I’ve been perusing best-ofs lists for a number of years, online. I like them, and as you might know, I like making my own or building to-do lists from others’ best-of lists. One of the lists that I have come to like the best is from Oprah Magazine. The following list of Thanksgiving reads and Thanksgiving movies leans heavily on Oprah Magazine, but I looked at plenty of other sources and, to be frank, they all seem to draw on each other and therefore repeat a whole lot.
There are more Thanksgiving options for both reading and viewing than I would have guessed. (And remember, I haven’t read or seen most of these. I will provide links and zero-two stars once I read/watch them.)
- There There, Tommy Orange *
- Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen, Laurie Colwin ***
- The Nest, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
- Still Life, Louise Penny
- How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie, Gina Calanni
- The Book of Delights, Ross Gay
- The Harrowing, Alexandra Sokoloff (too scary?)
- The Ice Storm, Rick Moody
- A Patchwork Planet, Anne Tyler
- “Turkey Remains and How to Inter Them,” F. Scott Fitzgerald *
- Three Thanksgivings, Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- Thanksgiving Night, Richard Bausch
- Oldtown Folks, Harriet Beecher Stowe
- The Ghost at the Table, Suzanne Berne
- The Thanksgiving Visitor, Truman Capote
- Strangers at the Feast, Jennifer Vanderbes
- Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Ben Fountain
- Thanksgiving, Janet Evanovich (?)
- American Pastoral, Philip Roth
- Courting Disaster, Julie Edelson
- Nothing with Strings, Bailey White
- The Holiday Season, Michael Knight
- “Thanksgiving in the Anthropocene,” Craig Santos Perez *
Picture Books:
- Balloons Over Braodway, Melissa Sweet
- We Are Grateful, Traci Sorell
- 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving
- Giving Thanks, Chief Jake Swamp
- Thanks a Million, Nikki Grimes
- The Accidental Tourist, Anne Tyler
- An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving, Louisa May Alcott
- Ankle Soup, Maureen Sullivan
- Fat Chance Thanksgiving, Patricia Lakin
- Molly’s Pilgrim, Barbara Cohen
Movies:
The Day After Halloween: The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Jim Henson’s Turkey Hallow (2015)
- The War at Home (1996)
- The Myth of Fingerprints (1996)
- The Oath (2018)
- The House of Yes (1997)
- Alice’s Restaurant (1969)
- Home for the Holidays (1995)
- Funny People (2009)
- The Vicious Kind (2009)
- Holidaysburg (2016)
- Tadpole (2002)
- Avalon (1990)
- The Ice Storm (1997)
- Pieces of April (2003)
- Scent of a Woman (1992)
- Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
- Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)
- Krisha (2016)
- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)
- Anne of Green Gables: Fire and Dew (2018)
- Arlo Guthrie: Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary (2015)
- Free Birds (2013)
- Tower Heist (2011)
- The Blind Side (2009)
- Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)
- You’ve Got Mail (1998)
- Garfield’s Thanksgiving (1996)
- Nobody’s Fool (1994)
- Grumpy Old Men (1993)
- Addams Family Values (1993)
- Son-in-Law (1993)
- Scent of a Woman (1992)
- Curly Sue (1991)
- The Big Chill (1983)
- Rocky (1976)
- Babes in Toyland (1934)
- Dutch (1991)
- Soul Food (1997)
- What’s Cooking? (2000)
- Dan in Real Life (2007)
- The Daytrippers (1997)
- She’s Gotta Have It (1986)
- The New World (2005)
- Prisoners (2013)
Love the things you do, Devon!! I am in two book clubs plus an American Public Policy Discussion group (and I’m deep into a journey addressing my blind spots in regard to Implicit Racial Bias and Systemic Racism) so I have a pile of interesting stuff I’m committed to reading from month to month. I want you to know though that added to these things, I really enjoy reading your book reviews even if I’m not able to read the books!! You are such an intelligent, thoughtful, creative and assertive 21st century woman and writer!!!
Thanks very much, Ma.