So this is a little tradition I have here at 101 Books.
The day before Thanksgiving, I always post a few literary-themed things I’m thankful for. As I started making the list for this year, I originally wanted to keep it different than years past. But what if I’m thankful for the same things every year?
As I read the post from 2011, my first year giving “literary thanks,” I decided that post still sums up my feelings perfectly. Why reinvent the wheel?
So here’s my original list of literary thanks, with one small addition. It’s still very relevant today.
Here we go. I’m thankful for…
- A wife that supports my obsessive reading habit.
- A mother that taught me the importance of reading.
- Two boys who already love to “read” and be read to.
- Book geeks. Without you, I’d be writing a blog into the abyss.
- Pretentious literary people. Without you, I’d have no one to make fun of.
- Living in a society where we have the first-world problem of deciding whether we read our books in fancy paper versions or on $200 e-readers. And then debate about it.
- The period. Without you, Mr. Period, every author would be Virginia Woolf.
- The unbelievable creativity of novelists who take months, if not years, to sit down and write a moving story.
- The internet. Without you, I wouldn’t have a job. Or a blog.
- Harper Lee. You wrote a brilliant novel, which still makes me think years after reading it.
- Bookstores. Please don’t ever go away.
- Colored pens. How could I ever underline passages and take notes in the margins without you?
- Self-publishing. Sure, you put out a lot of crap, but you also allow worthy authors a way to be discovered.
- Twitter. You cause me to waste time, but half of the topics on my blog are based on something I found because of you.
- Couches. You’re a great place to read a book.
- Football in the fall. Because when I get tired of reading, you’re always there.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald. Your prose is like butter on a Thanksgiving turkey. You died way too soon.
- All of you who comment on this blog and get the discussion going. You make 101 Books more enjoyable than it would be otherwise. Plus, you’re awesome!
- All of you who just read the posts and never comment. I know you’re out there, so thanks for reading. You’re awesome too!
Thanks guys. I’ve got a lot to be literary thankful for this year, and I hope you do too.
What can you give literary thanks for this year?
101 Books is off the rest of the week and will return on Monday.
