We’re thinking a lot about gratitude right now, and one thing we’re always grateful for is good books. Books help us feel less alone, they teach us new things, they transport us to magical places, and they provide connection in so many different ways.
For this month’s book recommendation prompt, we asked our book sellers to tell us about a book they’re grateful for, and we loved seeing what they chose and why. We hope you will, too!
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I read this book earlier this year for our Oh, You’re Reading Again Book Club and it really forced me to think about intentional community building in today’s age where individualism is considered the standard. I’m grateful for this book because it challenged some of my previous notions and changed how I approach friendship and community in my own life. Strongly recommend!
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My gratitude for this book is deeply personal, as I was diagnosed with the same illness at the same age that Suleika was - how lucky was I to have had a guidebook for navigating a life interrupted?! But I think this book can inspire, and/or comfort, anyone who has gone through an experience that throws everything off track. Her story illuminates that life will likely not always go according to plan, but that it can still be beautiful and bright at the end of a new path.
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I’m grateful for C.B. Faye and her poetry, both came into my life at the exact right time. Her poetry is so relatable and hits home.
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You can’t go wrong with a story by Suzanne Collins. Whether you are craving a heart-wrenching love story or a tragic narrative of political commentary, this book had it all. I’m grateful for it because it was one of the first ones that gave me a more complex perspective of a villain, which made me think about a lot of things differently. It was also super timely politically when I read it and helped me make a bit more sense of the world.
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The year was 2020 and I had gotten deep into my reading. I’ve been a reader my whole life but with nothing but time on my hands in 2020, I found myself reading more and more. 2020 also saw the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement, which affected me and my reading journey deeply. I didn’t want to just read—I wanted to feel seen and up until I got this book, I’d been struggling with that. I was gifted a copy of this book by my husband, though we had only just started dating at the time. Within the first few pages of this book, I got the validation I was seeking, the acknowledgment I needed. This book is the spring board upon which my reshaped reading journey was launched. It changed my life. And I will forever be grateful for this book for seeing me; for showing me that there were women who struggled the same way I did; for introducing me to so many Black stories; and for being a light in a dark place.
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If I had a personal bible, The Four Agreements would be it. It’s a deceptively simple little book filled with ancient Toltec wisdom that can take a lifetime to practice, and I am endlessly grateful for the perspective shift it’s given me on how to try to move through the world. It’s the kind of timeless guide you return to year after year, finding a new layer of clarity every single time.
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This book holds a special place in my heart, because it’s my own! I wanted to reimagine romantasy with people of color as the FMC and MMC. I wanted myths, and lore and gods that were interactive in the story, not just dwelling behind the scenes. I wanted morally gray characters and complex truths. A Divine Lie is a love letter to my favorite genre. And I hope you devour this story and adore these characters as much as I do.
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It’s a beautiful perspective of grief, shared love of music and the healing that came from those memories. An entire love story played out over mixed tapes, which allowed those memories to continue on.
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The Anthropocene Reviewed because it’s a sweet reminder that everyone struggles, we all relate to sad or weird things, and sometimes books are just a reminder of how similar and connected we all are.
Need other recommendations? Ask me for some ideas!