We’re only a few days away from Thanksgiving (can you believe it?), and we have quite a bit to be thankful for this year: we’ve celebrated six books hitting or remaining on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and/or USA Today bestseller lists in 2010, we’ve welcomed two new (wonderful) people to our staff and we moved into a new office in South Austin. Quite a year so far!

As we begin this short week at the CHC office, we decided to compile a list of books we’re thankful for:

Barbara

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber – This is a book that I find myself referring back to again and again since I started our company almost five years ago. Of all the startup books I turned to, this one stuck the most. Not only did I think Gerber hit it dead on when he described the dilemma of building a company to do what you love, only to find out you’re too busy running the business end of things, I felt his tone was upbeat and instructive. I walked away with a better understanding that starting a company would be tough, but not terrible – daunting, but not impossible. He mixed reality with optimism in equal measures. I find myself re-reading it at least once a year.

Dennis

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis – It’s nice to hear an Oxford scholar discuss his journey from being an agnostic to becoming a Christ follower.

Jessica

The Theory of Light and Matter: Stories by Andrew Porter – A beautiful collection of short stories that grapple with loss and explore the nature of memory and the ways we reconstruct events of our past. Porter’s style is simple yet breathtaking – I dip into these stories again and again, and each time I walk away feeling renewed. His stories are an adrenaline shot of humanity.

Kaila

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling – I must confess (no matter how juvenile it sounds), I am a diehard fan of the Harry Potter series. I wouldn’t say that I’m at all intrigued by magic, wizards or werewolves outside of Harry Potter, but J.K. Rowling’s incredible talent of captivating even the most unlikely of readers with her vivid writing and imagination was enough to suck me in and keep me hooked – along with 250 million others.

Lew

Wild at Heart by John Eldredge – My husband had me read this book before we got married, and it really explained a lot about the way men work. Growing up in a family of mostly girls, I had very little knowledge of that fact that men need adventures in life. This book opened my eyes to that.

Rusty

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent – I’m thankful for this title, because it is one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read and provides a reminder of what’s important in life.

We want to know – what books are you thankful for?