This week, in addition to being enormously thankful for my family and friends, I am also incredibly grateful for this community of readers. You all are just amazing and I can’t say it enough: thank you for your reading and giving this newsletter a slice of your attention.
All three of these are great, excellent choices. I choose: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (first book I cried real tears when it was over), East of Eden by Steinbeck (for obvious reasons: literary perfection), The Shipping News by Annie Proulx (the one I re-read once a year for guaranteed feel-goods) and, of course, Pride and Prejudice, which was the first “grown-up” book I ever read when I was a kid. It made me sense infinite possibilities in the written word.
Ah so tricky! There are so many! Dune maybe, which gave me so much pleasure as a teenager. Midnight's Children made me giddy with excitement for what words can do. Alan Garner's Treacle Walker, which taught me the value of reading slowly. And of course, War and Peace – for all the people I have met through reading it with them.
Several years ago I went through several really hard years with a family member. Life seemed too much on every level. These books comforted me, they were a place to go to when I couldn't be in my own life. They still bring a sense of peace just thinking of them.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
I loved the people in this book, and I cried when I finished because I didn't want to leave them.
The Brother Cadfael books by Ellis Peters (pen name of Edith Pargeter), all 21 of them.
Would they be considered great literature, NO :)
But the lead character, Brother Cadfael, became a wise and gentle companion for me during a dark time.
Thankfully those days passed and the family member is in a good place now.
I hadn’t really thought about a book that I’m “thankful” for, but my answer would be The Linnet Bird by Linda Holeman. Published in 2006, I probably read it sometime in 2010. This book still fascinates me with its historical fiction plot; I think it solidified my preference for the historical fiction genre in my reading life. Earlier this Fall, I acquired 5 other books written by Linda Holeman - all historical fiction - and I’ve been reading them in-between new releases. So beyond being thankful for The Linnet Bird, I guess I’m thankful for Linda Holeman’s brilliant writing and captivating plots.
All of the Dick Francis mysteries... for being comfort reads and helping me through any difficult time in my life. His heroes are Genuinely Good, and they always solve the mystery while being kind to the people who deserve it and sticking it to the bad apples. Plus he brings the English countryside to life so vividly.
Jane Eyre... for giving me a heroine that's been at my side since I was 16 years old. Every time I read it, it's a slightly different experience, but Jane is always a reminder that our value comes from who we are inside, not what we have or what other people think of us.
REAMDE by Neal Stephenson... for being a thrilling ride with characters you want to spend time getting to know. It showed me that there is sci-fi that will grab me by the brain and the heart.
Anything by Natasha Pulley... for combining high concept (time travel, Peruvian magic, futuristic sci-fi) with characters that feel like friends. Her books always take me on a journey, break my heart, and put it back together again. (The Kingdoms is my favorite, but all of them are great.)
I am grateful for The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (translated by Ralph Mannheim who also translated a lot of Hesse) over-and-over again. Each time I read it, I get more out of it (and I've been reading it since junior high). It is a Neverending Story about the power of story. I loved the movie when I was even younger, but the book, as so often the case, has so much more story than was included in the film.
I am thankful for Carlos Ruiz Zafon's Shadow of the Wind and it's three sequels (translated by Lucia Graves, daughter of master poet Robert Graves). These are another paean to the power of stories and the written word. Their gothic atmosphere, colorful characters, sense of plot, action, twists, turns, and yes, romance, keep me coming back. His young adult novel Marina is a special melancholic favorite as well.
I am thankful for Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, for his powerful warning, and that we don't live in that world (but I like to re-read Something Wicked This Way Comes more often!)
There have been a couple of books over the past two or so years that really pulled me into thinking about reading and writing more than others and I’m grateful for them: The Secret History and Vladimir.
I've recommended When Breath Becomes Air to several people since seeing it here and continues to be an amazing one. I'm going to go with a children's title called Love You Forever. It was gifted to my son for one of his birthdays by a friend and I can't read it or think about it without tearing up since at the time I was taking care of my terminally ill mom. About half way through the first time reading it you could see where it was going and my wife had to finish it for me with my son. Special place and thankful for it but will always be tough to read!
1. LOTR - My dad read The Hobbit to me when I was young, and I was hooked. I raced a friend through the trilogy in 6th grade in advance of the movies coming out. Nothing has captured my imagination or woven itself through my life quite like this series.
2. Harry Potter - I was Harry's age when the series started, and I grew up alongside him.
3. Dune and the Foundation Trilogy - More recommendations from my dad, which together made me fall in love with the Sci-Fi genre and helped forge an even deeper bond with him.
The Bible because I’ve found comfort from it again and again, and it truly is the Living Word! Pride & Prejudice because it got me into classic literature very early in life. I didn’t have books around me besides textbooks growing up but there was a copy of P&P laying around so I must have read it at least 3 times before my teen years. The Little Prince because it is just precious and full of wisdom. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse because it taught me about friendships and asking for help and just so much gems, it is a modern classic!
"Atomic Habits" by James Clear - short, straightforward book that essentially breaks the entire self-help genre down into clear, concise, actionable steps. I re-read this every December as I plan for the year ahead.
"Four Thousand Weeks: Time-Management for Mortals" by Oliver Burkeman - the antidote to "if only I had enough time." Burkeman turns "memento mori" into a call for self-examination, self-compassion, and an invitation to stop stressing about not accomplishing the impossible. I try to re-read this whenever I get lost in my to-do lists.
"Breath" by James Nestor - Incredible how overlooked breathing can be to overall health. Practical breathing tips for health and life. This book stopped me from being a (literal) mouth-breather (I am still very much a figurative mouth-breather).
Fiction:
"Dune" by Frank Herbert - this was the book that transitioned me out of YA and into adult fiction and kick-started a love of sci-fi and fantasy (as well as a deep fascination with politics and religion).
"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy - my introduction to McCarthy and on my to-(re)read list for early next year. This might be the first book where I actually noticed the "craft" of writing. I've been on a huge McCarthy kick ever since.
"Catcher in the Rye" by JD Salinger and "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald - the only required reading that my angsty teenage brain was able to grok at the time. My love of books may have died an ignoble death in high school if not for these books.
Interesting -- The Great Gatsby was marketed as a noir thriller, at least for a short time. You were trapped there, and didn't even know it!
Gatsby is top of my list, too. After that, it gets murky. Probably King Leary by Paul Quarrington (though his Whale Music is a close second) and The Magus by John Fowles. Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler was great, too.
And, if I can mention my own (unpublished) book -- I'm very thankful for that. I always wanted to finish writing a novel, and I did.
If You Come to Earth by Sophie Blackall is a Caldecott Award winner for all ages. It’s a poignant picture book rife with messages we all need to heed. This beautiful book speaks to kids, teens, all gens, and those of us who are silver stallions. The pictures allow for both conversation and contemplation. The messages are realistic, cautionary, and yet hopeful. This excerpt will give you a taste of its charm. We all need reminders of how best to live and then let our lives speak.
If you come to Earth, there are a few things you need to know . . .
We live in all kinds of places.
In all kinds of homes.
In all kinds of families.
Each of us is different. But all of us are amazing.
All three of these are great, excellent choices. I choose: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (first book I cried real tears when it was over), East of Eden by Steinbeck (for obvious reasons: literary perfection), The Shipping News by Annie Proulx (the one I re-read once a year for guaranteed feel-goods) and, of course, Pride and Prejudice, which was the first “grown-up” book I ever read when I was a kid. It made me sense infinite possibilities in the written word.
Ah so tricky! There are so many! Dune maybe, which gave me so much pleasure as a teenager. Midnight's Children made me giddy with excitement for what words can do. Alan Garner's Treacle Walker, which taught me the value of reading slowly. And of course, War and Peace – for all the people I have met through reading it with them.
Several years ago I went through several really hard years with a family member. Life seemed too much on every level. These books comforted me, they were a place to go to when I couldn't be in my own life. They still bring a sense of peace just thinking of them.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
I loved the people in this book, and I cried when I finished because I didn't want to leave them.
The Brother Cadfael books by Ellis Peters (pen name of Edith Pargeter), all 21 of them.
Would they be considered great literature, NO :)
But the lead character, Brother Cadfael, became a wise and gentle companion for me during a dark time.
Thankfully those days passed and the family member is in a good place now.
Thanks Jeremy for the prompt!
The Road . Essays in Idleness. Harry Potter and LOTR.
I hadn’t really thought about a book that I’m “thankful” for, but my answer would be The Linnet Bird by Linda Holeman. Published in 2006, I probably read it sometime in 2010. This book still fascinates me with its historical fiction plot; I think it solidified my preference for the historical fiction genre in my reading life. Earlier this Fall, I acquired 5 other books written by Linda Holeman - all historical fiction - and I’ve been reading them in-between new releases. So beyond being thankful for The Linnet Bird, I guess I’m thankful for Linda Holeman’s brilliant writing and captivating plots.
Such a great question!
All of the Dick Francis mysteries... for being comfort reads and helping me through any difficult time in my life. His heroes are Genuinely Good, and they always solve the mystery while being kind to the people who deserve it and sticking it to the bad apples. Plus he brings the English countryside to life so vividly.
Jane Eyre... for giving me a heroine that's been at my side since I was 16 years old. Every time I read it, it's a slightly different experience, but Jane is always a reminder that our value comes from who we are inside, not what we have or what other people think of us.
REAMDE by Neal Stephenson... for being a thrilling ride with characters you want to spend time getting to know. It showed me that there is sci-fi that will grab me by the brain and the heart.
Anything by Natasha Pulley... for combining high concept (time travel, Peruvian magic, futuristic sci-fi) with characters that feel like friends. Her books always take me on a journey, break my heart, and put it back together again. (The Kingdoms is my favorite, but all of them are great.)
I am grateful for The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (translated by Ralph Mannheim who also translated a lot of Hesse) over-and-over again. Each time I read it, I get more out of it (and I've been reading it since junior high). It is a Neverending Story about the power of story. I loved the movie when I was even younger, but the book, as so often the case, has so much more story than was included in the film.
I am thankful for Carlos Ruiz Zafon's Shadow of the Wind and it's three sequels (translated by Lucia Graves, daughter of master poet Robert Graves). These are another paean to the power of stories and the written word. Their gothic atmosphere, colorful characters, sense of plot, action, twists, turns, and yes, romance, keep me coming back. His young adult novel Marina is a special melancholic favorite as well.
I am thankful for Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, for his powerful warning, and that we don't live in that world (but I like to re-read Something Wicked This Way Comes more often!)
There have been a couple of books over the past two or so years that really pulled me into thinking about reading and writing more than others and I’m grateful for them: The Secret History and Vladimir.
Sans reasons (read for yourself to discover their merits!), I couldn't be more thankful for:
• Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer.
• The Fire Next Time - James Baldwin.
• The Library, a Fragile History - Arthur der Weduwen & Andrew Pettegree.
Wow. That felt truly awful to narrow down haha.
I've recommended When Breath Becomes Air to several people since seeing it here and continues to be an amazing one. I'm going to go with a children's title called Love You Forever. It was gifted to my son for one of his birthdays by a friend and I can't read it or think about it without tearing up since at the time I was taking care of my terminally ill mom. About half way through the first time reading it you could see where it was going and my wife had to finish it for me with my son. Special place and thankful for it but will always be tough to read!
1. LOTR - My dad read The Hobbit to me when I was young, and I was hooked. I raced a friend through the trilogy in 6th grade in advance of the movies coming out. Nothing has captured my imagination or woven itself through my life quite like this series.
2. Harry Potter - I was Harry's age when the series started, and I grew up alongside him.
3. Dune and the Foundation Trilogy - More recommendations from my dad, which together made me fall in love with the Sci-Fi genre and helped forge an even deeper bond with him.
The Bible because I’ve found comfort from it again and again, and it truly is the Living Word! Pride & Prejudice because it got me into classic literature very early in life. I didn’t have books around me besides textbooks growing up but there was a copy of P&P laying around so I must have read it at least 3 times before my teen years. The Little Prince because it is just precious and full of wisdom. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse because it taught me about friendships and asking for help and just so much gems, it is a modern classic!
Love this! My top books of all time are here: https://www.tomwhitenoise.com/bookshelf
Non-Fiction:
"Atomic Habits" by James Clear - short, straightforward book that essentially breaks the entire self-help genre down into clear, concise, actionable steps. I re-read this every December as I plan for the year ahead.
"Four Thousand Weeks: Time-Management for Mortals" by Oliver Burkeman - the antidote to "if only I had enough time." Burkeman turns "memento mori" into a call for self-examination, self-compassion, and an invitation to stop stressing about not accomplishing the impossible. I try to re-read this whenever I get lost in my to-do lists.
"Breath" by James Nestor - Incredible how overlooked breathing can be to overall health. Practical breathing tips for health and life. This book stopped me from being a (literal) mouth-breather (I am still very much a figurative mouth-breather).
Fiction:
"Dune" by Frank Herbert - this was the book that transitioned me out of YA and into adult fiction and kick-started a love of sci-fi and fantasy (as well as a deep fascination with politics and religion).
"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy - my introduction to McCarthy and on my to-(re)read list for early next year. This might be the first book where I actually noticed the "craft" of writing. I've been on a huge McCarthy kick ever since.
"Catcher in the Rye" by JD Salinger and "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald - the only required reading that my angsty teenage brain was able to grok at the time. My love of books may have died an ignoble death in high school if not for these books.
Interesting -- The Great Gatsby was marketed as a noir thriller, at least for a short time. You were trapped there, and didn't even know it!
Gatsby is top of my list, too. After that, it gets murky. Probably King Leary by Paul Quarrington (though his Whale Music is a close second) and The Magus by John Fowles. Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler was great, too.
And, if I can mention my own (unpublished) book -- I'm very thankful for that. I always wanted to finish writing a novel, and I did.
If You Come to Earth by Sophie Blackall is a Caldecott Award winner for all ages. It’s a poignant picture book rife with messages we all need to heed. This beautiful book speaks to kids, teens, all gens, and those of us who are silver stallions. The pictures allow for both conversation and contemplation. The messages are realistic, cautionary, and yet hopeful. This excerpt will give you a taste of its charm. We all need reminders of how best to live and then let our lives speak.
If you come to Earth, there are a few things you need to know . . .
We live in all kinds of places.
In all kinds of homes.
In all kinds of families.
Each of us is different. But all of us are amazing.
And, together, we share one beautiful planet.