The Give Thanks for Books Tag

My friend Rachel has created the perfect tag for this autumnal season — one dedicated to the books that inspire gratitude in us.  She's also kindly tagged me to fill it out!  Thanks, Rachel! 💛

The Rules

1. Thank the person who tagged you. 
2. Fill out the tag.
3. Share the tag graphic in your post.
4. Tag four friends.
5. Provide a clean copy of the tag for easy copying.

The Questions

G -- A book you're Grateful to a friend for recommending

Greenwillow (by B.J. Chute)!  I can't recollect exactly which bloggers talked about it — I think perhaps Heidi and Natalie? — but however I first became aware of it, I am eternally grateful I did.  And that I had the extraordinary good fortune to find a copy at a thrift store one day.  It's one of my top favorite books ever, now. 

I -- A book that fires your Imagination

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (by Patricia A. McKillip).  This book was my introduction to McKillip, and it's still (so far) my favorite of her works.  Extraordinarily immersive, thematically rich, the quintessential fantasy read.

V -- A book with a Vivid setting

The Lord of the Rings, specifically The Fellowship of the Ring (by J.R.R. Tolkien).  The locations of Middle-earth come alive for me in a way that very, very, very few fictional locations do.  I can see them, and I want to visit or live in nearly all of them.  The worldbuilding is definitely one of the saga's greatest strengths. 

E -- An Encouraging book

Healing for Damaged Emotions (by David A. Seamands).  It helped me tremendously.

T -- A book that Taught you something

A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War:  How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of  1914-18 (by Joseph Loconte) gave me an actual context for WWI.  I feel like, at least in America, WWII is the one that's emphasized, both because of our involvement in it and because of the Holocaust.  But that emphasis seems to come at the expense of an appropriately broad understanding of the magnitude of WWI.  So I'm very glad that I read HWGW:  both because it's a great book and because it was genuinely historically educational. 

H -- A Happy book

I know I already mentioned it, but Greenwillow makes me deeply happy.  It's such a soothing, escapist read that recalls Anne of Green Gables and Little Women.

A -- An Amusing book

Thank You, Jeeves (by P.G. Wodehouse).  Or anything by Wodehouse, really.  (Note:  Thank You, Jeeves contains a blackface incident that's portrayed as part of a humorous escape attempt.  I don't condone that, obviously.  But other than that, it's probably my favorite Jeeves & Wooster book so far.  It had me quaking.)

N -- A New-to-you book or author you discovered this year

The Mo & Dale Mysteries (by Sheila Turnage)!  I'm greatly indebted to Abby for hyping these books so effectively on Instagram, thereby putting them on my radar and leading me to try them.  They're fantastic. 😍

K -- A fictional character you feel a Kinship with

Susan Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia (by C.S. Lewis), for one.  We're both highly risk-avoidant, skeptical, mom-friend types.

S -- A book you want to Share with others

The Waves (by Virginia Woolf)!  It's an extremely "intense" example of the stream-of-consciousness technique, so it takes a minute to calibrate your brain to the unorthodox story structure.  But once you do?  Boy, oh, boy.  It is poetry in prose form.  I have nearly the entire thing highlighted, it's that gorgeous and insightful.

I Tag

Abby @ Novels, Dragons, and Wardrobe Doors

Chloe @ Movies Meet Their Match

Heidi @ Along the Brandywine

Ivy Miranda @ Revealed in Time

Clean Question List

G -- A book you're Grateful to a friend for recommending
I -- A book that fires your Imagination
V -- A book with a Vivid setting
E -- An Encouraging book
T -- A book that Taught you something
H -- A Happy book
A -- An Amusing book
N -- A New-to-you book or author you discovered this year
K -- A fictional character you feel a Kinship with
S -- A book you want to Share with others

What are some books you're grateful for?