Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons Why I’m Thankful for Books

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Ah, for all my American friends – Happy Thanksgiving for Thursday! I hope you have a lovely time, and just know I’ll be across the pond wishing just once I could make it over the States and experience the holiday for myself! And today’s TTT topic is very timely, of course.

Reasons Why I’m Thankful for Books
 (In honor of Thanksgiving in the USA.)

They’re An Escape

Yep, first thing I think of when I think of books – they offer an escape from the realities of life, at least for a short while! Whether it’s dropping into a secondary fantasy world or losing yourself in a romance, they can help us destress from the outside world.

They’re Informative & Educational

This goes for non-fiction books too – even the most on-the-face-of-it fluffy romance can teach us something new, or give us new ways of looking at the world.

They Give a Voice

Books are amazing for giving a voice to so many different people – they can give a writer a voice and a way to amplify that voice, conveying whatever it is they want to convey while writing the book, and the way the book can connect to others gives them a voice too, and perhaps a way to convey their own message.

They Connect Us

Books are a great source of connection. We bond over favourites, or discuss them with friends, we swap and share and give and get excited when we lend a book out to someone we know is just going to totally love it.

They Can Help Us Cope

How often have you picked up a book and realised it was exactly what you needed at that time? Or been in a certain kind of mood and reached for an old favourite or a reliable genre to put a smile on your face? How often have you read something in a book that’s helped you process something you’ve experienced, or tackle your own challenges, or…well, there’s so many different things I can list, but I honestly believe books are one of the most amazing things we have for giving us a low-key, low-stress way to deal with life to life difficulties.

They’re Cheap

Relatively. Look, I know this doesn’t apply everywhere, and there are certain restrictions to this, but on the whole, what you tend to pay for a book matches with the value of the book – for the hours of entertainment they can provide, and all that extra if you find yourself thinking more about the book when you’re not reading it! If you have an ebook device or read on your phone, tablet, etc, you can get countless numbers of books for free every day, or for less than a few quid. Physical books, if you’re happy with second hand, you can pick up for £1, £2 in the charity shop, maybe a few pounds more if you’re getting them online, not to mention, again, deals on all sorts of new physical books.

They Offer Everything

Like, honestly – how much variety is there when it comes to books? No matter what you’re into, no matter what you enjoy reading about, there is a book out there for you, no matter how niche and no matter how many times you may have seen that before!

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I think that covers a lot already, so I’m going to leave it there. And if you have anything you’re particularly thankful for when it comes to books, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.