Now that we’re in the thick of the holiday season, it’s a good time to think about gratitude. In fact, I think it’s always a good time to cultivate gratefulness, but since it’s the season for it — let’s talk about books that inspire gratitude.
As readers, we can really be grateful for any book we particularly enjoy, but here are some of my personal recommendations for reads that get you in the mindset of gratitude.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
I’m a big Bill Bryson fan; he’s one of my auto-buy authors when I come across his books in thrift stores. His works are mostly travel and science books (I enjoy his travel writing the most) and are characterized by his absolutely delightful sense of humor. Bryson’s travel books — the ones I’ve read so far, at least — always make me cackle and have me coming away grateful for and excited about travel as a whole.
But A Walk in the Woods went above and beyond for me. Recollecting his adventures on the Appalachian Trail with a friend and reporting on his related research, Bryson takes us on a funny, affectionate, informative, sharp, and surprisingly poignant journey. I found myself stopping more while reading this, lingering on a page, my breath snatched away, needing a moment to sit with the words. I love this book so much that it’s one of the ones I proselytize, pushing it into friends’ hands in an attempt to convert them into fans. My copy is currently on loan to a friend.
If you want to stir up gratitude for nature, outdoor recreation, or friendship, A Walk in the Woods could be just the whisk you need.
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
I’ve shared my love for Four Thousand Weeks before, but that won’t stop me from doing it again. A strikingly human and powerfully urgent book about our modern time management problems, Four Thousand Weeks invites us to explore our often-unrealistic concept of time. I’ll let the book’s blurb explain a little more:
Rejecting the futile modern obsession with “getting everything done,” Four Thousand Weeks introduces readers to tools for constructing a meaningful life by embracing finitude, showing that many of the unhelpful ways we’ve come to think about time aren’t inescapable, unchanging truths, but choices we’ve made as individuals and as a society — and that we can do things differently.
– Excerpt from the blurb for Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
This book left me energized and determined to live my life well — and to cherish every moment I get.
Hector and the Search for Happiness by François Lelord
A charming little book about a psychiatrist who goes on a journey around the world to find out what makes people happy, Hector and the Search for Happiness is an easy reading choice to inspire gratitude. The prose is simplistic, but in a way that makes you feel as if you’re reading a fairy tale (the novel even opens with “once upon a time”). As we follow Hector on his journey, we learn a lot about the human experience, happiness, and how to find it in our own lives. I left this book feeling grateful for the journey and for all the joys — big and small — in life.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Meditations is the commonplace book of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. In it, we find the thoughts he found worthy to note down, the philosophy he ascribed to, and the life lessons he strove to keep close to his heart. It begins: “Courtesy and serenity of temper I first learnt to know from my grandfather Verus.” The rest of Book One (Meditations is divided into 12 books) is similarly used to credit the people in Marcus’s life with the lessons they’ve taught him — their blessings and influences and gifts. It’s a beautiful meditation on gratitude and a great reminder to think about the people in our own lives and why we’re grateful for them.
This book — Maxwell Staniforth’s translation in particular — is one of my current reads, and it’s quickly becoming a favorite. Meditations is decadent in its food for thought, prompting me continuously to examine my own perspectives, practices, and philosophy of life. Plus — how cool is it to read the writings of a Roman emperor, written around 170-180 AD? His musings and observations show us that, thousands of years ago, while the world was pretty different in some ways, humanity and its questions were much the same.
Moonwalking With Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer
Maybe it’s silly to describe a book about memory as memorable, but that’s exactly what Moonwalking With Einstein is. A gorgeously curated collection of journalist Joshua Foer’s research into the neuroscience of remembering (and forgetting), this book has stuck with me for probably more than 10 years. Foer’s compelling prose strings you along his journey with him, offering humor, poignancy, candor, and insight — with zero textbook-style dryness. It’s definitely one of those books I’m grateful to have had the experience of reading. But more than that, it left me fiercely grateful for the memories I have and the ways they’ve made me who I am today.
Thirst by Scott Harrison
I still remember the day the nonprofit organization charity: water released their short film, “The Spring.” The video, which recounts charity: water’s story and mission — to end the global water crisis — was an emotional gut punch that stirred my soul, taught me so much about water scarcity and inequalities of access, and made me a lifelong charity: water fan. That’s why I preordered a copy of Thirst as soon as I heard about it back in 2018.
Part memoir and part call-to-action, Thirst recounts charity: water’s conception, early challenges, and incredible growth — as well as the inspiring lifestyle changes of its founder, Scott Harrison (who was a nightclub promoter before finding passion and power in charity work), and the immense impact the organization’s clean water projects have had on people and communities all over the world. I pounced on this book as soon as the package arrived on my doorstep, and it did not disappoint. Thirst proved to be empowering, inspirational, and beautifully human. I left its pages not only driven to make a difference for others, but grateful on many fronts — for the work charity: water has done and is doing, for my own access to clean water (often taken for granted), and for our capacity to help others, even if it’s seemingly small.
Bonus points: 100% of Scott Harrison’s net proceeds from Thirst go directly to funding clean water projects around the world. Your book purchase helps change lives and futures — a uniquely impactful win-win!
Practicing Gratitude as Readers
The books above are just some of my own suggestions — books that have personally cultivated gratitude in my own life. Obviously, I’d love for you to read them — but you can find gratitude in most books, I’d say. As readers, which of us has not taken our time reading a page just to make the words last longer, or spotted our pages with teardrops when something really genuinely moved us, or felt our heart race, our breath catch with adrenaline? Laughed out loud? Kicked our feet? Put a book down to better freak out about what our eyes seriously just saw on that page??
In this and every season, let’s remember to hold gratitude in our hearts for the stories we’ve loved. They’ve done a lot for us, after all.
Thank you for exploring with us! Until next time, may the pages and paths ahead of you be great.
