Booking Through Thursday: What a Character!

Okay ... today's questions number two. The first, for me, is simple. The second not so much.

Are there any fictional characters whom you have emulated (or tried to)? Who and why?

Both my answers took place when I was a tween/teen.

The first was Eilonwy from "The Chronicles of Prydain" which was one of my favorite all time books as a kid. I just loved her -- all flash and fire and temper, but beautiful and smart. I really wanted to BE her. It was also the first time I'd really been affected by romance in a book. The ending of The High King made me sigh.

Then, I decided I *had* have a fire lizard (from the Dragonriders series by Anne McCaffrey). So, while I didn't exactly emulate a specific character (though I loved both Lessa and Menolly), I had a friend of mine who was an artist, make me a life-sized cardboard cutout of a fire lizard, and I carried that sucker around with me. Somewhere I have a picture of me with it.

Oh... this same friend and I used to roleplay as middle school kids when we were on recess from the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. She was Dororthy and and I was Ozma.

Boy, looking back on that, I was kinda odd... lol!

What literary character do you feel is most like you personality-wise (explain)?

This one I don't have an answer to. I can't ever remember reading something and thinking, "Gee, she's just like me."

Who's loyal with a sarcastic sense of humor, reasonably intelligent, but has been known to fall up stairs, has a deep love for all God's creatures, prefers to be alone and has a few very good friends instead of hundreds of acquaintances?

That's me.

Booking Through Thursday: eRevolution

E-readers like the Kindle and iPad are sweeping the nation … do you have one? Do you like it? Do you find it changes your reading/buying habits? If you don’t have one, do you plan to?

I actually won a Nook 3G Classic in an online contest a couple years ago. I'd always wanted one, but couldn't swing the cost (that was before the price wars between Amazon and Barnes and Noble... where we all win!). I was so thrilled because reading eBooks on my computer was hard (I'd often print them off instead, which sort of defeats the purpose of an eBook).

While it hadn't replaced print books for me, I do enjoy having one. It's especially nice to get the free downloads from new authors to help me find different things to read that might not have been something I'd have chosen on my own.

It's also easier for my to hold. My hands can get stiff and achy sometimes, and the Nook is lighter than a book, plus I bought a cover that works as an easel, so I can sit it on the table and not hold it at all if need be (and the pages don't flip closed!).

So, yes, I do enjoy having it. While it may not replace print books, it's convenient and easy and I can even borrow books from the library.

Booking Through Thursday: A Challenging Read

What’s the hardest/most challenging book you’ve ever read? Was it worth the effort? Did you read it by choice or was it an assignment/obligation?

Anything by John Steinbeck. Of Mice and Men and Cannery Row are standard fare for any English Lit class, and mine was no exception. I was force fed them until I wanted to scream.

I'm a fan of lighter books with happy endings. The deep, symbolic, depressing "Oprah" books aren't something for me. I prefer genre fiction: romance, cozy mysteries, fantasy, science fiction where the good guys typically win. I like to close a book after reading the last page and have a smile on my face and a sigh in my heart.

Steinbeck does neither of those things. Perhaps I'm edified now, but when I think of authors I would never purposely read, he is the first to cross my mind. So, was it worth the effort? I passed the class, so I suppose it was. But it wasn't fun or even interesting.