I think Thanksgiving must be the first thing that pops into most American heads when they think about November. It’s the holiday everyone can—and probably does—celebrate.
Some of us have to scrounge for extra serving bowls and dig out the dusty card table only used once a year. When I was growing up, that card table was the “kiddie table.” We ached for the day we could graduate to the “real” Thanksgiving table.
Some of us have quieter Thanksgivings with a more manageable, probably better-behaved crowd.
Some of us do all the cooking for the belt-loosening feast, and some of us have potlucks where everyone brings something, lightening the load for everyone. And some of us always assign Becky to bring the booze because she can’t ruin beer or wine by experimenting with kale or using half the sugar called for in a dessert recipe.
But no matter how the day is organized, the people you celebrate Thanksgiving with are your family. Some are blood relatives and some are chosen to be members of the family.
When you read fiction, you choose the people you want to spend time with. If you don’t like the characters, you don’t care about their adventure. Some characters I’ll stick with for one adventure, but then I never want to hear from them again. I’m talking to you, Hannibal Lecter. Some characters I love through many, many books but would never consider inviting to my home. coughDextercough.
And then there are those characters we love hanging around. The people we’d give Great Aunt Gertrude a hip-check for in order to sit next to them at the Thanksgiving table.
I’d invite Stephanie Plum’s Grandma Mazur for the hilarity and indiscretion.
Diane Mott Davidson’s Goldy Schulz is on my list so she can do the cooking.
Any of the kids from John Green’s novels because they are all witty, charming, and smart and can carry on a conversation with everyone.
If Walter Mosley would relinquish him for a bit, I’d also invite philosopher and ex-con Socrates Fortlow because I have so many questions for him. Also, I think I could fix him before the pie is served.
Which fictional characters would you like to invite to your Thanksgiving table? And why? And can I come?