What I'm Reading- 6/5/13

~The Pillars of Creation~

by Terry Goodkind

This book is kind of strange...but in a good way, I guess. This series- at least so far- is centered around two characters: Richard and Kahlan. This book, however, doesn't include them at all. It's about two young adults named Jensen and Oba. I know because I skimmed through the whole book, not reading anything, but looking for names to see which characters were talking. As far as I know, they're only mentioned, but they aren't actually in the story. They may actually be in it, but only for small stretches that I just missed. It's kind of throwing me for a loop. It's not like it's bad reading, but it's just weird that the main characters aren't present. It is set in the same world/timeline, so it's indirectly pertinent, but I don't think that this kind of thing is done very often. The book is interesting so far, but I'm just waiting to see the point of telling me all of this information. I may need to wait until the next book (Naked Empire) to see why...hmmmm. I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm only on page 122 of about 725, so it may take a while.

~Treasure Island~

by Robert Louis Stevenson

I recently started reading Treasure Island, and of the few pages I've read, I like it already. I'm really only a couple chapters in, but Stevenson's writing style appeals to me. It's simple, yet fun to read, and the language isn't archaic. This is good, especially because I don't really like reading books with a maritime setting. They're just so boring most of the time. I hated "Moby Dick" and "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" (which I had to read in 7th grade). The only books set at sea that I liked are "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and "The Odyssey" or books that are only partially on the water, like "The Swiss Family Robinson" or "Robinson Crusoe". I have a good feeling that I'll like this book, but we'll see what happens. I'm going to try to block out memories of the many variations of this story in movies that I've seen (Muppet Treasure Island is my favorite) so that I read and understand the "real"/original story. Looking forward to the rest of the book!

Seasons- Winter

Rain, rain, all the time

Soaking my clothes completely

At least let it snow

Breath made visible

Runny nose, sensitive skin

Bare hands freeze quickly

Quiet snow enfolds

Beauty in ev’ry season

Year’s end coming soon

Seasons- Fall

Falling leaves pile up

Swirling colors blow past us

Cold is coming soon

Summer is over

Children resume their studies

Learning improves all

Branches are now bare

Beautiful trees surround me

Winter is coming

Seasons- Summer

Freedom to wander

Evergreens provide cool shade

Beauty everywhere

Good friends and good food

Spending time while we’re still young

Lasting memories

Jump in cool water

Respite from sweltering heat

Sun burn hurts a lot

Seasons- Spring

Rain falls down to Earth

Cleansing, pure, new life springs forth

Soft drops drip on leaves

Gray skies spoil my mood

Wind howls through the trees

Wishing for summer

Sunshine brings new day

Golden flowers line the path

Rebirth, life anew

Book Guilt

So I was on the YouTubes today, and I came across a video by Kristina Horner (a.k.a: italktosnakes) called I've Got Book Guilt. When she explained the concept, I thought to myself, "I've totally got that too!". Basically, book guilt is where you really like reading (like Kristina, I used to read all the time as a kid), but you occupy your time with other things (like the internet, video games, or TV). The kicker here is that you don't stop buying books, leading to a large back-log of unread books on your shelf. It is straight-up embarrassing how large mine is... I really need to start reading more! So in order to (hopefully) motivate me to read more and get through/experience these books, I'm posting all of them here on my blog. Books that are part of a trilogy/series that I haven't read will just have the first book of the series, or the next one I haven't read yet listed.

• Peter Pan- J.M. Barrie
• The Scions of Shannara- Terry Brooks
• Angels & Demons/The Da Vinci Code- Dan Brown
• Academ's Fury- Jim Butcher
• Don Quixote- Miguel de Cervantes
• The Last of the Mohicans- James Fenimore Cooper
• 1356/Sharpe's Tiger/Rebel- Bernard Cornwell
• The Terminal Man/The Great Train Robbery- Michael Crichton
• Robinson Crusoe- Daniel Defoe
• The Lost World- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Count of Monte Cristo/The Three Musketeers/The Man in the Iron Mask- Alexandre Dumas
• The Pawn of Prophecy- David Eddings

---Here is approximately where Kristina's list would end (numbers-wise)---

• Magician: Apprentice- Raymond E. Feist
• Debt of Bones/The Pillars of Creation- Terry Goodkind
• Flight of the Fallen- Mary H. Herbert
• Les Misérables- Victor Hugo
• Genghis: Birth of an Empire- Conn Iggulden
• New Spring/Winter's Heart- Robert Jordan
• Night of Blood- Richard A. Knaak
• The Templar Salvation- Raymond Khoury
• Hood- Stephen Lawhead
• A Game of Thrones- George R.R. Martin
• The Skies of Pern- Anne McCaffrey
• Sabriel- Garth Nix
• Mistborn- Brandon Sanderson
• The Crystal Shard- R.A. Salvatore
• The Name of the Wind- Patrick Rothfuss
• Ivanhoe- Sir Walter Scott
• East of Eden- John Steinbeck
• Treasure Island- Robert Louis Stevenson
• Dracula- Bram Stoker
• Sanctuary- Paul B. Thompson & Tanya C. Cook
• The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún- J.R.R. Tolkien
• War & Peace- Leo Tolstoy
• Dragons of Autumn Twilight- Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
• The Picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde

Yeah... I think I may have a problem. Not necessarily a problem with not enough to read, or not anything good to read, but that I'm not reading enough.

Print Books vs. E-Books/Readers

I'd like to think that both print books and e-books can coexist happily with each other. Publishing companies will still be able to sell either medium, so there shouldn't be much- if any- price fluctuations, lay offs, or bankruptcies. This just means that we as consumers have the option to read either a paper bound novel or an e-book, or both! I think that it really depends on your preference and/or your lifestyle. I personally prefer reading print books- I love the smell, the feel, and the giant library, but if I led a more active lifestyle where I would be traveling a lot and on the go, an e-reader would be more advantageous. I think that the medium of the books doesn't matter as long as we still have easy access to the information- especially to the younger generation. I'm all for video games, movies, and TV- they're great, but I see more time spent on these mediums these days rather than reading. To be perfectly honest; I think this is causing the younger generations to become less intelligent, which is really sad.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Reading

GREED

What is your most expensive book? What is your least expensive book?

• My most expensive book is "Civil War Almanac" by John C. Fredriksen ($26) and my least expensive one is "The Lost World" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (free)

WRATH
What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?

• Robert Jordan. I love his books, but they're so long, often hard to get through certain parts, and dear Lord do I hate Nynaeve as a character!

GLUTTONY
What book have you deliciously devoured over and over with no shame whatsoever?

• "The Swiss Family Robinson" by Johann David Wyss and "Rocket Boys" by Homer Hickham Jr.

SLOTH
What book have you neglected reading due to laziness?

• "Sabriel" by Garth Nix and "Winter's Heart" by Robert Jordan

PRIDE
What book do you most talk about in order to sound like a very intellectual reader?

• "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck and "The Iliad" by Homer

LUST
What attributes do you find most attractive in characters of the opposite sex?

• She has to be kind and caring as well as strong enough to fend for herself

ENVY
What books would you most like to receive as a gift?

• "The Lord of the Rings" (50th Anniversary One Volume Edition) by J.R.R. Tolkien and "1356" by Bernard Cornwell

My Favorite Book Designs

With the holiday season upon us, this blog is probably going to get very...uh, techy, with all the video game stuff coming out, so I thought I would post something a bit more literary before all that comes up. This is another YouTube inspired video (there's gonna be a lot more of these in the future- I think they're good for getting ideas to write about), but this time I got the idea from Sanne of Books and Quills. I'm not going to rank them, for one- because I find it really difficult to definitively rank things, and two, sometimes I just want to share things with people without making it some kind of contest. Anyway, here are some books/series that I really like the art style and/or the design of the cover and spine. To be honest, it's mainly about book series, but there are a couple standalone books in there

The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind

This is not because Terry Goodkind is one of my favorite authors, but it certainly makes the experience of reading his books more enjoyable. Even though the design is pretty simple, in this case I just like the art that is on the covers. My favorite ones of the series are "Wizard's First Rule", "Stone of Tears", "Soul of the Fire", "Faith of the Fallen", and "The Pillars of Creation". After book 7, the artwork got really boring- I think they hired a different person. I will say that as much as I like the covers, I do think that they could have done a better job of designing the spine. The publishing company basically copied the cover for the spine- it has the same picture on it, but smaller. Not that that's necessarily bad, it's just...well, boring.

The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan

This is another one of my favorite authors, but where Goodkind's art kind of lacks, Jordan's cover art shines. The art is very good, but my favorite part is that the whole books is one art piece. By that I mean that the art wraps around the whole book, so the spine and the back side are just as interesting. The main characters might be on the front cover looking awesome, but on the back side, you might see some shady characters following them, watching in the shadows. Very cool. I love all of these covers, there isn't a single one I don't like.

The Legend of Drizzt series by R.A. Salvatore

The art of this series is also very well done, and like The Wheel of Time series, there's unique art on the back side as well. Is it just me, or do fantasy (and to some extent, sci-fi) have the best book art in literature? A lot of other book genres have good book design, but the art to me isn't always as good (there will be an exception to this later in the list though). My favorites from this series (of the ones that I own- there's a LOT of these books now) are "Exile", "Sojourn", "The Crystal Shard", and "Streams of Silver".

The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tokien

Here we go- finally a single novel and not a series! This is the only book of Tolkien's that I have where I like the book art for. As much as I love Tolkien's books, I seem to have all of the ugly versions of it, and still haven't replaced my movie tie-in copies of The Lord of the Rings (gasp!). I'll definitely upgrade in the future, but for now I'll just have to make do. How can you not like the art of this book!? It was done by Alan Lee himself! I shouldn't have to explain myself further.

The Chronicles of the Cheysuli series by Jennifer Roberson

This series was originally eight books, but I have the omnibus edition, which pares it down to 4 books- each with two of the original books inside. This series, and this author for that matter, should be getting a lot more attention than what it has been receiving. They're wonderful books and I highly recommend that you pick them up if fantasy lit. is your thing. Anyway, I like the artwork of these books (duh, that's why this is on the list!), but I don't really have a good reason for it... I just do.

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

This may be a little weird, but as good as the cover art for the Harry Potter books is, the main reason I like them (other than the incredible writing of course!) is the design for the spines. I have the full set- I think it's called the treasure box set? The front cover art is good, especially for The Goblet of Fire (which also happens to be my favorite book in the series). What I like about the spines is that they have a cool diamond patter, almost argyle-like in complementary colors. The spine for The Half-Blood Prince for example has diamonds of forest green down the middle, and the sides are of a more lime/avocado color.

The Iliad & The Odyssey by Homer

Now for these two books, I'm talking about the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition- the ones translated by Robert Fagles. Mainly I just like the design and the color scheme of the covers. The art on the top half of the book is cool, but mainly I just like the combination of the blue, white, and beige parts of the cover. That, and I feel like they make my bookshelf look a bit more sophisticated. I'm not really sure why- I just do.

The Nathaniel Starbuck series by Bernard Cornwell

Even though there's about 6 different fonts on the cover of these books, I still like them. The pictures behind the text are cool as well as give it a more "old-timey" feel for lack of a better description. The gold behind the title also makes it stick out against the brown and black background (it looks kind of brown in the picture, but it's really more of a gold color in person). My favorite cover in this series is for book three, which is called "Battle Flag"- pictured above. The red and blue really pop out at you in comparison to the otherwise dark background. Really cool covers!

Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell

Honestly, whoever Bernard Cornwell and/or his publishing company gets to do the cover art for his novels is freaking amazing! You should really check out his books, for both the art and the awesome writing! I like the close-up of the knight's armor, but (it might be too small to see here) there's also flecks and blotches of red all over the cover and the spine, making it look like it was sprayed with blood, which I think is a cool effect.

Borders Classics/Barnes & Noble Classics

A lot of people have the Penguin Classics or Oxford Classics books, but I have been buying the Borders Classics and the Barnes & Noble Classics series (since Borders went out of business). I do like the Borders Classics a little more in their design, like the fact that the author's name at the bottom looks handwritten, and the two different pictures that give it texture. Other than that, they're pretty similar. They both have a colored bar where the title of the book goes, and a cool work of art that applies to the story itself. Hopefully one day I'll be able to have a full set, minus the authors I would never read (*cough*Bronte & Austen*cough*).

Facts You May Not Have Known About "The Lord of the Rings"

1. Gandalf's original Maiar name was Olorin, but has also gone by Tharkun and Mithrandir.
2. There are three more wizards in LotR besides Gandalf and Saruman that weren't mentioned in the movies. They are: Radagast, Alatar, and Pallando.
3. Every single character in LotR wears a wig, except for Peter Jackson's son Billy, who was a hobbit extra in Fellowship of the Ring.
4. There were 144 guests at Bilbo's birthday party in the book, but there were only 100 at the party in the movie.
5. The portraits of Bilbo's parents in Bag End over the mantelpiece are modeled after Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh.
6. In Peter Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring cameo, he's actually "smoking" a carrot because the pipe made him sick.
7. The goblin forges of Orthanc are real... they were built in a foundry and the goblins working it are actually foundry employees in costume.
8. The ringwraith's screams are based on Fran Walsh's scream with a throat infection.
9. The ring that is shown after Frodo drops it in the mountains is actually 6 inches across.
10. Bill the Pony is actually played by a pantomime horse in some scenes.
11. Glamdring (Gandalf's sword) is also supposed to glow in the presence of orcs like Sting, but because of budget cuts, never happened.
12. Orcs were originally elves that Morgoth (Sauron's master) corrupted.
13. The shot of the fellowship mourning Gandalf's death in Lothlorien was shot before Sir Ian McKellen had even arrived in New Zealand to work.
14. The Numenorean ruins at the breaking of the fellowship scene were actually re-purposed from Weathertop.
15. Aragorn wears Boromir's bracers throughout the second and third films as a tribute to him.
16. The warg attack in The Two Towers was originally supposed to be a night attack on Edoras, but since they couldn't light it properly they had to change it.
17. The young Rohirrim that Aragorn talks to at Helm's Deep in The Two Towers is Philippa Boyen's son.
18. When Gandalf returns to help at Helm's Deep, the Riders were supposed to be led by Erkenbrand, not Eomer.
19. The Fangorn Forest attacking Orthanc was Tolkien's response to his disappointment that the forest in MacBeth was fake.
20. The Black Gate is shown as two gates in the movie due to a typo in the script given to the art department.
21. 6 million feet of film was shot for the film... that's about 1,100 miles of film.
22. Howard Shore had to write 7 minutes of music a day to keep up the pace.
23. Christopher Lee is the only cast member to have actually met J.R.R. Tolkien.
24. Galadriel's gift to Frodo- the light of Earendil- is actually Elrond's father.
25. Elijah Wood had Alka-Seltzer tablets in his mouth so that it would foam when Shelob stabbed him.
26. Elrond's brother was the first king of Numenor, so that makes him very distant relatives of Aragorn's.
27. Arwen is Galadriel's granddaughter.

I Can't Decide...

So I am close to finishing one of the books I'm reading and I'm having trouble deciding on which book I should read next. Let me know what you think! Should I...

A) Continue on with the series I'm currently in?

Faith of the Fallen- Terry Goodkind

B) Read another fantasy novel?

The Name of the Wind- Patrick Rothfuss

C) Continue with a previous series?

The Templar Salvation- Raymond Khoury

D) Read a historical fiction novel?

1356- Bernard Cornwell

E) Re-read a favorite book from my childhood?

The Swiss Family Robinson- Johann David Wyss

What I'm Reading- 9/16/12

Wow, it has been a long time! Even though it has not been as often as I would have liked, I have been reading since my last update in January. My last semester of college and the current job search have made that more difficult, but I'm managing. Here's what I've been getting myself into as of late:

Soul of the Fire- Terry Goodkind

Yes, I'm still reading this book... a bit shameful, yes, but it's a long book! My last semester was VERY busy (...and I admit, I read The Hunger Games trilogy instead of this for a while...). I did get a chance to read quite a bit this week while my girlfriend was visiting. She just got around to reading The Hunger Games, and I worked on finishing this one. While I'm not done yet, I am 617 pages in on a 788 page book. So that makes me 78.3% through the book with  only 171 pages left. I can do this! It is an enjoyable read, and I am looking  forward to how it ends, as well as the next book of this series (Faith of the Fallen) when I finish Soul of the Fire.

Call of the Wild and White Fang- Jack London

I decided a while back that I wanted to expand out of my reading rut. While I love reading fantasy novels, it's pretty much all I read. I wanted to read more of the classics. This is fortunate because I have a shelf full of them, and I haven't read most of them! I resolved to read one fantasy novel and one classic at a time, and started out by reading The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling (which was during my 9 month long-time-no-post period), which I liked for the most part. I have read some of the classics (or at least books I consider classics), like The Iliad, The Swiss Family Robinson, Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc., so it's not like I'm some uncultured ingrate or anything... I just really enjoy fantasy. I haven't gotten very far with Call of the Wild, since I just started reading it, and I have been trying to finish Soul of the Fire. The reason this book piqued my interest is because I watched the 1991 Disney version of White Fang (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103247/) when I was little and really enjoyed it. It will be interesting to see the similarities and differences in both mediums.

The Crystal Shard- R.A. Salvatore

Yeeeeeep, still "reading" this one. Definitely putting this one on the back burner for a while. Not that it's a bad novel, it's just that there are other books I'd rather be reading right now. I'll get around to finishing it one of these days- I promise :)

Inheritance Review

Inheritance- Christopher Paolini

Just finished this book last week, and I have to say it is Paolini's best book yet. It was a little hard to get through in the first section, but it got exponentially better as it progressed. Am I the only one that doesn't care for Roran? I basically skimmed the chapters focusing on him. I feel like there wasn't a point to pay attention to him, mainly because THE BOOK IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT ERAGON, not Roran! Anyway... great book, I highly recommend that you start/finish this series!

5 stars out of 5

What I'm Reading- 1/23/12

Man, I haven't done one of these in a long time! Well, here you go!

Soul of the Fire- Terry Goodkind

Continuing on with The Sword of Truth series, and as in past novels, Goodkind takes his sweet time setting the main plot of the book. As much as I love these books, it's like walking through molasses on a cold day trying to get to the "good" parts (which sometimes is a long time/many pages). I really don't know why I'm complaining though, I know I'll love the rest of it, and whatever Goodkind writes in the last half will make up for the first half being a bit boring.

The Crystal Shard- R.A. Salvatore

This one's been on the back-burner for a while. Wanted to read Inheritance and finish Temple of the Winds over Christmas break. It will continue to be on the back-burner because of this next book!

Death of Kings- Bernard Cornwell

I have been waiting for this book for a while, and I'm super excited about it. I love this author, and he is my favorite historical fiction writer (so far). Ordered it on Barnes and Noble at the end of last week and will start reading it as soon as possible!

Temple of the Winds Review

GO READ THIS BOOK SERIES!!

This is not really a review, but I wanted to tell you guys about this book/series, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. Just as a note- this book series should be read my adults only (as in 18 and up) as it deals with some pretty mature issues at times.

I've said this before, but Terry Goodkind is an amazing author. He is very adept at getting you emotionally involved into the characters and the story, and then toying with you the majority of the novel. He builds up the tension and the sense of urgency the whole book, then takes away all hope, and somehow resolves it in the end, making everything better. So amazing! He is one of my favorite authors of all time; right up there with Tolkien, Cornwell, and Crichton! It's a crying shame that Goodind isn't all that popular.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

Further Fantasy Reading

This was originally going to be the "Advanced" guide to fantasy, but I feel like people wouldn't necessarily agree with my choices. The great thing is that people all read at different levels. I read The Lord of the Rings when I was in junior high, but someone else could have read it earlier, or later. This list is for either books with more mature content or ones I have left out in my other lists (see here: Beginner's Guide to Fantasy & Intermediate Guide to Fantasy). Note that I have not read all of the books on this list, nor necessarily enjoyed them myself (I hated Jonathan Strange), but they come highly recommended by lots of other people. I hope you enjoy these books if you ever get the opportunity to! These are in no particular order.


The Silmarillion- J.R.R. Tolkien

Wizard's First Rule- Terry Goodkind

The Eye of the World- Robert Jordan

A Game of Thrones- George R.R. Martin

Tigana- Guy Gavriel Kay

Gardens of the Moon- Steven Erikson

Mistborn- Brandon Sanderson

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell- Susanna Clarke

The Name of the Wind- Patrick Rothfuss

Sabriel- Garth Nix

Least Liked Literary Characters

Hehehehe...alliteration. =)

Well, since I did a list of my favorite literary characters, I thought I'd do one of the characters that annoyed/pissed me off. As a side note, this list doesn't count the books from authors I really hate (Austen/Bronte/Meyers, etc). Also: Just because a certain book or author is on this list, doesn't mean I don't like said book or author...just the characters in them. These are in no particular order.

• Grima Wormtonge: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien

Grima is one of those guys who I wouldn't say made me mad or annoyed, I just never liked him at all. He betrays his fellow humans to an Istari and to Sauron, perverting King Theoden's mind to bring his nation to ruin. Plus he has the nerves to flirt with Eowyn in front of Eomer. What an idiot...

• Zaphod Beeblebrox: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

Zaphod definitely annoys me, in the book as well as the movie. Yes, he has some funny lines here and there, but he's a complete moron, self-seeking jerk. He has the attention span of a goldfish (which is about 15 seconds), sometimes even less so.

• Nynaeve al'Meara: The Wheel of Time series, Robert Jordan

Nynaeve bugs the hell out of me. She's definitely my least favorite character. Now, in general, I don't dislike feminists, but Nynaeve is one of those extreme ones that really piss me off. Her actions, her temper, and ego really get to me. Both Elayne and Egwene are like this to a certain extent, but nowhere near Nynaeve. Plus, they have other redeeming qualities...Nynaeve (at least so far) has none.

• Dolores Umbridge: The Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling

As much as I hate Nynaeve, Professor Umbridge is one of the few fictional characters I've gotten really mad at, to the point where I have to stop reading and cool off. I really wanted her dead. Besides the fact that she reminds me of my high school Economics teacher, she's evil to the core and she's sneaky about it (at first anyway).

• Captain Ahab: Moby Dick, Herman Melville

Not much to say about Captain Ahab. Hated the book, hated his character. The above picture is from the movie version, where Ahab is played by Gregory Peck (who doesn't suck).

• Camaban: Stonehenge, Bernard Cornwell

Camaban is one of those characters that I did not like at all. It wasn't because he was a badly developed character, or was given bad lines...he was just a good villain. Being a disliked character isn't always a bad thing; it is usually because their creators are really good authors. I feel the same way about Umbridge. I hate her as a character, but I love the books and the author. Bernard Cornwell is one of my favorite authors, and he did a great job making a character that would really get under your skin, like a good villain should.

• Kaspar, Duke of Olasko: Conclave of Shadows trilogy, Raymond E. Feist

Kaspar on the other hand is not a great character, at least in my opinion. I love the first two books in this trilogy ("Talon of the Silver Hawk" & "King of Foxes"), but this one took one of my least liked characters from the previous books and gave him his own, random, book at the end of the trilogy. Feist took the focus off of Talwin (who was the MC for books 1 & 2, and who I really liked) and shifted it to Kaspar for book 3. It didn't seem very well thought out to me.

• Darken Rahl: The Sword of Truth series, Terry Goodkind

Terry Goodkind is one of the very few authors I have come across that can write 800-900+ page books and still keep my interest all the way through. Darken Rahl is a very good villain, and Goodkind gives him the traits a good villain should have. A good author (especially in fantasy lit.) should make you hate and/or fear their villain(s). I definitely hated Darken Rahl. Well done, Mr. Goodkind!

• Anyone from The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Plain and simple: I hated this book. I had to read it for my 11th grade English class. I liked "Fahrenheit 451" and "The Crucible" more than this book. Not my cup o' tea at all.

When it comes down to it, most of these characters are not necessarily bad, they are in reality, well written antagonists/villains/etc. If I happen to dislike the villain of a story, I feel like the author did their job correctly (at least in this aspect, not always for the book as a whole). 

Favorite Literary Characters

So, my plan was to make a top 10 list of my favorite characters from books that I have read. Either chalking it up to laziness or indecisiveness, I'll just post them all in no particular order.

• Legolas Greenleaf, Gimli son of Gloin, and Peregrin Took: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien

These are my favorite characters from The Lord of the Rings. While I do admit that my opinion of these three men is slightly influenced by the movies, I already liked them before the movies even came out. I like Legolas and Gimli for their sheer awesomeness and cool fight scenes together. I like Pippin for his comedic relief, of course.

• Achilles: The Iliad, Homer

Achilles is one of the first and best bad-asses around in literature and mythology. Although I didn't particularly care for his cockiness, he technically had the right and could back it up. He was also pretty whiney about Briseis, but I think Homer was trying to convey great emotion and just missed the mark a bit. I still like his character though. Odysseus was a close second after Achilles.

• Uhtred of Bebbanburg: The Saxon series, Bernard Cornwell

I really like this book series, mainly because of the time period, but Cornwell puts a ton of great content in there too. I like Uhtred because he is a very realistic character. He's not just the invincible hero, he's not infallible, he makes mistakes and has to deal with the consequences.

• Thomas of Hookton- Grail Quest trilogy, Bernard Cornwell

I like Thomas for pretty much the same reasons as I do Uhtred. I just like seeing historical characters (whether real or made up) being portrayed in realistic ways...well, as realistically as possible- we only know so much about history.

• Marvin: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

Marvin is a freaking hilarious character. I mean come on, he's a depressed robot! I also love the fact that his character in the movie was voiced by Alan Rickman.

• Zeddicus "Zed" Zu'l Zorander: The Sword of Truth series, Terry Goodkind

I like Zed as a character because he is so interesting and well-rounded. You don't see a whole lot of older characters like this much anymore, it seems. Zed is powerful and wise, but is also funny and is a child at heart, and isn't too old to get some lovin'. I honestly like Zed more than I do the main characters of this series, Kahlan and Richard.

• Perrin Aybara and Matrim Cauthon: The Wheel of Time series, Robert Jordan

Robert Jordan (RIP) was very very good at crafting wonderful characters. All of them are interesting, but overall, I like Perrin and Mat the most. I feel like I connect the most with Perrin, and the wolf parts of the stories are cool. Mat is one of the very few male characters who has the cahones to stand up to the very strong female characters in this series, especially Nynaeve. I also like the plot developments that are added to his character in later books quite a bit (which I won't spoil for you).

• Calvin and Hobbes: Revenge of the Baby-Sat (etc.), Bill Watterson

These two are pretty much my favorite duo ever. I love the Calvin and Hobbes comics so much. I like Calvin's high vocabulary for only being in 1st grade, and the pranks Hobbes pulls on Calvin. Even though they originally appeared in the Sunday newspaper and not in a graphic novel, Calvin and Hobbes is my favorite comic series of all time.