In the spirit of American Thanksgiving (because the Canadian Thanksgiving was a month ago) we have this week’s top five Wednesday list: books we are thankful for.
This list was pretty difficult for us to come up with. There are a lot of books that we are thankful for, but the first few that came to mind… well, we always talk about them. For this list we figured we would branch out a little bit and talk about five other books that have either gotten us through rough times or just give us the warm and fuzzies.
Top Five Wednesday is a book tag started by GingerReadsLainey. Join the goodreads group to get each week’s topic and participate yourselves!
1. SANDMAN – NEIL GAIMAN
We do talk about Neil Gaiman a lot, but this series makes this list because it was my first real re-introduction to comic books. Sandman showed me what exactly you could do with a comic book that isn’t as achievable with prose novels. The world of Sandman is an explosion of pop culture, literature, art, religion and mythology. The story spans time and manages to be both epic and sweeping, but at the same time small and personal. Sandman has serious reread value, every time I pick it up I notice something new. If you’re a fan of Neil Gaiman’s novels or just like comics in general… I suggest you check this one out.
2. RAT QUEENS – KURTIS J. WIEBE
Rat Queens is amazing and you should be reading it right now. Seriously. Go read it. Chelsey chose this one and I couldn’t argue her decision. Rat Queens is a series that we’ve always wanted but never thought could actually exist. It’s a fantasy story that follows a group of female adventures who are allowed to say and do what they want. They’re crude, they’re witty and they feel like your best friends. This is a world that we both feel super at home in and will follow the series till it’s bitter end (hopefully that never happens).
Check out our review of Rat Queens here.
3. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE – JANE AUSTEN
I am at my core a hopeless romantic (but shhh that’s a secret). Pride and Prejudice speaks to me in this really weird way. The novel is so eloquent, clever and witty. I love Elizabeth and how strong willed she is. Mr. Darcy on the other hand, makes me weak at the knees. But when you put the two of them together, that’s when the sparks really fly. I love that even though the novel is full of drama but still ends with a happy (and satisfying) conclusion. Overall, I’m such a sucker for regency dramas and I’m so glad that this book has managed to hold up for this long. If you haven’t read Pride and Prejudice go give it a read. It may just surprise your.
4. THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA – SCOTT LYNCH
This was Scott Lynch’s debut novel and it is perfect. The characters are amazing, the world is amazing, the story is amazing. After much harassment and death threats from friends I finally got around to reading this novel and it was great. Yet as I watched myself slowly fall in love with Locke… I couldn’t help but mutter to myself not again, I can’t be in love with another charming asshole. I have to stop type-casting myself. Also dear readers, Chelsey has staked a claim on Jean. She will fight you for him. We’re all still waiting for the fourth book and the prequel… those can come out any time now… any time now… it’s not like we’re waiting…
5. CLOUD ATLAS – DAVID MITCHELL
Cloud Atlas is one of my favourite books of all time, yet I hardly ever talk about it. I read this novel a few years ago when the movie was first announced. I remember watching the first trailer and thinking: wow this looks weird, I need to read it. Cloud Atlas is an intricately beautiful novel, that’s like a set of nesting dolls. Each story is connected to the one before it in some clever and unexpected ways. Cloud Atlas is another story that pushes the limits of what you can do with the written word. If you can think of it, there is probably a way to do it. Books that try new and exciting things make me want to write and try my hand at doing something outside of the norm.
Check out my introduction to Cloud Atlas here.
There you have it, five books that we here at Death of the Author are thankful for. What books are you thankful for? Recommend them to us in the comments below? Who knows maybe they’ll make it onto our list for next year!
Happy reading!
