This weekly book meme is hosted by Top 5 Wednesday on Goodreads.

In the states, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so I'd love to wish all my U.S. readers a happy holiday!

I love this week's Top 5 Wednesday topic--five books we're thankful for, for whatever reason. I've tried to pick books that were very important at significant moments. Are they all still my favorites (or were they ever?)? Not necessarily, but I'm very glad that I found them when I did.

Last week we talked about nostalgic book boyfriends and girlfriends, and I went way back old school with my list. This week's post is also a little trip-down-memory-lane, and I thank you for taking this journey with me!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is one of the books closest to my heart. My mother got me a copy when I was in the 3rd grade and I loved it from moment I held it--in part because it was so long (like 500 pages!) but also because it was about a girl who was kind of like me, one who was quiet, poor, and loved to read. Don't get me wrong--there are a lot of adult situations in this book, and much of it definitely went over my head on that first reading. But while Francie lives in a different time, and in a place that I could barely imagine as real, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was one of the first books I'd ever read where I saw something of myself in it. Francie was sensitive to the world around her, lonely and awkward, and imperfect.

84, Charing Cross Road is one of the most perfect little books ever--a collection of letters spanning 20 years between a freelance writer in New York City and a used book dealer in London. I loved the glimpses of history you get throughout this book as well as the nerdy, bookish friendship Helene and Frank develop. This book brought me friendships, as well, and I'll always love it.

I haven't reread this one in a few years, but I'll always remember the feeling of reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being for the first time, and the way it hit in me a way that no book had before then. I know the book gets a lot of guff for being pretentious, but it a gave me all sorts of feelings about love and relationships, about life, about Big Ideas, about writing right when I needed it, and I'll always be thankful for that.

In the months after my mom died, I didn't want to do much more than binge read books. It was really the only thing that made me feel normal. My friend loaned me books, and then talked with me about them. He bought me a copy of Blonde, which kept me up in the best way. It was beautiful and tragic and completely enthralling.

I have a lot of memories associated with readings of One Hundred Years of Solitude. I know I'm not the only one, but I'm so happy this gorgeous book exists.

So, happy Thanksgiving, everyone! What are some of the books you're most grateful for, and why?

#top5 #nostalgia