It’s another freebie, and it’s been a few weeks since I last did one of these top ten lists. I haven’t been able to think of things to write about for the last few topics, but this week is different. I knew exactly what I wanted to talk about, because there are some books that 100% changed my life, and I’m so thankful that I came across them when I did. I love many books, and I can’t even say the following list are the favorites of favorites. No. They’re just the books that made a vast, discernible change in the way I approached or viewed life. In no particular order:

1. Mrs. Craddock by William Somerset Maugham – After nearly a decade of not really reading outside of school because I couldn’t find books/genres I consistently liked, this book taught me to love reading again.

2. The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder – A childhood favorite that pretty much solidified my bookish likes/dislikes and the things I’m interested in writing.

3. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – Considering how often I’ve been talking about the KonMari process over the last few months, this should come as no surprise.

4. The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan – After I listened to this book, I developed a much healthier relationship with food, especially whole, real foods. I avoided processed foods for nearly three years afterwards, too. Perhaps it’s time to revisit…

5. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – Before reading this, I’d spent ten months with the decision to never write again after a devastating writing incident. Morgenstern got me excited about writing again, and considering that writing is pretty much my main passion in life and has been since early childhood…

6. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones // Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson – Two books, but I read them in the same short time period and together, they opened up the entire world of fantasy to me. I’d thought I didn’t like most fantasy, but it turned out, I was just reading the wrong things.

7. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath – Reading this was the first time in my life that I felt understood and not alone. Especially the combination of extroversion and severe depression. Because people tend to assume you don’t get depressed when you’re outgoing.

8. the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling – This series was my lifeline when my family originally moved to Texas in late 2005. For six months, we lived with extended family, and these were the only books that I had unpacked. Seriously. Lifesaver. And now, old friends.

9. All Joy and No Fun by Jennifer Senior – Read on the cusp of marital difficulties with three children going into preteen/teenage years, and struggling with that transition on all ends. Yeah. I absolutely needed this, and it helped me to understand a lot of parenting stuff.

10. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy – Technically, this wasn’t the book itself (though that was good!), but the audio version that changed my life. Thank you, Alan Rickman and Thomas Hardy, for turning me from an audio-phobe (or, honestly, an audio-hater) into a huge audiobook nerd.

Which books are you thankful for? Also: Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.