It’s that time of year where all of us here at Bookstr sit around the table to give thanks to all things bookish. A common question this holiday season is, “Which author would you want at your Thanksgiving dinner?” For some of us this was a no brainer, but for others (okay, me mostly) this was hard! How do you choose just one? It’s so much pressure! Luckily, we all came to our decisions and now we want to share them with you!
You might be asking yourself this same question as you read through all of our responses. We hope you do at least! Do any of our picks have a seat at your holiday dinner?
M.L. Rio
“If We Were Villains is one of my favorite books and I want to tell her how grateful I am to her to have written it. Also I’d love to grill her about where the next book is and what she’s currently writing.”
— Griffyn Tijamo, Graphics Department
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
“Frankenstein is one of my favorite reads from college. I would love to talk with her about her inspiration for the novel, and how she came up with ideas for the iconic science fiction novel. I’d also love to know if she had other novels she wanted to write.”
— Jenna Sassenrath, Editorial Department
Mary Wollstonecraft (the mother of Mary Shelley)
“A Vindications of the Rights of Woman— She was far ahead of her time, and as I was reading her essay— a lot of things she touches upon like gender roles and sexuality are still extremely prevalent now, and I would want to ask why her mind was soooo advanced. To me, she was the first feminist writer.”
— Sierra Jackson, Editorial Department
George R. R. Martin
“I want to hear him ramble endlessly about Westeros at dinner and get all of his insider knowledge about his favorite characters and dragons and working with HBO. Also, I would simply have to pester him about how the The Winds of Winter is coming along because I’m growing more and more impatient!”
— Erin Shea, Editorial Department
Edgar Allan Poe
“I mean, please, he’d be such a blast during the holidays. He was a full-time simp, so imagine trying to keep him off your mom and aunties, ugh. He’d probably get along really well with your drunk uncle, but keep the door locked ‘cause Poe is known to wander when he’s wasted. Then, during dinner, when he’s chewing out your racist grandad just to wax poetic about effervescent snails? They’d say, man, this goofy little goth guy is hilarious.”
— Rachel Snyder, Editorial & Video Department
Carson McCullers
“I have only read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by McCullers but there is something about her storytelling and the information I have learned about her that have engrossed me. I would love to pick her brain apart over some turkey and pie, and ask her to share with me her insights on loneliness, love, and humanity in general.”
— Lindsay, Social Media Department
John Green
“His novels have had such huge impacts on my life. I think we can all remember the first time we read a John Green book. I have a quote from Looking for Alaska tattooed on me which would obviously make great dinner talk. It reads, “We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken.” The discussions I feel like I could have with John Green just sound amazing.”
— Emilee Calametti Quinn, Editorial Department
Joanna Campbell (original creator and author) and various writers
“The Thoroughbred series (childrens equestrian book)– I grew up reading the series. I want to ask why book 72 felt like the best way to end the series. I want to know how she would feel about making it into a TV show as a way of educating the world about equestrian sports and dispelling any misconceptions, stereotypes, myths, & preconceived notions that people might have about equestrians. An effort to stop the snap judgements people make when they see a headline about an “incident” involving horse “sports.
I think it would be interesting if Olympians and real life equestrians got involved. Obviously, major changes would have to be made to reflect the changes in horse racing and equestrian eventing-frangible pins, long & short format, the addition of the 5 star level of eventing, horse and people safety, etc.”
— Christina Hardesty, Graphics Department
Robert Jackson Bennett (creator of the Founders Trilogy)
“Foundryside and its sequels are among one of my favorite fantasy books so far (currently reading the last book in the trilogy!). I genuinely loved how well he crafted the world and the magic system, so I would just ask him a million questions about the book series over mashed potatoes with gravy, alongside stuffing and whatever goes into Thanksgiving Dinner. Maybe give him an ounce of this fantasy world I was creating hawhaw.
— Darhell Travis Eugene, Editorial Department
J.R.R. Tolkien
“I would love to just have ONE conversation with Tolkien, whether it’s about the intricacies of Middle-earth, creating languages, or just listening to him spill all the tea on C.S. Lewis and his other famous author buddies. He seems like the kind of dinner guest that you’d end up going through a bottle of wine (or two… or three) with because you’d be sitting there talking to him all night about anything and everything and lose track of time. Those are the best kinds of people to hang out with. Maybe he could teach me some Elvish?”
— Savannah Swanson, Editorial Department
R.L. Caulder and M. Sinclair
“I would love to have a discussion on their books and how they have managed to intertwine their storytelling while at the same time, writing their own unique tales of the paranormal. Their novels are so intricately written that you have to read every interwoven series to understand the bigger concept of the world they have written. R.L. Caulder and M. Sinclair seem like they would be dinner guests you’d talk through the night with, because there is a never ending supply of detailed writing to keep the conversation going well into the night.”
— Alexanderia Wadsworth, Editorial Department
Jane Austen
“Austen is one of my favorite authors, and I have read all her books and binged the television series and movies based on them. I would love to ask her what inspired her famous romances, particularly Pride and Prejudice (my personal favorite!). I would also be interested in hearing her thoughts on the Sanditon miniseries and how the script stacks up with the original plan for her unfinished novel. Lastly, I really enjoyed the biographical movie Becoming Jane and would definitely take the opportunity to grill her on how accurate the film is, especially in regards to her relationship with Tom Lefroy!”
— Lauren Salvatore, Editorial Department
Taran Matharu
“The one and only author who I knew nothing about and found his book The Novice at my high school library. I always saw it front and center every single day as I strolled through the shelves. One day I just picked it up and read it without a glance of what the book was even about and I loved it. It was probably my first blind read and I read practically all the books he made ever since. I would love to get the chance to sit down and discuss his new upcoming series! And guess what? The main character’s name is Jai! It almost seems like it was meant to be!”
— Jaiden Cruz, Graphics Department
Dean Koontz
“Best known for his suspense thriller book series Odd Thomas. If I were able to talk to him about his works and what drew him into this unique field of literature that would be incredible. My favorite book of his is Cold Fire, a lesser known book which keeps you guessing until the end. Although he creates suspenseful thriller books, he does it in a style that makes you believe you are the character. Your attention is driven closely to each character regardless if it’s a main or side character only in for a few pages. He keeps your attention through every book.”
— Sean Harrison, Graphics Department
Hayao Miyazaki
“A chance to sit down with Miyazaki to discuss his creative process , and how he became such an icon in Japanese culture would surely be an interesting conversation. As well as what he plans to do now that studio ghibli has closed its doors for good. Also discussing in depth just how hectic things would get at the office on a day to day basis would be fascinating as well.”
— Sam Cosca, Graphics Department
Marissa Meyer
“Author of The Lunar Chronicles series!! I’d love to invite Marissa Meyers to Thanksgiving! Fairy tales have always been something I enjoyed, and her books do a wonderful job of incorporating the original Grimm’s versions and turning them into a new, interesting story. I’ve met her before at a book signing, and it was an amazing experience! Since our meeting was so brief, I think it would be great to have the opportunity to talk with her more in depth about her ideas and inspirations!”
— Karly Kolehouse, Graphics Department
Sarah Dessen
“Her writing shaped so many young girls’ experiences and teenage years, including mine! I’d love to talk to her about how she is able to capture that perfect feeling of youth and summer in her books. I’d also ask her what thanksgiving dishes her characters would enjoy, and if the Last Chance Cafe would be open on Thanksgiving or not. Also, I’d have to show her my ‘Along For The Ride’ tattoo while I had the chance.”
— Danya Shembesh, Editorial Department
We hope you enjoyed seeing who the Bookstr team would invite to Thanksgiving dinner. What do you think of it? It feels like a very good dinner to us! Stay tuned for our Christmas dinner table!
Looking for more holiday content? Click here for our very bookish holiday news!