteries were like, but then I read Amelia Anne. It doesn’t feel as much like a mystery to me—though that’s what it is categorized as—and maybe that’s why I liked it. Still, it started off rough and by the end I was crying.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Anna and the French Kiss is, for one, a quality novel and you should read it. Seriously. But on a different level, I was reading this book during a rather nerve-wracking trip and it helped to ease my nerves and keep me entertained. Also, this book marks the first (and most likely last) time I was able to read in the car without getting sick. It was because of the medicine I took beforehand, but still. Yay!

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
I’m pretty sure Fahrenheit 451 is one of the first dystopian novels I read in my life. I absolutely loved it. Books and knowledge are very important to me, so this book really struck a cord with my personal beliefs. I recommend it all the time. (*cough* like right now *cough*) But seriously, it’s totally worth the read and one that’s liked by most of the people I’ve talked to (who have read it).

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
I don’t really have anything to say about this one but that I loved it a lot. I can’t help but gush about it when the title comes up. It zoomed up into my “favorites” list (assuming I actually have one) and is holding steady. The concept is just so… oh man, I just… wow. I just love it so much.

Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Unless it’s a dystopian where livelihood is sometimes literally falling down around them, I was finding it very hard to find a book with romance that was not JUST romance. Enter Just One Day. Willem is swoony, Allyson is flawed, and like half of the novel is about personal growth rather than sex or kissing. Don’t get me wrong! Sex and kissing is fine, but it was nice to have something more substantial. This one delivered that to me, and I loooved it.

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
It’s no secret that I love Sarah Dessen. It just so happens that Someone Like You is the first novel I ever read by her. It is, actually, the novel that opened me up to this world called Young Adult Fiction. At the time I still wasn’t sure what it was or how to find more of it, but this book made me realize what I like(d) and I will never forget that.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
I can’t say I have a concrete reason for putting The Bell Jar on this list other than the fact that when I decided to make this list The Bell Jar was one of the first books to come to mind. I read it at the most perfect time in my life. I related extremely well with the main character and it has undoubtedly become a favorite on my shelf.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
At the time of writing this post I still have a love/hate relationship with TFiOS. It completely annihilated my heart and thrusted me into one of the worst everything slumps I’ve experienced. I wouldn’t take back my reading it, though. It means too much. I don’t even know what was different about this one… John Green must have slipped in some subliminal messages. (That was a joke. Don’t take it seriously.)

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I read The Great Gatsby in high school during a point in my life where it was sort of a miracle that I was sitting in class at all. I loved it and continue to love it. I can’t put my finger on what made me feel so strongly about the novel, but rereading it this year I felt myself getting more invested than the last time I went through it. If I has to choose just one book to read for the rest of my life this one would definitely be a contender.

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
The Moon and More was very highly anticipated by me in 2013, but even though I read the synopsis and got my hands on every sneak peak I could, I didn’t really know what to expect in the actual reading. The subject matter in this Dessen book felt so close to my life that I wanted to go to Sarah Dessen and say “How did you know?” It highlighted my love for her as an author in ways I can’t begin to explain.

The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
Twilight, though hated by many a person, is 110% loved by me. It is the book that, when I had fallen out of reading, pulled me back in and reminded me that I love this hobby. Not only that, though, it made me want to write… gave me motivation. I know it’s totally corny to say, but Twilight was, for my 19-year-old self, something like a beacon of hope.

So there you have it. What books are you thankful for?