Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for books.

I know, I know. I'm a huge dork, but I'm completely okay with that fact. My sister and I have always been big readers, beginning in elementary school with the Goosebumps series. Fiction, non-fiction, self-help, mystery, biographies--there is not a genre I don't love. Okay, take that back. Romance--I could take it or leave it. I'm not much into romance novels. Nicholas Sparks' books don't tempt me in the least.

Here are the books that have changed my life. Seriously. Changed. My. Life.


Animal Farm
I read Animal Farm in the sixth grade. I knew immediately that I was smarter than the average bear because I recognized the underlying political themes at such a young age. Okay, maybe I'm not smarter than the average bear, but Animal Farm is the reason I'm a Republican.

Life of Pi
Life of Pi is my favorite book of all time. I attribute my passion for reading and writing to Life of Pi (and my AP English class in general). It was a pivotal moment in my life because I was a senior in high school when I read this book, and I knew at that moment that I wanted to write.

One Thousand Splendid Suns
I thought that the Kite Runner might take the cake as best book ever written (other than Life of Pi) until I read One Thousand Splendid Suns. Khaled Hosseini is a literary genius.


Other notable mentions: Lord of the Flies, Water for Elephants, The Great Gatsby, Into the Wild


I am currently reading Lit by Mary Karr and it is fabulous. This is my third book of the year (I read The Happiness Project and Loose Girl earlier this week) and this book blows the other two out of the water in it's very first page. Karr's writing is phenomenal. 


I will leave you with a quote from my current book that gave me a pause:


I was miserable of course, for I was seventeen, 
and so I swung into action and wrote


And it was miserable, for that's how I thought 
it worked: you digested experience and shat


literature.
-William Matthews


Happy Thursday and Happy Thanks Giving!