12 Bookish Things We’re Thankful For

November 25, 2016 by Jenna | Books, Features

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I have been spending the last two weeks travelling (errr… I mean ‘working’) in North America so I thought it’d be appropriate to do a little Thanksgiving post even though we don’t celebrate it in Australia. Also, I’m currently in Canada so please ignore the little fact that Thanksgiving in Canada is in October…

Here are 12 bookish things that we are each thankful for!

1. Books, duh. (Jenna)

I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have books in my life. I’ve been an avid reader since I was very young and if I didn’t have my fictional friends and my books, I would have been a very lonely child. Books just bring me so much joy and can brighten up any bad day for me.

2. Bookish events and hang outs (Jenna)

There aren’t a whole lot of big bookish events in Australia like Yallfest and BEA, but I love the little YA events that publishers will occasionally put on because they give me a chance to hang out with other bookish people and to catch up with bookish friends. I also love attending book launches and getting to hear local authors talk about their novels and they are great opportunities to support our Aussie authors.

3. My Happy Indulgence co-bloggers (Jenna)

There are no words for how much I love Jeann and Aila. They are two of my absolute best bookish friends and I’ve had the insane pleasure of meeting them both in real life *cue squealing*. We talk every single day even if it’s just little updates and I really enjoy that we can chat about all things bookish together. We all read vastly different books and this has definitely broadened my reading. Our coblogging relationship is wonderful and I can’t believe that we’ve been blogging together for over a year! Check out our post on the pros and cons of coblogging!

4. Goodreads (Jenna)

I am a huge proponent of Goodreads. I don’t really use it that much for networking but I really like using it to check out reviews for books that I want to buy. I also really like that it allows me to keep track of my reading progress digitally. I do keep track of my reading on paper and in my new bullet journal but having it online really helps. I like using Goodreads to keep track of my yearly reading and make sure that I’m on track to meet my yearly reading goal. Because I’ve been away from home for almost two weeks, I’m now a few books behind schedule but I’m hoping to catch up as soon as I get home.

5. Warm lights (Aila)

They have revolutionized my Instagram feed and bookish photos (which you can find me at @ailareads). I’m not kidding. Wanna waste some space in pictures? Warm lights are the way to go. Need extra lighting to spice things up? Warm lights are there for you. Is it almost Christmas time and you want to embellish your books/shelves? Warm lights. They are such great investments, I’m never looking back after using warm lights.

6. Increase of Diverse Books in YA Lit (Aila)

It’s absolutely amazing to see characters that are continually reflecting the readers that pick up books, whether it’s based on their body type, skin tone, sexuality, ethnicity or more. Diverse books are not only amazing way to learn about different cultures but also a way to gain perhaps a new understanding on the people around you. I always wonder what it’d be like to read more young adult/middle grade books growing up with Asian main characters – but now I want that kind of future for the kids growing into this genre, and seeing the increase of diverse books has made that dream come true.

7. Authors (Aila)

For writing what they believe in, what they’re fighting for, and the stories they want to tell. For creating revolutions, soaring through space and time, and exploring unconventional characters that go against the system. For rewriting history, or maybe adding a part of history unseen before. For spending countless days and nights perfecting these stories. And finally, for opening my eyes to new worlds and experiences that will stick with me, long after the last page is read.

8. Publishers (Aila)

Man, shout out to these companies that share stories around the world. There are so many people involved in this process, and the hidden teams behind a book’s success definitely needs some recognition. Thank you editors for making sure my eyes don’t die because of improper grammar, publicists for spreading the word, cover artists for making sure my bookshelf stays gorgeous, and any other hidden job that I haven’t covered. We appreciate all you do.

9. Aussie YA Community (Jeann)

I’m so happy to be part of the Aussie YA community. Everyone is so kind, passionate and supportive and our local authors are so incredibly talented! I love how authors, book bloggers, publishers, book sellers, teacher librarians and all types of readers are united and there’s a real sense of community. I always have lots of fun at events, whether they are organised by the publisher, Supanova or the local writers festival. If you haven’t already, join the Aussie YA Bloggers & Readers group on Facebook and Goodreads!

10. Local bookstores (Jeann) 

It’s not easy being a brick and mortar store, especially for books these days, but there’s nothing quite like heading down to your local bookstore to check out what’s available. Often I’ll pick up reads that I haven’t heard of outside of the blogging community and I love seeing what’s popular at the moment. Dymocks staff (hi Sarah!) are also great with their recommendations and I’ve discovered lots of great reads through them. I also love their loyalty program and the events that they run! I honestly don’t mind paying that little bit extra and walking away with a book (or several) in my hand.

11. Bookish friends (Jeann) 

After blogging for 4 years, I’m so thankful that I’ve found a place amongst my people in the bookish community. I love that we can discuss, recommend and fangirl about our favourite reads but also have a friendship that extends beyond just books. Amongst the bookish community, I’ve found some of my closest friends (including Aila and Jenna of course) and I’m really thankful for all the support and discussions that we all have. I wish I could meet you all someday!

12. Our readers (Jeann) 

We’re all incredibly thankful for the time that you guys take in reading this blog, sharing posts, picking up the books we recommend, and leaving lovely comments whether it’s here or social media. Thank you so much for the support and readership, we wouldn’t be doing this without you!

What are you thankful for?

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Jenna is an Aussie blogger and reader who loves to indulge in great books and great food. She is a doctor (of philosophy) and can usually be found fangirling about something, devouring delicious food, or taking a nap. You can find her on Twitter @readwithjenna and on Instagram @readingwithjenna.

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25 responses to “12 Bookish Things We’re Thankful For

    • Thank you <3. I don't really celebrate Christmas either but I agree that there's a lot of positivity during this time of year. I love gift-giving (and weirdly, I love wrapping things) so Christmas is just a really great time for me haha

  1. Read Diverse Books

    What a lovely post! You three seem to have such a great relationship and work great together as co-bloggers! What an amazing team. 😀

    I'm thankful for a lot of these things too! I'm so glad to be a reader and blogger at this point in time because I am seeing a shift in reading culture ad slowly there is more acceptance of diversity in books and of the reality that it's here to stay! I have so many options now and that just makes me happy beyond words.
    My recent post Review – The Unintentional Time Traveler by Everett Maroon

    • Thank you! I love working with Jeann and Aila so much and being able to discuss books with them!
      I love the increasing awareness for diverse books too. It's really great to see because, this time last year, there was definitely not as big of a focus on diversity. I'm happy that I get to discuss all these wonderful books with everyone in the community!

  2. Transhaan

    Definitely agree with your list. I'm thoroughly thankful for such an awesome book blogging community! You learn so many things with these folks and find so many awesome people out there. What a fabulous virtual world (cause the real world seems to give me a hard time to find readers!)

    – Lashaan

    • I love the online bookish community so much! And I'm extremely thankful that I've gotten to meet so many of you wonderful souls in real life too! It's just so great to be able to talk to other people about the things that we're passionate about!

  3. anotherafterthought

    I quite enjoy that even though community members might not see each other often, attending events does often feel like no time has passed since we all speak with each other candidly online anyways.

    I had to Google these warm lights as I've only seen Fairy (?) lights being used in IG photos.

    Either way, I am most thankful for becoming a damn cloud FINALLYYYYYYY PRAISE THE BOOK GODS.
    My recent post [Blogiversary] – Reflecting On 3 Years and Thankful Thanks

    • Tbh I'd never heard of warm lights either. I'm pretty sure they're just fairy lights with warm lighting instead of cool…

      I'm not sure if you passed Jeann's cloud test but having bubble tea together is good enough for me.

    • Haha yes, Goodreads will do that to you! I added about 20 new books to my wishlist recently after the Goodreads Choice Awards came out. I went through and added a lot of the nominees to my list, and now I'm tempted to buy them all!!

  4. thebookprophet

    I'm thankful that you three found each other and created this beautiful blog to share your love for reading with the world. I have only been part of the online Bookish community for a year or so so I am fairly new to all of this, and I have yet to attend a book con or festival, but hopefully in the coming year or so I can find one nearby.

    • I'm so glad that I've found Jeann and Aila as well! We have so much fun together and I don't know what I'd do without my girls <3
      I hope you can find your own bookish community where you live! In the past year, I've found my group of booklovers who live in Sydney and it's been a lot of fun catching up with everyone at events and seeing them regularly at launches.

  5. HOLLY

    What a great list!! I love how you included warm lights because I completely agree- they work wonders to make a space feel special! Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂

    • HAHA I love that Aila included warm lights on her list! I know that Jeann went out immediately to buy some and I will be soon as well 😀

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