For me, most holidays have some association with books. Christmas is Little Women
and Debbie Macomber’s Angel 
books; Halloween is The Haunting of Hill House
and assorted ghost stories; even the Fourth of July has Rainbow Valley
and Rilla of Ingleside
(I’m not sure why I’m reading about Canada on the Fourth of July, but there you go)– but Thanksgiving’s got nothing.
I remember spending the Thanksgiving of 8th grade riveted to Stephen King’s It
, fascinated and horrified. Another year it was Joan Wolf’s Edge of Light
, equally random, if with somewhat fewer demented homicidal clowns.
This year, I’m kicking off the holiday with a re-read of one of my favorite British chick lit novels, Liz Young’s Fair Game
, which makes me feel all nostalgic about Christmas in London. Because, naturally, it makes sense to spend Thanksgiving reading about a culture which doesn’t have a Thanksgiving. But I don’t have any one book or set of book that says “Thanksgiving” to me. It’s purely the whim of the moment.
What about you? Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving read?
A few years ago I spent Thanksgiving weekend reading Enthusiasm, by Polly Shulman, which is a really fun YA romance about a girl whose best friend decides they need to live like they’re in a Jane Austen novel. I don’t really associate it with Thanksgiving so much as just the time of year – all cold and dark outside, wrapped up in a blanket with a mug of hot chocolate inside, reading a book.
Lauren: Tomorrow, I go to my son’s in-laws where there will be at least 15+ family members; Then we will do the short drive to my daughter’s in-laws where there will be 20+. With such a crush of family I have never had time for a favorite Thanksgiving reading but I do have a favorite Thanksgiving movie: Planes, Trains and Automobiles! We watch it EVERY year and it brings both laughter and tears in abundance. How trashy of me! You just wait until you have a family of your own! Then we’ll see how much time you have to devote to a Thanksgiving reading! Blessings….
My new turkey weekend tradition is to read The Mischief of the Mistletoe while driving to the Texas Ren Fest for the Celtic Christmas weekend (this will be my second time to do this, thus it is now a tradition)
Thank you, Emily! This is why I love reading the comments here – that book sounds adorable and also like something I’m in the mood to read right now. I’m glad you mentioned it.
I don’t have time this year, but in the past I’ve sort of had a habit of rereading various YA fantasy from my childhood over Thanksgiving break. It’s fun to look back at those.
I’ve been making a modest Thanksgiving dinner for my in-laws, my not-so grown children and their current boyfriends — although one is away in the Navy this year. 🙁 Anyway, besides the Bisquick cookbook (best butter biscuits EVER — I’ll take a few minutes to read more of “Howards End” this holiday.
Lauren, et al, we could have squeezed in a couple more at the table. Just where in NYC can you get a good Thanksgiving feast after the annual parade? (My uncle on Staten Island always has salmon — shaking my head–)
Do you only do American versions of this? I mean, Bastille Day is comnig up (14 July), which is the French equivalent of blow your fingers off day (except that France being France means fireworks are illegal except for official, municipal events), and I’m sure the French would be honoured that your balls dress up for them plus Bastille Day is kind of cool, all that prison-storming, cake-eating, off-with-their-heads-ing (most of which is legend or historically incorrect but who cares about the details?).