Friday, June 11, 2010

Top Ten Picks: Literary Crushes


Random Ramblings' Top Ten Topic this week is Literary Crushes.

ETA: I can't believe I forgot one. Spencer Martin from Suite Scarlett and Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson. I love Scarlett's older brother, Spencer.

Sir Patrick Lundie from Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins. Sir Patrick was one of my favorite characters that I discovered last year. Man and Wife isn't the most wonderful book in the world. And without Sir Patrick, well, I wouldn't have all that much use for it. It is over six hundred pages. But Sir Patrick kept me happy reading. He was such a stand-out character. He was so kind, so wise, so witty, so funny, so intelligent. He was a good man. I found myself smiling every time Sir Patrick collided (in dialogue) with Lady Lundie, his sister-in-law.

Mr. John Thornton from North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. Does this one need an explanation? If you've read the book or seen the movie, probably not. If you haven't watched the movie, then you don't know what you're missing. It is such a GREAT movie.

Captain Wentworth from Persuasion by Jane Austen. That letter. Who could resist the writer of that letter?! That is why it is so important that if you're going to seek out a film adaptation of this one that you skip the 2008 one. They ruined everything. (Not that I'm bitter.)

Marcus Flutie from Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling series, particularly Sloppy Firsts, Perfect Fifths. I don't always fall for the 'bad boy' types. Marcus Flutie, oh how I love you. I've always loved you. You had me at hello back in Sloppy Firsts. What does it say about me that I always take your side over Jessica's? Well, some of the time, at least. It's not that Marcus is perfect. It's just that there is something so unconditional about my love for Marcus that makes me care even when he's being difficult. And that something unconditional is how Marcus feels about Jessica. He loves her for who she is, for what she is, loves her unconditionally and without strings attached.

Doc MacNeill. From Catherine Marshall's Christy. I don't know if I can explain just why I *love* him. I just do.

Gilbert Blythe from L.M. Montgomery's Anne series. Particularly Anne of the Island and Anne of Green Gables.

Lord Alverstoke from Frederica by Georgette Heyer. It was *very* difficult to pick a Heyer hero to list. I tend to enjoy her romances so much, I love the way she has her couples falling in love. And so many of her couples have great chemistry.

Wes from The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. Is he my favorite Dessen hero? I'm not sure. It's been so long since I read The Truth About Forever. But I do know that this is my favorite Dessen novel. It was the first, true, but none of the others have taken that special place as far as I'm concerned. Wes is just one reason why I love the book, but he is an important one.

Dave the Laugh from the Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison. Dave the Laugh was one of the only reasons I kept up with this series. The best of the series were the ones with plenty of Dave scenes. (The lack of character development, lack of growth, is one of the reasons I grew frustrated with this series. Though many of the books do have laugh-out-loud moments.)

Henry Tilney from Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. I would really LOVE it if Amanda Grange came out with a Mr. Tilney's Diary. Why aren't there more spin-offs for this Austen novel? Why does everyone have to write P&P inspired fiction?!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

9 comments:

Allison said...

I LOVE this post! I definitely share some of these in my Top 10 also. Gilbert Blythe would definitely top my list. Mr. Thornton, Captain Wentworth, and Wes would all be high up on it as well :)

Kals said...

You have great taste! :D

And yay another Tilney fan! We've become quite rare to spot. Captain Wentworth is wonderful. And that letter is just enchanting.

Rebecca said...

Grr, this ate my first comment.

Doc McNeil = amazing. Hands down amazing. Far more crushable than David, even though the [original] one from the t.v. series gives a fair chase, haha

Wes = best Dessen hero, in my opinion. Eli (Along for the Ride) is the one who comes closest to dethroning Wes, but doesn't quite do it.

Don't we ALL love Gil? :o)

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Captain Wentworth and Marcus Flutie, Gilbert Blythe I'm so with you. I never would have thought of Dave the Laugh, but he's a perfect one, as is Tilney. Such a great list!

La Coccinelle said...

I'm not familiar with most of those. Well, except for the Jane Austen men and Gilbert Blythe. (I agree with you on the Georgia Nicolson books, though; lack of character growth was one of the reasons I quit the series after the first few books. I can't remember if I particularly liked Dave, though; maybe he had a bigger role in the later books.)

Jillian said...

Hmm.. you know, I have not read North and South before. Do you recommend it? It sounds good!
I also liked Wes, however, my favorite really has got to be Dexter from This Lullaby!

Becky said...

Jillian, I definitely recommend North and South. If reading the book itself doesn't appeal to you, then at least try the movie! Though I hope both would appeal :)

La Coccinelle, I think it was book-by-book how much Dave the Laugh was in a Georgia Nicolson book. He was always more in the background as a constant snogging temptation. One of the reasons I liked him is that he understood Georgia better than Georgia understood Georgia.

Sara Lyn said...

Love Capt. Wentworth and Tilney both. Think I like Tilney the better of the two, but... Love Doc MacNeill. Gil's pretty wonderful. Have to say I had a huge crush on Sherlock Holmes for a long time despite his weaknesses. :) And major big-time crush on Joe Willard of Betsy-Tacy. What about Vidanric from Crown Duel? [sigh] :) Owen from Enchanted, Inc. is another favorite. Who doesn't love a perfect, powerful wizard who is slightly nerdy? Mac from Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom. Now I want to go reread all these books!

Anonymous said...

Great Picks!
I have a very serious literary crush on Marcus Flutie.
My favorite Dessen boy is Dexter but Wes is second on that list.
Have you read Diana Peterfreund's Secret Society Girl Series?
Based on your picks I think there will be a new entry in your list.