Katie of I'm Charles Baker Harris (And I Can Read) didn't actually tag me with doing this, but she did encourage me to do it, so I'm going to! You can read her post here.
The idea is to answer these with characters from books you read in that particular year. If you want to do this too, go right ahead! I'm not going to tag anyone, but I will provide a copy-able list of the questions at the bottom of the post.
All right.
I'm taking this to mean the character *I* related to the most. And that would be Anne Elliot in Persuasion by Jane Austen. She's quiet, shy, helpful, loyal, and generous, which are all things I either am or strive to be.
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| (All book photos are mine from my Instagram account.) |
Most Pure Animal Companion
Baloo the bear in All the Mowgli Stories by Rudyard Kipling. Baloo isn't my favorite -- that's Bagheera -- but Bagheera is too much of a cat to be called pure. So, Baloo it is.
Fiercest Fighter
Little Bear in The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks. I mean, he stabs a giant. And bosses a giant around. And demands things of a giant. Gutsy as all get-out.
Am Surprised That I Loved You??
Am I surprised that I love Barney Snaith, that sarcastic, sardonic, devil-may-care sweetheart of a rogue in The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery? No, I am not. Are we surprised that I am currently reading it for the fifth time, even though I just read it last January? No, we are not.
Best Antihero
I'm not sure at all that Philip Marlowe is exactly an antihero. A pretends-he's-not-a-hero, maybe? A doesn't-believe-heroes-exist, maybe? He certainly gets reluctant about hero-ing from time to time, so I'm putting him here. He wasn't particularly well-behaved in The Little Sister, which was my Raymond Chandler book this year.
Best Sassmaster
Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Oh, the sauciness! The sassiness! The withering scorniness of her casual jabs and jibes!
The Best Friends of All
The siblings in The Railway Children by E. Nesbit are such jolly chums. I used to like imagining I was their friend and having little everyday adventures with them.
Best Villain TO HATE
Prince Humperdinck in The Princess Bride by William Goldman. He's so easy to hate. So deserving of it. Miserable, vomitous mass of a man.
Award for Best vs Worst YA Parents
It appears I didn't read any YA in 2020 besides my own new book, One Bad Apple, so I will have to answer from it. Best would be Uncle Drew and Aunt Phoebe Dalton, and worst would obviously be Mrs. Lucretia Mallone.
Ship of All Ships in 2020
I'm going to take this to mean the couple I love together best of the new ones I encountered in 2020 because otherwise it would just be one of my usual favorite couples (::cough:: Valancy+BarneyOrJane+Edward ::cough::). But my favorite new-to-me couple was Juliette + Neil in the Two Blue Doors trilogy by Hillary Manton Lodge. I was very glad they did finally get together for good. And I loved their small, quiet wedding.
Most Precious
Jerusha Abbott in Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster is a veritable ray of sprightly sunshine, and I defy anyone to believe otherwise.
Must Be Protected
Anybody who lays a hand on my girl El from Rook di Goo by Jenni Sauer will have an angry Hamlette to reckon with.
Honestly Surprised You’re Still Alive
It's really astonishing that Mina and Jonathon Harker survived in Dracula by Bram Stoker.
Award for Making the Worst Decisions
Mary Yellan in Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier is an utter nincompoop and ought to be slapped.
Most in Need of a Nap
Thomas Lovell, the king's enforcer/chief spy/master assasin/general handyman in Charity Bishop's novel-like renderings of Tudor history, specifically in the two I read this year: The Secret in the Tower and The King's Falconer. The poor man is always so dreadfully busy averting disasters.
Want to Read More About You
I would love to read a sequel to Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park! Especially since the ending felt abrupt to me. I could have used at least one more chapter.
That's it for tonight, friends! If you want to do this tag yourself, go right ahead! Here are the questions, for ease of duplication:
Most Relatable Character
Most Pure Animal Companion
Fiercest Fighter
Am Surprised That I Loved You??
Best Sassmaster
Best Antihero
The Best Friends of All
Best Villain TO HATE
Award for Best vs Worst YA Parents
Ship of All Ships in 2020
Most Precious
Must Be Protected
Honestly Surprised You’re Still Alive
Award for Making the Worst Decisions
Most in Need of a Nap
Want to Read More About You
Your answers are awesome! I loved reading them!
ReplyDeleteLizzy Bennet is a sassmaster to be reckoned with, for sure! And El deserves allllllllllll the protecting (even though she's no slouch at fighting herself.)
Lovell, the Most in Need of a Nap--MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA that is perfect!! I love it!!! Wait til Charity sees ;)
Katie, yay! Glad you got a kick out of this.
DeleteYes, I KNEW you and Charity would both crack up over me putting Lovell there :-D
Well, you succeeded in making me want to read Persuasion again, even though yesterday I finally managed to plan out my reading for the next few months. Now I'm off to find a place to fit it in...
ReplyDeleteFun answers!
MC, um, I'm sorry? :-)
DeleteI never make detailed reading plans because if I try to, I get derailed from them and then I feel bad. So the only planning I do is if I need to read something for my book club, a read-along I've joined, or to teach my kids. The rest is mood reading :-)
Little Bear! I would not have thought of him for Fiercest, but when you put it that way...he's ridiculously feisty!
ReplyDeleteAaaah Blue Castle. <3
The siblings in Railway Children are the BEST!
Samantha, awww, glad you agree on the fierceness of Little Bear :-)
DeleteBlue Castle is one of those books that deepens with every reread. Marvelous.
They're such sweethearts!
My goodness, your photos are beautiful!! Yes, Barney Snaith was a wonderful character!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Grace! I have really enjoyed learning to take pretty book photos for Bookstagram.
DeleteBarney Snaith is fantastic and I love him more all the time.
The Blue Castle is soo good! Definitely one you can read over and over. Barney Snaith is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteSkye, it IS. I liked it better on my fifth reread than my fourth. Just unendingly delicious. And man, that Barney. Wow.
DeleteExcuse you. Cats are indeed pure. It's us feeble mortals who cannot see it. ;)
ReplyDeleteLovell will nap when England is made safe. Possibly when Suffolk rots in the Tower. Or his head rests in the Thames. Not before. And quite possibly, not even then! ;)
Charity, I feel like Lovell is one of those people who just sleeps for 2 hours a night and survives on willpower.
DeleteYou're not wrong. ;)
Delete*laughs since in the last chapter she edited, he kept someone else up half the night reading documents*