Apparently it’s Thanksgiving in the US this week (a holiday I do not keep track of nor put much stock in, but that’s another discussion). This year’s topic is one I can certainly get behind, however – reasons to be thankful for books. Well, *cracks knuckles* let’s get started, shall we?
- They let me visit other parts of our world and entirely new ones
- They allow me to learn about other cultures
- They give me first-person accounts of the experiences of people whose lives are very different from my own, which in turn allows me to be better informed about the issues facing people around the world and the difficult challenges that are being dealt with on a daily basis by those around me, near and far
- They (see point above) teach me empathy and allow me to practice thinking about other points of view than my own – a skill which translates to real life
- They take me away when things are hard
- Some of my best friends live in them
- They allow me to feel big feels
- They let me feel seen when I find characters or authors with similar struggles to my own
- They are something I’ve loved sharing with my kid
- They keep me company (via audiobooks) when I’m alone or doing boring stuff
- They let me hear, first-hand, from people who aren’t alive anymore
- They never cease to surprise me – and when I find a new great one it’s the best feeling in the world!
There are so many reasons to love books. I could go on all day! But I’ll stop there so you can move on to another blog now. I’d love to hear from you guys though. What’s your favourite thing you’re grateful for about books? Are any of my reasons on your list this week? Any I brought up that you hadn’t thought of? Any I missed that you’d like to add?
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.
I think that #2 is so important. We need to learn about people different than ourselves. Travel helps. But so do books!
I fully agree! I’ve learned so much about human nature and what different people see when they look at the world through books. I’ve also been lucky to have a lot of people in my life who were from other cultures and backgrounds, and I am very grateful for all the beautiful traditions and perspectives I’ve gotten to see thanks to them!
Thanksgiving is a complicated holiday in some ways, but I love that it gets everyone focused on gratitude. Even though we should count our blessings every day, it’s nice to be united in doing that at least one day out of every year! I’m thankful for a lot of things and books are definitely one of them. In addition to the reasons you listed, I love that books brought me to this wonderful book blogging community. It’s such a fun place to hang out!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
I love this. You are spot on. I’ve got to admit that gratitude is something I’ve learned to practice and that has helped me to get through some really tough times. It might be a cliche, but remembering that no matter what I’m dealing with there are always people in much worse situations helps me stop feeling sorry for myself and focus on all the wonderful things I do have in my life. It’s such an important thing to remember! I feel the same way about the blogging community. I’ve made some great friends through it and it’s one of the things I’m grateful for!