Another year, another around of Thankful Thursday post. This year I was able to gather a few guest post to share book fellow readers are thankful for. I encourage you to reflect on books you are thankful for this holiday season. Today’s post highlights Celeste’s reflection on books she is thankful for. She is the mastermind behind A Literary Escape.
Prior to the pandemic if someone had asked me what book I’m thankful for, I might have responded with the HARRY POTTER series. But that response would have been one born more out of nostalgia than anything else. In high school, which seems ages away now (over 15 years ago at this point), I was obsessed with the series. I reread the books semi-regularly, consumed fan fiction, and even ran a Ravenclaw Common Room on LiveJournal. But high school was my last “era” of reading regularly, after which I rarely picked up a book for a variety of reasons. College happened, life happened, and reading wasn’t a priority.
Fast forward to 2020, a year predominantly filled with fear, uncertainty, and unrest, at least in my mind. I discovered reading again and spent that first year of the pandemic reading a variety of fiction and nonfiction from my library. About a year later, deep into winter, I was restless and not content, and I imagine many others felt similarly. It was too cold to do anything outside and the vaccine hadn’t yet been approved for mass distribution. I picked up my Kindle for the first time in a couple of years, browsed through the deals, and decided it was a day for fantasy immersion.
That day I chose A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES (ACOTAR) by Sarah J. Maas. I’d never heard of it before, so needless to say I wasn’t even aware of how large of a fandom exists for this series of the same title. (But I certainly know now!) Regardless, I read that book faster than anything else I’d read in recent memory. If you’ve read some of my “know the blogger” type posts in the past, then you’ll know that I laud ACOTAR for reawakening my love of reading. And, if you haven’t read my blog before, well, now you know!
While I don’t think it’s the most profound book I’ve ever read (nor does a favorite book have to be “profound”), it was exactly what I needed at the time. It was pure escapism, an adventure. I realized this was a feeling to chase after, that high after loving a book so thoroughly you want to scream it from a rooftop to find your people. I had no one with whom to talk about it, so I turned to the internet (as one does) and discovered the world of book blogging. Eager to join a community of book lovers, I created my own blog a month after reading ACOTAR. It took a while to find my footing there, but I’m so glad I found so many wonderful readers who share my passion.
Suffice it to say, I’m thankful for ACOTAR because not only did it remind me that I enjoy reading, but it also led me to a lovely community of fellow readers, a second home, if you like. Although I can’t predict the future, I hope to be a part of this community for as long as I can, and to continue to build friendships and boost both books and fellow bloggers. (And, if you want to learn more about ACOTAR, you can check out my review here!)
Follow Celeste on Twitter, Instagram, and her blog!
Check out past Thankful Thursday posts:
- Thankful Thursday: Twilight
- Thankful Thursday: Vampire YA
- Thankful Thursday: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
- Thankful Thursday: Howl’s Moving Castle
- Thankful Thursday: A Bad Case of Stripes
- Thankful Thursday: Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
- Thankful Thursdays 2021
- Thankful Thursday: Jane Morris Interview
- Thankful Thursday: Margaret Samora
- Thankful Thursday: Sarah J Mass
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