Top Ten Books We're Thankful For

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Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers in the USA! I (Jana) hope you all have a wonderful day with your families, eating lots of good food. This week's topic is books we're thankful for. Which books have touched your heart and left you feeling SO thankful that it was written?

Jana's Pick

1. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard: This book seriously changed my life. It's the kind of book that encourages you to take the bull by the horns and go with it. I just felt so refreshed by the end, like I had been the one to go on a whirlwind trip that changed my life. It prompted me to make amazing goals: to travel more, to practice my art more, to be spontaneous, to let my hair down and not worry what other people think, to look to the future, to develop other talents, to conquer fears, and to enjoy my life more. I ended up going on a whirlwind trip just like Bria did, and I cam home a completely changed person.

Kimberly's Pick

2. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling: No matter how many books I read I always come back to this series. I'm so grateful for what it has taught me and the joy it brings me! It's the first thing I ever read to my daughter, I was still in the hospital after my c-section when I started.

Jamie's Picks

3. Just One Day by Gayle Forman: this book really resonated with me at where I was in my life and inspired me to make some big changes in my life. I will always be thankful to Gayle for writing this.

4. Twilight: Yep...I'm one of those people who fell in love with YA because of Twilight and I'm so thankful I took a chance on it even though I thought it sounded terrible.

5. The Wonder Weeks: lol I'm thankful for this book (and the app) as a new mom because it helps me be patient with Riley when she is going through a developmental leap which tend to be hard on babies. It helps make sense of things plus helps me know what she is working on!

Lori's Picks

6. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein: These poems first started my love of language. My dad would read them to me at night. It was always so much fun.

7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: This is one of the first classics I ever read, which definitely got me thinking about the genre as a whole. It also first got me thinking about law school.

8. Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion: Didion. OMG! I love her. I can't keep away from these essays and her other collection, The White Album. Her commentary on her times is so astute. And oddly widely applicable to today. Very inspirational to me in my writing.

9. Public Enemies by Bryan Burrough: This book got me thinking about becoming a history major. It's really interesting and an extremely accessible history of five criminal groups at large at the same time during the Depression.

10.  East of Eden by John Steinbeck: In terms of storytelling and retellings...this one is tops. I can't get over it. Steinbeck was truly a master.