“Did you ever look into an English novel? Well, do not trouble yourself. It is nothing but a lot of nonsense about girls with fanciful names getting married.”
Susanna Clarke
Just kind of easing my way back into Regular Posting with a Top Ten today. Apologies for the hiatus: a crazy little thing called Life got in the way a bit. (Bonus points if you get the reference.)
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Faramir – The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien. Does this really need elaboration? He is awesome, plus he would not pick up the Ring if it lay by the wayside. IN YOUR FACE, BOROMIR.
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Marvin the Paranoid Android – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams. I have so much love for Marvin. Partly, it has to be said, because his name rhymes. But also because he is adorable.
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Twemlow – Our Mutual Friend, Charles Dickens. I just adore that last scene in OMF when Society is being mean about Lizzie and dear old tweedy Twemlow stands up to them all and everyone is flabbergasted. Dickens was great at writing memorable minor characters.
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Oy – The Dark Tower, Stephen King. I can have Oy, right? Oy is wonderful, loyal and funny and furry and sweet.
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Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler – Discworld, Terry Pratchett. I especially love that there are iterations of Ankh-Morpork’s dodgy food salesman all across the cultures of the Disc. It’s a running gag that ties the whole series together really well.
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Serafina Pekkala – His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman. There is something icy and strange and alien about Serafina, and something warm too; she’s a contradiction, and a fascinating one.
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Fred and George Weasley – Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling. Their exchanges may be some of the best things about these books. Certainly the funniest.
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Arabella Strange – Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke. Admittedly, Arabella is probably only on this list because I watched the TV series recently and need an excuse to fangirl about the Stranges. But, seriously, Arabella is fantastic: spirited without being obnoxious, empathetic without being a pushover, and clever without being, well, like Mr Norrell.
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Mogget – Sabriel, Garth Nix. Mogget is a white cat who goes around being sarky to Our Heroine. Need I say more?
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Maximus – Temeraire, Naomi Novik. Well, really I want all the dragons, but Maximus will have to do to start off with.
(The theme for this post was suggested by the Broke and the Bookish’s weekly meme Top Ten Tuesday.)
The English Student 