Tag: Thankful

Top Ten Tuesday: Thankful for…

Published on by Amy1 Comment

Top Ten Tuesday

Welcome to another contribution to the wildly popular Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.  This week they ask us to share lists on the following:

 November 21: Top Ten Books I’m Thankful For

 

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to all of my followers in the United States.  I hope you have a good holiday.  This week I’m going to pick books that have had a profound influence on either my personal life or reading taste over my life.  So I’m not going to limit myself to reads from just this year.  Many of these titles you will have seen before on my TTT lists.

Ten books that I’m thankful for.

  1. Twilight (Twilight, #1)  Going to start off with this title and while I know it isn’t a masterpiece of literary fiction I was a huge fan of the Twilight series.  While I have moved on from this author I am grateful for its opening me up to the world of genre fiction and vampires especially.  I might never read it again but it shall forever hold a special place in my heart.
  2. A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy, #1)  This is the book I credit with helping me move on from the world of Twilight.  After falling for this series I have never picked up the Twilight series again, I’ve read it three times.  This series taught me that paranormal books can be so much more.
  3. The Shining I have long since broken up with this author but I’m grateful for The Shining because it was a way for a 13-year-old to connect with a mother she had just lost.  I read this book because it was one of her books and it was a way to keep a piece of her in my life.  It no longer has its cover but it will always have a place on my shelves.
  4.   A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) This book I credit for showing me that high fantasy doesn’t have to be as awful as The Lord of The Rings… That was just painful to read.
  5. The Martian This is one of my all-time favorite books and I am so thankful for the Blogging for Books program that introduced me to Andy Weir.
  6. Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives I’m sure this isn’t the first book on reincarnation that I read as a teen but I’m going to use it as an example.  I’m eternally grateful for the books I’ve read over the years on this subject.  They have helped me to form a personal ideology that feels true to my soul and cope with the passing of loved ones in my life.  These books have brought me much comfort and enlightenment over the years.
  7.   Fantasy Lover (Dark-Hunterverse #1) Can’t have a list of books I’m thankful for without the first book I read by my favorite author.  This is the one that started it all for me.
  8. First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1) I’m grateful for this series!  It has brought me so much delight since I found it.  I also credit it with helping me move into other areas of paranormal fiction beyond just vampires.
  9. Redshirts This was the first book I read by Mr. Scalzi and what inspired me to take an evening out of my Chicago trip and go meet him in person.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have a copy of Redshirts for him to sign but it was so cool to meet him even if it wasn’t until I read two or three more books for me to realize how cool it was.  I now have my own copy of Redshirts and a first edition of Old Man’s War that I hope to have him sign someday in the future.
  10. The Diary of Adam and Eve  This was the first book by Twain that I ever read and I credit it with showing me that not all classics are going to suck.  I’ve not read anything else by him but I hope to someday.

 

There is my list for the week and once again I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Thankful for Reading

Published on by Amy4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday

Welcome to another contribution to the wildly popular Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.  This week they ask us to share lists on the following:

November 22: Thanksgiving freebie — tell us what you are thankful for! Books you are thankful for!

Since I missed last week due to being busy I didn’t want to miss this week’s list as well, so I am carving out time to quickly write-up the reasons I am thankful that I am a reader, even if I haven’t been reading as much as I want to recently…

Ten reasons I’m thankful that I’m a reader.

  1. Escape: Books are the perfect escape from life, from stress, from responsibility.  This is probably the main reason I am a reader.  It is also the reason I read the books I tend to read.  I want to explore new ideas, new concepts of reality, deal with problems that couldn’t occur in my normal day-to-day life.  I want to leave my world behind and find some place else to hide out for a few hours.
  2. Mood Changer: Feeling sad? Depressed? Lonely?  Reading has the power to help lift you out of your current mood and totally change your attitude.  Pick up a fluffy romance to brighten your day.  Or something heavier to reassure you that your problems could be much worse.  A sappy tear-jerker so you can finally cry it all out and move on with your life.  Books have to power to help you express what you are feeling inside.
  3. Hope: Books can also inspire, help remind you of just how great society can be.  They can show you a world that could be, something to shoot for, a goal for the life you want to build.
  4. Empathy: Reading fiction also makes you more empathetic.  It lets you try on someone else’s shoes for a bit and gain a new perspective on life.
  5. Vocabulary: Now I don’t always demonstrate this, but I love how reading expands one’s vocabulary.  Something that often irks non-readers to no end.  I’m not using ‘big’ words to make you feel bad (okay, maybe a bit…), mostly though I just like using a rich and diverse vocabulary to express myself.  I tend to go through words of the moment, thought, where suddenly start using the same word everywhere, on Facebook, the blog, Instagram, emails…  Sometimes repetitively in the same post even.  I’m trying to break myself of that but often it slips my notice, so sorry.
  6. No commercials: Books are entertainment without commercials, without interruption, portable, no batteries necessary (for print versions).
  7. Never Bored: If you are a reader you are never bored. (reading slump exceptions aside).  If you have access to books you can always find some book to fit your current mood.
  8. Relaxation: Reading is a great way to relax.  Goes along with number one on this list, but if I can’t get some reading in my stress levels just keep going up. I need some time in the pages to unwind and let everything go.  Reading is my me-time.
  9. Interesting: I also believe that reading makes you a more interesting person.  It for all the reasons above and more.  Reading opens you up to new ideas and topics.  Reading helps round out a personality and can give you a passion that you can share with the world.
  10. Friendship: While reading tends is an activity that is done alone it can also lead to great friendships.  Books help us break down barriers and find connection with others that share our love and interest.  Even if you don’t read the same you can still bond over the love of reading.  Reading, blogging, and reviewing has helped me form friendships that I might not have otherwise and for that I will forever be immensely grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Reading.