Being Thankful

Posted by Kay on November 23, 2012 4:04 am in Book talk | 7 comments

1. Brandon Sanderson & the Mistborn series

If you didn’t know already, I read book 2 and 3 of the series this summer as part of a read-along, and it was an amazing, mind-blowing experience. I always fear that if I sing a book’s praises too loudly readers will get too high expectations, but it was hard to contain myself after such a wonderful experience.

Sanderson excels at everything that I love; complex worldbuilding, complex characters, complex and interwoven stories. I believe it is very rare, even for someone who reads a lot, to come across books that affect you this way; books to which all the following similar books will have to compare. The Mistborn books are exactly that for me in the epic fantasy category.

2. John Green

I am thankful for John Green as an author, yes, but mainly as a wonderful person in general. Yes, I did read The Fault in Our Stars, almost as soon as it came out; no, I haven’t been able to write a review that would convey my emotions correctly (yet).

But John Green, I think many would agree, is more than an author; through his numerous videos with his brother Hank (whom I am also very thankful for!), through his multiple projects that encourage teens all around the globe to be their best self (DFTBA!), John Green has proven himself to be a wonderful, positive and intelligent influence. I wish I had a John Green when I was a teen – but even today, as an adult, his work (in all spheres) is a huge inspiration to me.

 3. Reading The Stand as part of the read-along

Looking back, it sounds almost insane; when I decided to join the Standalong event, I chose to read the uncut edition because, hey, if I was to read The Stand, I might as well do it all the way, right?

It went surprisingly well, and the book was impressive, but I’ll be honest and say that going through this 1439 pages brick is not an experience I would repeat every year. I usually benefit from a bookish change of scenery and characters, and rarely will I read a complete series one book after the other without taking a break. All this being said, it was an intense and amazing experience. This is no coincidence that Stephen King had such a success, for such a long time. Sure, not all of his work is awe-worthy, but The Stand has, in my mind, no equals.

4. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.

I started to read this one on this day one year ago, so I guess it can count towards the things I am thankful for in the last 12 months!

I loved that book. I gave it one of my rare 5 stars and absolutely do not regret it! This book captured my imagination and my heart. Fascinating characters and beautiful prose! And the story, oh the story! If I had to pick one book that stood out in the last year, this would be the one. The sequel is awaiting its reading on the shelf, and I am so scared to be disappointed that I haven’t picked it up yet. My expectations are unreasonable high.

(If you are reading my review because you haven’t read the book yet, then you need to read it. Soon, I say!)

 5. The whole Harry Potter experience

This one is not as much about something that I read or that happened in the last year, as much as a realization I had this summer. I was discussing on a forum with new readers of the Harry Potter series. I was fascinated by their point of view, and actually a bit jealous that they got to experience it for the first time.

But then, I started thinking about how waiting for the books over the years had been such a thrilling part of my life. I remembered the discussions I had with friends and other fans, how we tried to guess who would die and whether Hermione would pick Harry or Ron and whether Snape was a good guy or a bad guy.

I remembered, in particular, waiting in line with my best friend for the 5th book in French translation, on a winter night, outside the little bookstore in my hometown. I remembered my boots getting soggy with melted snow and the wind freezing our bones while the queue moved very slowly towards the store’s insides. I remembered not caring about this, desperately waiting to put my hands and the book and read it. And then, finally getting home, reading through the night and the sunrise, high on caffeine and Pepsi and chocolate.

I remembered when I dragged the Man of the House to the 6th book launch event, despite his grumbling. Waiting in line for hours, petting a snake and a rat, eating weird cookies with unidentifiable flavors.

I remembered the bittersweet waiting for the last book, and reading it through the night, trying to resist the urge to go on the forums to see what others were thinking. And tears. So many tears.

At this point, I won’t even get into the movies.

I realized that Rowling created wonderful characters and stories, exciting reading memories; but more than that, her books created unique opportunities in my life for beautiful memories I will forever cherish. And if this isn’t something to be thankful for, I don’t know what is.

What books or authors are you thankful for this year?