15 Reasons We’re Thankful for Books
As a librarian, to say I am thankful for books goes without saying. Be it hardback or paperback, audio CD or downloadable, there is nothing like a good book to sweep you off your feet. Recently, while conducting an online search of the word “Thanksgiving,” I came across an article that was simply too apropos not to share with my fellow book/library lovers.
"15 Reasons We're Thankful for Books"
by Ginni Chen
"The Reading Life"
Barnes &Noble
We’re all a little quirky on Turkey Day. Some of us are Tofurky enthusiasts, while others are devotees of deep-fried turducken. Some of us are Turkey Trot running champs and others live for football on the flat screen. Thanksgiving is one of the few traditional holidays that celebrates our diversity as a cultural melting pot, which basically means you can take the holiday and run with it however you like. Industrial Revolution–themed Friendsgiving? Go for it. Around the World in 80 Turkey Dishes potluck? Sure, why not!
However we choose to spend it, our Thanksgiving celebrations are all about the same thing—showing gratitude for what we have. Well, that and pie. So this Thursday, we’re letting our book nerd flag fly as we give thanks for all the literary gold in the world. Here are 15 reasons we’re thankful for books:
- Books keep you sane during your awful rush-hour commute.
- Books have saved you from going on countless bad dates. You’ve had many perfect evenings at home with a book.
- Books make soaking in the bathtub much more fun.
- Books don’t care if you can’t pronounce the big words in them or if you don’t finish them. Books don’t judge you for anything.
- Books have the remarkable power to put the rowdiest of children to sleep.
- Books have the remarkable power to put you to sleep, too, especially when you’re up late worrying if the turkey brine you used has gluten in it.
- Books teach you to empathize with people you’ve never met and help you tolerate the people you have, like your cousin’s boyfriend who is a DJ.
- Books remind us that sentences can have more than 140 characters, they don’t have to start with “OMG,” and they don’t always need to be accompanied by photos.
- Books make you smarter. I have no idea why. I think it’s something to do with pheromones in the paper?
- When you need to put the world on a time out, books are there for you.
- Books allow us to vicariously experience a range of gif-worthy emotions, from heartbreak to terror to despair to jealousy. All while maintaining our effortlessly cool, intellectual composure in public.
- Reading is one of the few things you can do in sweatpants on the couch that qualifies as “constructive.”
- Books show you that you are not alone in the world, even if all your relatives think you are and keep asking if you’ll ever get married.
- Books teach you that your parents, your teachers, and your friends aren’t right about everything, but then neither are you.
- Books teach you to think for yourself, so you can ponder things like, “pumpkin or pecan pie?”
I’m thankful for the following books celebrating one of my favorite holidays: Thanksgiving. This season if you find yourself in need a book to share with a little one, relax. Rest assured that you do not need 15 reasons to try one of these 15 books.
Over the River: A Turkey’s Tale by Derek Anderson
Turkey Bowl by Phil Bildner
The Firefighters Thanksgiving by Maribeth Boelts
Corny Thanksgiving Jokes to Tickle Your Funny Bone by Linda Bozzo
Arthur’s Thanksgiving by Marc Brown
The Very First Thanksgiving Day by Rhonda Gowler Greene
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson
I Spy Thanksgiving by Jean Marzollo
Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas
Fancy Nancy: Our Thanksgiving Banquet by Jane O’Connor
Junie B Jones, First Grader: Turkeys We Have Loved by Barbara Park
‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving by Charles Schulz
Pardon That Turkey: How Thanksgiving Became a Holiday by Susan Sloate
Thanksgiving at the Tappletons by Eileen Spinelli
Carla Perkins
Avondale Regional Branch Library
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