Description
Top Ten Tuesday is a weakly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week a different topic comes up and bloggers list their top ten books in that category. I love a good list...I've always said that. That's practically my catchphrase.
Top Ten All-Time Favourite Characters in Books
I love so many that this was a difficult one to decide on! I generally like characters with unique traits and lots of personality so that's something I think is found in all of the following characters.
10.
Character Name: Frederick Algernon "Fatty" Trotteville
Appears in: The 'Five Find-Outers' series by Enid Blyton
9.
Appears in: 'The Bell Jar' by Sylvia Plath
Why I Love Her: Esther Greenwood is one of the most relate-able characters in English Literature...and her descent into horrifying depression just shows the dark that can overcome anyone at any time in their lives. Plath makes Esther such a realistic and beautiful character that you can't help but love her and empathise with her. She feels trapped and claustrophobic in her current rather mundane life, as though she is living under a bell jar...and sadly it seems Plath did too.
8.
Character Name: Henry DeTamble
Appears in: 'The Time Traveller's Wife' by Audrey Niffenegger
Character Name: Rudy Steiner
Appears in: 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak
Why I Love Him: I love all the characters in this book, especially Leisl, Death and Papa. But, for me, Rudy is the one I was praying for in the end and the one whose personality was both innocent and flawed and, ultimately, perfect. He loves Leisl right and doesn't let her down. He is funny and charming and generally adorable; and with all their hunting apples he is the Gale to her Katniss!
6.
Character Name: Fevvers
Appears in: 'Nights at the Circus' by Angela Carter.
Why I Love Her: She is one of the most incredible and memorable characters I have ever seen in a book. A gargantuan aerialiste, a Cockney virgin, hatched from an egg with her own set of fledgling wings, she is unforgettable and wonderful. Her recollection of her time spent working in a 'freaks' brothel is particularly amazing.
5.
4.
Character Name: Penelope Keeling
Appears in: 'The Shell Seekers' by Rosamunde Pilcher
Why I Love Her: This book is for adults but was one of my very favourites as a child. It's gorgeous. It largely explores Penelope's past life and her current relationships with her very different children. Penelope has always stayed with me for her misguided marriage, her inability to connect with her first child, her ability to not judge her now adult children, and her glorious love affair with a soldier. It is all magnificently written.
3.
Character Name: Matilda Wormwood
Appears in: 'Matilda' by Roald Dahl
Why I Love Her: How could you not!? She is a tiny girl who, despite her abuse at home from her ignorant family, becomes so intelligent she reads the whole library and begins to move things with her mind! She was my idol as a child and still is.
2.
Appears in: The 'Harry Potter' series by J.K Rowling
1.
Character Names: Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe
Appear in: Anne of Green Gables + sequels
Why I Love Them: This is my favourite book and Anne is the best, most imaginative and charming character ever conceived! She is flawed and silly but that just makes her so much better. We won't talk about some of the sequels because the writer does make her a bit holier-than-thou but the original book is perfect so I will ignore that! And I had to put Gilbert in there too if only for his speech at the end of 'Anne of the Island'.
Hope you like these characters too! Let me know who you love!
Thanks for stopping by my site
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thephantomparagrapher.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/top-ten-tuesday-all-time-favourite.html#comment-form
Some Good Choices here and I agree I want my own Rochester too :)
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Several of you have picked Sirius...can't believe I left him out! Although, I am glad to see I'm not the only one who picked Matilda. Penelope Keeling was another good one! Looks like we have quite a bit of books in common...I'll have start dropping by your blog now!
ReplyDeleteI am absolutely with you on Anne and Gilbert, such a wonderful friendship and, later, romantic relationship. :)
ReplyDeleteSuper list you have here! We have one in common, great minds ;)
ReplyDeleteSirius is awesome too. I've never heard of the Five Finer-outers? I read The Famous Five and the Secret Seven though...
Awww Anne and Gilbert! And Jane and Rochester! Le sigh!! :) Theyre both such great couples! Happy Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteYou reminded me of my love for Roald Dahl characters....I definitely should have included the BFG!
ReplyDeleteHere's my list of
Top Ten All Time Favorite Characters in Books. Please stop by and let me know what you think.
I was so close to including Esther in my list. I mentioned The Bell Jar in my last Top Ten of most surprising/deceiving books because I didn't expect to connect with a crazy person so much. I think the main reason she didn't make my list...I couldn't remember her name without looking it up. That and, while I related with her, I don't know that I want to re-connect with her. She's scary. But the book's still on my shelf for the time being (partly because I chopped it up because the pages were uneven.........I'm not crazy, I swear!) so maybe I'll give it another go someday.
ReplyDeleteI love how you presented your list! And ooh Henry from The Time Traveler's Wofe - and his wife - were amazing!
ReplyDeleteI picked Anne from Anne of Green Gables too. I never get tired of reading that series!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea why i haven't added Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester as well to my list i think it made by accident and I am happy i saw that in your list. Love the classics! Thanks for dropping by to my blog too =)
ReplyDeleteMaria
THAT EYRE image is hilarious/amazing. Also, I am going to have to read Night at the Circus now, sounds really cool ( and I loved The Night Circus). Great TTT!
ReplyDeleteThese were all so unique!! I think Sirius was my favorite HP but it's a toss up between him and Snape for sure, and Mr. Rochester, YUM!
ReplyDeleteMy Top Ten Tuesday!
Toppo! Did I even use that correctly? :) Great list! I love Matilda and Sirius Black too. For "The Bell Jar" though, I thought I'd mention, I think you've got the wrong photo. That's Virginia Woolf, not Sylvia Plath.
ReplyDeleteOf course it is! Stupid me! I knew I had a picture of Sylvia Plath on my computer so I was looking and must've just had a brain block! The extra bad thing is that I did my dissertation on Virginia Woolf...whoops! You would think I would know who she is at least! Changed it now!
DeleteP.S- You did indeed use Toppo correctly! Spiffing! x
Yes! Matilda. Awesome choice!
ReplyDeleteVery cool choices. I don't know most of those, but I am so down w/Sirius Black. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAnne Shirley really is the most charming character I've ever read! I also love Jane+Rochester and Sirius. I actually named my dorm room fish Sirius. My roommate and I were HP fanatics. Poor fish didn't last very long, though :-(
ReplyDeleteEvery time I see a Harry Potter character on a list, I get all crazy because I didn't include one on mine. There are just so many too choose from! Anyway, great list! Some of these books I had almost forgotten about. Matilda, for example! A childhood favourite of mine :) Also, thank you for including that great picture of Michael Fassbender as Rochester xD
ReplyDeleteMy guilty confession is that I haven't read Jane Eyre nor Harry Potter series. Awesome list!=D And thanks for stopping by my Top 10!
ReplyDeleteGreat list! If I had to choose a favourite character from HP, I honestly wouldn't know who to choose xD Thanks for dropping by my blog earlier =)
ReplyDelete- Li @ rulethewaves.net
Oh my, I haven't read any of these books - though I did love the movie for Matilda and would definitely like to read the book as well. While I don't know them, they do sound like very interesting characters, and I'll definitely have to check some of them out.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by my blog! :)
SO many great classics! Love it! Completely agree on Sirius Black and Matilda! Two amazingly wonderful characters in literature. Thanks for stopping by our Top 10 this week!
ReplyDeleteHow could I forget Sirius and Matilda! I knew I would find so many characters that I could add to my list later on! Fab list :)
ReplyDeleteYes! Anne Shirley! A great addition to any list. Sirius is a great choice too. It's funny how authors can eliminate a character in which we are so invested. I've heard authors mention that they tire of writing a series because the character doesn't have anywhere else to go ... but, agh, I miss those favorites, like Sirius!
ReplyDeleteAgain Matilda, yes, she is great. And also Henry and Jane and Mr. Rochester. I always loved him. But I totally agree with you about Fatty. In German he is called Dickie and I loved how clever he was and how he disguised himself. I devoured all 15 books in the series, they were my first addiction. I wonder whether there were more in English. After reading the 15th I was devastated because there were no more. I kept re-reading them for years.
ReplyDeleteOh my, what an amazing list. Henry DeTamble's name made my brain go off into exclamation points. HE IS SO GREAT -- in all of his years, haha. That ending also made me sob my little eyes out. Sigh. Great book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
What an amazing list! Really like that your outlined you reasons for all of them! Sirius, Anne & Gilbert did not make my list, but I would love to add them on.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my top ten!
Happy to see Esther Greenwood on another list!! Great choices!
ReplyDeleteYoy for Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe, Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester, and Henry DeTamble. So many great picks! And I love the way you set up this page. :D
ReplyDeleteYoy = Yay (lol)
ReplyDeleteSirius Black! Great character. Nice list :) Thanks for stopping by, I'm already a follower of yours! And thanks for the giveaway, the UK cover looks great!!
ReplyDeleteMichelle
The Bookish Poodle
Love the choice of Fatty from the Five Find Outers, I used to love that series (and the Secret Seven and Famous Five) when I was a kid. In fact I loved them so much, I used to read them under the covers when I was supposed to be asleep... :) Great list!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with all the ones here I recognise!! I nearly put Sirius Black and Henry on my list, too, and Death from The Book Thief! And I just have to say: FEVVERS!!!!!! She was awesome, I love that book.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Rochester and Jane are very awesome characters! I love that book. Anne and Gilbert are very cool, too.
ReplyDeleteOh, Matilda! My youngest daughter used to watch Matilda everyday for more than a year. It was her favorite movie and I know deep down inside she just longed to be Matilda! Great list.
ReplyDeleteMatilda was hilarious! I love that movie! and Sirius yay. Finally, someone mentioned him. ^-^
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by the blog.
Anne & Gilbert!!! How could I have left them off my list?!
ReplyDeleteOoh, love Anne and Gilbert! Did you ever read Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Secret Seven books? With "you're-as-good-as-a-boy-old-chap" Georgina and Timmy the dog and nineteen-fifties slang.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog! Your list is great -- some that I haven't read, and some childhood favourites as well. I didn't go as far back into my childhood as I should have, but Anne is one of my all time favourite characters as well!
ReplyDeleteYay! I love this list. Of course ESPECIALLY Anne and Gilbert (and Matilda too!). I also love Esther Greenwood and Henry DeTamble, and of COURSE Sirius. Because who wouldn't?!
ReplyDeleteMatilda is up there for me too! And I really liked Henry!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stoppin by! =)
OMG Henry!! I completely forgot about him, but I ADORE him. He was such a perfect male character. And Matilda <3 She was the best little role model. Great list!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by :)
Ashley Loves Books | Giveaway
Out of these books I have only read Harry Potter. But I adore Sirius! :D Great list ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting on my Top Ten. <3
Love, Carina @ Carina's Books
What a great list. I love Matilda. I was able to pass out copies of The Book Thief on World Book Night, so it was great to see that Rudy Steiner made your Top Ten.
ReplyDeleteAngela @ AJ Arndt Books Blog
Anne & Gilbert, Sirius, Henry, Rudy, Jane & Edward... all wonderful characters!! You've got very good taste in literary characters :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read a lot of these, but the few that I do know I completely agree with you on. The Time Travellers Wife was heart breaking but so very beautiful. I absolutely adore Sirius and Anne & Gilbert, that's the book of my childhood. I haven't read it since I was like 8 or 9 but I still remember it so distinctly. Love your list.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog earlier. Returning some of the love.