I'm really enjoying In Character, the ongoing series from NPR in which folks write in and nominate a favorite character from a book, film or TV show. There have been some surprising choices and the stories they put together are always great. (It warmed my heart to hear the ode to Buffy Summers)
In that vein, I'd love to start a similar conversation over at our GoodReads group. What literary character holds a special place in your heart? It could be someone from one of your favorite books of all time; it could be the only good thing in a book you otherwise hated. It could be recent, it could be a character from your childhood.
I'll start the ball rolling by waxing nostalgic about the Hardy Boys. I devoured these books as a boy and I credit them with firing my burgeoning love of reading. Yes, the plots in the books were remarkably similar, but I think that only helped with the speed at which I tore through them. Frank and Joe were safe, "vanilla" rebels, never listening to their elders, but always solving the crimes. They certainly didn't inspire any rebellion in me (I just wasn't that kind of kid), but I think they made me realize I didn't always have to follow the rules. My favorite in the series, The Secret of Skull Mountain, was probably the first book I ever reread. I think I must have read it 5 or 6 times!
Please share your favorite characters with us, either in the comments section below, or at our GoodReads group.
[p.s. A bizarre bit of coincidence: when I went over to the NPR website to get the link for the In Character page, I saw that they were, at that very moment, airing an In Character piece on Nancy Drew!]
__________________________
The Tower Treasure (Hardy Boys #1) by Franklin W. Dixon, Grosset & Dunlap hardcover, $6.99, 978-0-448-08901-0
The Secret of Skull Mountain (Hardy Boys #27) by Franklin W. Dixon, Grosset & Dunlap hardcover, $6.99, 978-0-448-08927-0
|