Week Three: A CHALLENGE!

I just finished reading Magic's Pawn, Magic's Promise and Magic's Price, all by Mercedes Lackey. So. Freaking. Good. O___O
This doesn't happen much, but I knew pretty much as soon as I started reading the first book that I HAD. TO. HAVE. THEM.

I have griped (vocally, and often) about the lack of LGBT characters in fantasy novels. The Last Herald-Mage (LHM) books are indeed fantasy with a gay protagonist. YES! Oh, thank whatever-you-want-to-thank. Anyway, it's just nice to have a main character who's not your normal "hero(or anti-hero) goes on journey, finds self worth, destiny and opposite gendered lover along the way" type.

Seriously, if you haven't read the LHM books, then do so NOW. It was to the point where I was walking around with my nose in the book so far that I nearly walked into a wall. Maybe more than one.


Anyway, in other news my life is going well. Reading a lot lately, which is good. I had gotten away from reading tons, mostly due to watching un-godly amounts of Doctor Who and Torchwood (I REGRET NOTHING. SUCH PHENOMENAL TELEVISION.) and am back on my usual book-crazed path, and with a vengeance at that.

Because of that, I've been thinking about fictional characters lately, and not just in the "hey, I really love Remus Lupin, 'cuz he's a cool guy" kind of way. No, more in the "these characters are fictional people who I grew up with. Who I admire, in some cases."

So, I invite all of you to make a list of your top 5/10/20/30/you pick the number of favorite fictional characters, what books/movies/tv shows/plays/whatever that they're from, and why they're so cool. Why they stuck with you.

Here's mine, in no particular order.

1: Arthur Dent.
He's the last human from earth. He belongs to Douglas Adams, the creator of the fantastic Hitchhiker's Guide books. Arthur (by the way, having a hell of a time trying to spell his name properly) is just an ordinary guy, living his ordinary life and then all of a sudden, WHAM. He's off on a multi-dimensional space adventure, trying desperately to keep his mind, his towel and Ford Prefect by his side. What I like about his is that he's very HUMAN, he rolls with the punches (something that I don't do that well, for the record) and he tends to do what any normal person would do after being thrown into some very abnormal situations.


2: Holly Short.
She's from the Artemis Fowl books, written by Eoin Colfer. Holly is one of the toughest female characters that I know, and she's not even a HUMAN. She doesn't do the typical I-Am-A-Woman-So-I-Need-Saving-All-The-Time schtick, and I love her for that. She's incredibly smart, creative, compassionate, and she doesn't take any nonsense. That being said, she's also not perfect, like some authors can tend to do when creating a main character. She doesn't do well with authority (a trait we share) and tends to do things her own way, even if they stray a bit over the line of lawful. She tries to do her best, no matter the circumstance.


3: Paul. (Just googled it, and he hasn't got a last name. O__O)
Paul is the main character in Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan, a book which I absolutely ADORE (and if you know me, I've probably talked your ear off about it, and tried to make you read it). There could be a whole blog post on why I like the book, but this is focused on the character. He's very whimsical, sweet, open minded, and yes, he is gay. I think the best thing about Paul is that he's so supportive of his friends, whoever they are. He's also quite the romantic, creative, and he marches to the beat of his own drum, no matter who is judging him.


4: Jacky Faber.
Opinionated, liberal-minded, gutsy, and overall one of the strongest (and still very much HUMAN) female characters I have had the pleasure of reading. Jacky is from L.A. Meyer's Bloody Jack books. I mean, the girl is a PIRATE...amongst other things. For living in the 1800's, she is about as rebel-tastic as it gets. She's impulsive, but clever, and the way she will always stick up for her friends, and for the anyone who's weaker and smaller than she is. She starts out as the lowest of the low (as a street rat) and works her way up the ladder through her own guile and wit. Did I mention that she's British? Yeah.


5: Pippi Longstocking
Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren is THE quintessential book about an unschooler EVER. (In my very biased opinion, that is.) She may be about 10, but that girl is a genius. The best bit about her, is she will give it back to whoever dishes it out, be it police, a schoolteacher, or whoever. She knows who she is, what she wants, and isn't afraid to go and get it. She's self-sufficient, creative and more than a bit crazy. She does things her own way, and 9 times out of ten, it ends up turning out okay. Despite the fact that these books are clearly written for young kids, (and translated from the original Swedish, which makes for interesting grammar sometimes) Pippi is fantastic.


Honestly, I can't pick who I want to do next*, so I'll leave it at five, for now.
Maybe I'll do this again, sometime. There are just SO MANY I'd like to discuss, and I don't want to give you a wall of text. ^___^

SO, If you made it through to the bottom of this, I challenge you to do your own. I stuck to books for mine, but that's just ME.


So with that, I leave you. I have to go dig out my copies of Hitchhiker's Guide, Artemis Fowl, Boy Meets Boy, Bloody Jack and Pippi Longstocking. I have reading to do.


Yours in books,
Whimsy

P.S.
If you have a book that I MUST READ, tell me. I'm always looking for new books.\

P.P.S. If you've read any of these books, let me know in a comment what you thought. I love comments. (I mean, you don't know how excited I get when I read that I have a new one. It's hilarious.)





*The list includes,
Jim Tanner (Treasure Island), Puck (Midsummer Night's Dream), Roger Davis (RENT), Joon (Benny and Joon), Severus Snape (Harry Potter), Alanna (Song Of The Lioness), Daine (The Immortals), Lani Garver (What Happened To Lani Garver), Meg Murry (A Wrinkle In Time), Jazz (Define 'Normal'), Jo March (Little Women) among others...


Also, I tried to keep it to ONE character from each book series. That's why there's not a TON of HP characters on there.