Instagram Bookstack Challenge
I decided to participate in the GRATEFUL and THANKFUL Bookstack challenges for Thanksgiving yesterday. Sharing today, I wanted to give an explanation of why I chose what I did and to encourage you to include them on your TBR list. Unlike my fellow Bookstagramers, I decided to include authors rather than just their works. My reasoning is that I wanted each choice to mean something. I wanted to have a reason for each book being on the stack. While I don’t list each reason of why I might have chosen one of my books, I figured that in order to show the full scale of my gratitude, explanations would be welcome as being thankful involves the need to be able to tell why.
GRATEFUL Bookstack
Gods & Monsters: Myths and Tales
Radium Girls by Kate Moore
Austen, Jane Austen represented by Pride and Prejudice
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Wolff
The Escape Room by Megan Goldin
Faulkner, William Faulkner represented by a collection of his works
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fericome Cooper
God & Monsters: Myths and Tales is a great anthology of different myths from all types of mythology from Norse to Indian to even Native American. As a mythology lover, I am entirely grateful for this book as I am able to find my favorite myths in one location as well as able to discover new myths and tales whenever I look through it again.
Radium Girls is a great book telling the dark truth of radium poisoning and America’s history. I am truly grateful that there are writers out in the world willing to put the work in to share hidden truths of the world. I am especially grateful that Moore wrote this as a narrative piece giving more depth to the people involved and helping readers to feel empathy to them.
I couldn’t make a stack of books without involving Jane Austen. Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors. Her writing, wit, and social commentary make me hope that one day I may be able to be compared to her standards. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book as I feel that it highlights her style perfectly.
If I had to chose my second favorite novel, To The Lighthouse by Virginia Wolff would be it. In fact, I consider Wolff to be my second favorite writer. To The Lighthouse is an amazing masterpiece written in stream of consciousness. Introduced to it in high school, every time I read it makes me fall in love with it all over again.
The Escape Room by Megan Goldin is a story unlike any other and the reveal at the end had me screaming. Goldin’s debut novel, I had to include this novel on my GRATEFUL Bookstack as I am entirely grateful for new authors who are bringing new stories into the world. I understand it is not easy and am completely grateful for debut author perseverance.
If you are unaware, I am a huge fan of classic stories, and, to me, William Faulkner represents classic literature. First introduced to him through his work As I Lay Dying, Faulkner had many viewpoint that are considered out-of-date and that I do not agree with. His writings involving death, however, are both moving and relatable to all.
Another classic, Ulysses by James Joyce had to make an appearance as any booklover has to be (at least somewhat grateful) for those considered to be one of the greatest books of all time.
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fericome Cooper ends my GRATEFUL Bookstack. A brilliant novel, Cooper manages to capture the wildness of the frontier in the lines of his work.
THANKFUL Bookstack
Topics of Conversation by Miranda Popkey
Hemingway represented by The Sun Also Rises
Alcott, Louisa May Alcott represented by Little Women
No Bad Deed by Heather Chavez
Kierkegaard represented by Fear and Trembling and Sickness Unto Death
A Family of her Own by Brenda Novak
Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Life Inside My Mind edited by Jessica Burkhart
Topics of Conversation by Miranda Popkey is the perfect example of the shirts warning that anything said or done is liable to be used in writings in the presence of authors. For Women’s Fiction, I highly rate it.
It is my believe that all writers should be thankful for Ernest Hemingway. One of the greatest writers of all time, I am especially grateful to Hemingway as he was able to entwine existentialism into his writings. Any writer able to use philosophy in their writings should be highly rated. I can only hope that I may reach the standards put forth by Hemingway.
Louisa May Alcott lead the way for women in writing. I am extremely thankful to Alcott for creating the path that I hope to one day make myself.
No Bad Deed by Heather Chavez is a debut novel as well. As stated with The Escape Room in my GRATEFUL Bookstack, debut authors hold a special place in my heart as their perseverance takes strength, courage, and an imaginable amount of hope for the future.
An existentialist myself, I hold Simon Kierkegaard in high esteem. Sickness Unto Death is a novel that whether you believe or not is a must read. For those unaware of what existentialism is, in plain words, existentialism is a philosophy surrounding the idea that a person is responsible for who they are – what makes a person a person is the ability to decide for themselves. Sickness Unto Death dives into religion speaking that no one can truly claim to believe unless they believe without help. You cannot believe in God because you believe in the Bible. You cannot believe in God because of the presence of the Church. It is why believing is called a leap of faith. There is no bridge to cross over. Either you believe because you believe or you don’t. Believing in the Bible does not equal believing in God.
A Family of Her Own by Brenda Novak helped me to believe in love. When I first read this book, I was super young and believed love did not exist. It is through this work that I started to believe it did.
Notes of the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky is another existentialist work. Again I highly encourage you to read this work, however, I also highly suggest reading this in a group (same for all existentialist works if you are being first introduced) as it can be highly confusing. Some of the quotes in Dostoevsky’s work makes me want to do the hand-clap inbetween words thing in real life.
I am extremely thankful that books like Life Inside My Mind exist. For those unaware, I suffer from mental diseases myself. My brain just doesn’t like making the necessary amounts of chemicals it needs and tends to get stuck on the same track of the record of my life. I am beyond thankful that mental health awareness movement is gaining strength and that more people are speaking up about the problems they have faced involving mental illnesses either themselves or in their lives.
Rosey Reviews 