Top Ten Authors I'd Love to Have at My Thanksgiving Feast

For their weekly meme, the ladies at The Broke and the Bookish challenged us all to come up with 10 authors we'd be delighted to have at our Thanksgiving dinner tables.  I almost didn't participate this week because at first I thought I would have to come up with 10 authors who could sit down and eat/enjoy the traditional family Thanksgiving at my house with the already varied personalities/individuals who are a part of my family...but then, I thought, "What would be the harm in having these authors to a special Thanksgiving celebration...just me and them?"  Then, all I would have to worry about would be my personality and theirs...my brain started clicking then...

Thanksgiving is about Family to me. Traditions.  Food.  and, of course Thankfulness, so I would be very particular about the authors I would include at my table for those very reasons...I would need those with a sense of humor, life stories to tell, a comfortably happy personality, a love of life and, of course, cooking skills...I was over half-way finished with this week's list before I realized that all my authors were women.  Each has a very strong personality, sense of self and seems to have her priorities in order...can't imagine why I'd want them all at my table ;)

Jan Karon (The Mitford series)- Karon's traditional graciousness, faith and etiquette would be welcomed...some of the guests on my lists probably would have a tendency to get out of hand ;) and I could see Karon keeping us straight :) as well as making sure our elbows weren't on the table.

Paula Deen - Deen is on here because I know she's not afraid of butter, she been through tough times, pulled herself up by her bootstraps and learned the hard way how to be self-sufficient.   She would remind us to be thankful for our families and would keep us laughing.

Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum series) - Evanovich would be there because of her humor...her one liners that I'm sure she can belt out...and of course her love of big dogs.  I can see her wanting to spend time talking with and about my Layla.

Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman books and blog and children's book about Charlie the Basset Hound) - Drummond would take pictures of everything and even give me some tips on how to take better pictures of my dishes.  I think she and Paula Deen would be a riot together as well.

Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa cookbooks) - I think Garten and Drummond would actually get along very well...Garten might be put off by Drummond singing Ethel Merman tunes at first, but I think Drummond could bring Garten out of her shell a little ;)

Gesine Bullock-Prado - Prado would bring the fancy desserts...no one would be allowed to ask her about her sister (Sandra Bullock), and I would hope so much that she would make us something...one of her specialty items that we could only get if we traveled to Vermont to her little hometown bakery.  She has her own "finding herself" story...one that involves walking away from what everyone else saw as a powerful Hollywood life any woman would kill to have back to a life of obscurity and family values and food.

Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) - I don't know if Gilbert can cook...but I know she's had lots of life experiences...and I know she can eat...her travels through Italy are a testament to that.  I'd like to talk with her more surrounded by a group of real women...we could talk about our own stories of finding ourselves...and our journeys to those places.

Barbara Park (Junie B. Jones series) - Jones would be there to keep me laughing.  Period.  When a writer can make a 7 year old and her mother laugh so hard that they are holding their stomachs as they read aloud at night, she has a place at my table anytime/anywhere!

Jeannette Walls (The Glass Castle) - If anyone knows the value of family, it's this author...my definition of dysfunctional family changed after reading Walls work, and her ability to overcome, somehow understand, and then surpass the demons of her childhood absolutely astonish me.  Walls could teach us all a thing or two about unconditional love without losing yourself in the process.

Geraldine Brooks (Caleb's Crossing) - When we decide to get serious, Brooks could tell us some background on Colonial America, and give us and even firmer foundation on which we base the tradition of Thanksgiving...where and how it first began and how our traditions have evolved over the years.

I'm thankful that these authors have in some way or another become a part of my life...through their works, their lives, ideals, perseverance and dang hard work, they are examples for all of us.