As we gather around the dinner table this Thanksgiving, I find myself reflecting on the countless blessings that adorn my life. From the warmth of family and laughter with friends to the simple joys of a delicious feast and good health, there are so many things to be thankful for. Yet, in this post, let’s sidestep the predictable, the cliché, the Instagram worthy captions. Instead, I invite you to join me in raising a toast to a luminary that deserves its own seat at the table- the faithful companions on my bookshelf.
Books are the MVPs that turn mundane car rides through the gray suburbs into a dazzling menagerie of colors. It is through books that driving to my local Jewel Osco becomes a stroll through the streets of Paris. Sure, reading in the car might make me queasy, but if a little nausea is the toll for transforming the monotonous into the magnificent, consider my stomach surrendered.
An hour spent in the pages of a good book can work miracles. Bad days? Meet your nemesis: the power of a well-crafted narrative. In the face of failure and grief, books always have the ability to induce that untethered laughter (that you know is genuine when shared in the solitude of your room.)
And oh, how books frame me in worlds beyond myself. They’re the passports to new perspectives, the escape route from the mundane, the magical carpet ride that makes me think less about myself and more about the world around me.
Not to mention, in their silent wisdom, books can manage to make me feel productive while my brain dances to the plot unfolding. It’s like watching a blockbuster movie, but with the added bonus of feeling smugly accomplished. Double win! And let’s not forget the aesthetic appeal-my room has never looked cuter than when my books are lined up in perfect harmony on the shelf. It’s like a literary masterpiece in the art of room decor.
So here’s to you, my dearest books, my faithful companions, my literary lullabies. You make the world a bit brighter, the days a bit better, and my room a whole lot cuter. Happy Thanksgiving, and may your pages be ever turnable and your spines never creased!