Top Ten Tuesday: Literary Costumes

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created by the lovely folks at The Broke and the Bookish. They created it because they're "particularly fond of lists" and since I also enjoy lists, I've decided to participate in this fun feature.

I am a huge 'fraidy cat. Scary movies or books? Totally not my thing. So, it's not surprising that Halloween isn't my favourite holiday. But, there's something fun about dressing up and eating lots of candy. Not to mention carving pumpkins and roasting the seeds. This week's Top Ten Tuesday offers two options: Top Ten Books/Movies To Read Or Watch To Get In The Halloween Spirit OR Top Ten Characters Who I Would Totally Want To Be For Halloween. Can you guess which option I'm choosing for this week's list? :) What is your favourite thing about Halloween? What's your costume this year? PS Sorry I don't have any pictures...this was a last minute thing and my head demanded I go to bed!

Tris Prior - Divergent by Veronica Roth
This is in the running for my own costume this year. Minor snag: I don't own a leather jacket. But I DO have the raven tattoos courtesy of the special edition blu-ray edition of the movie.

Hermione Granger - Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
She is one kick ass witch. Need I say more?

The Paper Bag Princess - The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
I've wanted to dress up as this illustrated character ever since I saw a girl at a bar wearing a big, paper bag and a crown. Love.

Alice - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Also acceptable: The White Rabbit or the Queen of Hearts. So many bright colours!

Anne Shirley - Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
I'm sure if I had red hair I would have been Anne over and over again when I was a kid.

Nancy Drew - Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene
Especially suited for those who love the vintage look.

Mia Thermopolis - The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
I can't decide if I'd like to be pre- or post-makeover Mia. I have the hair for Before Mia but After Mia gets the crown and the pretty dresses.

Red Riding Hood - Little Red Riding Hood
My sister and I had a cape when we were little. I think my mom made it for my sister one year. It was awesome and every once and awhile I remember it and wish I still had it!

Elizabeth Bennet - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Bonus points if you have a Mr. Darcy accompany you to the party.

Top Ten Tuesday: You Can Sit With Us

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created by the lovely folks at The Broke and the Bookish. They created it because they're "particularly fond of lists" and since I also enjoy lists, I've decided to participate in this fun feature.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is playing on the back to school theme that seems to be popping up everywhere. Especially since here in Canada the kiddies are back to class today! This TTT is asking, if I was back at school, which characters would be at my lunch table? Ooh, so tough! So I'm kind of cheating. Note: I definitely didn't intend to make this an exclusively female list. I guess my lunch table is my equivalent to a fort...no boys allowed! Unless they're wearing pink on Wednesdays. Links lead to Goodreads.

Kim from Blogger Girl by Meredith Schorr.
I freaking love Kim and I think we'd immediately hit it off. Could we perhaps have a liquid lunch?

Basically any Sarah Dessen heroine but especially Remy from This Lullaby and Auden from Along for the Ride.
I love Dessen's main characters because they're so freaking real. I'm not a teenager any more but hanging out with them would be a lot of fun. Maybe if I'm eating lunch with them, fictional characters, it means I can also go back to being a teenager? :)

Cassie from S.E.C.R.E.T. series by L. Marie Adeline.
It might be a little inappropriate for the lunch table but I'd really like to know more about the women she met in New Orleans and through S.E.C.R.E.T. Plus, Cassie seems like one awesome woman that I'd love to get to know more about her.

All the girls in the When Girlfriends... series by Savannah Page.
The six girlfriends in this series are all different but each of them would be a lot of fun to hang out with!

Hazel Grace Lancaster from The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.
She's such a smart and funny teen who's dealt with too much in her life. Getting the chance to hang with her would be great.

Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
She might have some difficulty with the cafeteria food but wouldn't it be great to get to know Lizzie and find out what Darcy was really like?

Lexi from Hard Hats and Doormats by Laura Chapman.
Lexi and I could totally be besties so lunch time with her would be awesome.

Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.
I wish I could sit down with her and help her through her first year of post-secondary school. It's tough! And I'd love to hear more about Levi aka one of the best book boyfriends ever.

Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Anne-with-an-e has been a favourite character of mine for many years. How cool would it be to hang out with the literary world's favourite redhead?

Anne Blythe from Arranged by Catherine McKenzie.
Not to be confused with the married Anne Shirley, Anne Blythe is the heroine in my favourite McKenzie book. She ends up taking part in an arranged marriage and I'd definitely want to hear about that. 

Guest Post: Laura Chapman

Welcome to my second stop on the CLP Blog Tour for Hard Hats and Doormats, Laura Chapman's debut novel. I absolutely loved this novel (my review went up last week) and today Laura is sharing a guest post with us. I wondered what it was like to get into the mind of Lexi, the main character. How did Laura create Lexi's personality and make her real? Enjoy!

Confession: Out of all the guest posts I’ve been writing to discuss the story behind my first novel, this is the one I struggled with most. I wasn’t quite sure how to put into words exactly what I’d done to channel my inner Lexi to tell her story and make it feel real.

When I wrote the first draft of Hard Hats and Doormats three years ago, it wasn’t much of a stretch for me to get inside my main character’s head. At the time I started the first draft, I was 24, two years out of college and in one of those awkward life phases. You know the kind – you’re not 100 percent happy about the direction your life is taking, but you don’t know what to do about it.

So you get moody, pouty and sometimes overdo it at the bar (not necessarily as a coping mechanism, but because you’re young and don’t always think things through). You make and lose friendships. You make good and bad decisions. You’re trying to figure out who you want to be and how you can become that person.

Like Lexi Burke, I sometimes spent too much of my life on the road for work and complaining about my job. I also liked meeting my friends for post-work drinks. We liked complaining about co-workers and bosses. Flirting with cute boys (because I was still thinking of men as boys at this point) and looking to each other for spiritual guidance.  

It wasn’t just me. Most of my friends were basically the same way. We were all fairly new out of college. We all had big plans, but we weren’t that close to achieving them.

When I needed to get into my character’s head – when I was developing her personality – I considered the most extreme emotions and thoughts I’d had in the previous two years. What made me happiest? What had upset me most? What was the worst character trait I showed? What was the best? Then I thought about the people around me. I’ve always been a fan of people watching (I’m sure other writers can relate), and I used some of those experiences to watch the way men and women in their twenties acted.

I came up with a few interesting characteristics I wanted to feature:

• A lot of us aren’t happy at work. At the time I wrote the first draft, the recession was still on its way to bottoming out. Jobs were scarce, salaries were low and we felt a little helpless about our professional futures.
• Many of us wanted our ideas to be heard and valued, but were finding it difficult, because of our young age.
• The number one social activity for young working professionals seems to be meeting in a bar after work on a Friday (or Monday) to vent about difficult projects and people. That activity has the potential to bring out the best and worst in people, which makes natural drama.
• People can be selfish, but it doesn’t mean they’re horrible. For my part, I felt so helpless about everything going on in my life, I was so me-focused. What was I thinking? What was I feeling? What did I want? How was I going to solve my problems? Lots of “I” thinking. At the same time, I was aware I was being selfish, and I didn’t want to be.

When I developed Lexi Burke as a character – when I got into her head – I funneled this chaotic mix of emotions and thoughts into my writing. In subsequent drafts – as my life changed, and these old problems became less important to me – I tried to keep that same mindset. The story was inspired by some of what I’d experienced or witnessed first-hand as a young professional. It was often messy. There were a lot of mistakes. But we learned a lot of lessons. My hope was by writing a story about characters that weren’t always perfect – and who made mistakes – I’d be creating a realistic book.

Perhaps what most surprised me through writing this story was how different my main character and I turned out to be. I was concerned I’d end up writing a fictional version of myself, because I was expressing so many of my emotions. Ultimately, Lexi and I ended up being two different people, who managed to share a few similar thoughts and emotions. Isn’t that a nice thought? You can be so different from another person – real or fictional – but you can still find a little common ground amongst your differences.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Don't Make Me Live There!

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created by the lovely folks at The Broke and the Bookish. They created it because they're "particularly fond of lists" and since I also enjoy lists, I've decided to participate in this fun feature.

Have you ever read a book and thought, "My god, I never ever want to live in this world or trade places with this character. The hell they have to go through!"? That's what this week's Top Ten Tuesday is all about. We had to choose ten worlds we'd never want to live in or ten characters who we would never trade places with. It was an interesting list to created and, not surprisingly, there's a lot of fantasy/dystopian type worlds and characters listed. What would you put on your list? Links lead to Goodreads.

Worlds

This one gets a big ol' "duh". Is there anyone who would want to live in a world where The Hunger Games exists? Suzanne Collins created a hell of a story and Panem is great to read about but I'd rather stay in today's North America, thank you very much.

I love Jane Austen's books. I love reading about 19th century England. I do not want to live there. Sure, it'd be peaceful without all the traffic and smog and so on, but I like my modern conveniences - like toothbrushes and Twitter. 

Divergent's world is a little less crazy on the dystopian chart but the things that happen in their world are no less devastating. I also wouldn't want to be controlled by some whacked out woman and 'wake up' to find I had killed my neighbour. Ugh.

Tanya Huff wrote an awesome story and the world's pretty cool but there's some weird sort of approved incest thing that happens. I never really understood it but from what I could tell first cousins would sleep together after getting all hot and bothered during a magical outing. Really weird. But great novel. Oh, and there are some crazy and evil Dragon Lords (that might not be their correct title but it's been awhile since I read the book) that are running around the city, too.

Characters

Before you jump down my throat, let me explain. The world Harry Potter lives in is one that I'd give up almost anything to live in because I love it so. BUT, I don't want to be Harry Potter. The pressure that kid was under was enormous and I wouldn't want to be in his place.

Caitlin is the main character in Sarah Dessen's novel Dreamland. I wouldn't want to be her because she ends up dating a real asshole who treats her horribly and is all kinds of abusive. Rereading this book last year was really hard because I really felt like I wanted to save Caitlin. It was like reading about a little sister or cousin or niece who you weren't able to save until it was almost too late. Heartbreaking.

I wouldn't want to trade places with Emma, from Catherine McKenzie's novel Forgotten, for a couple of reasons. First, she's in Africa when a devastating earthquake hits (think the 2010 earthquake in Haiti). That's not fun. Second, because of that earthquake and the issues it creates with communications, her friends and family think she's dead. Uhhh...so not fun. Excellent book, though, by one of my favourite authors.

I really like the fun, cozy mysteries by Joanne Fluke that feature Hannah Swensen. They have recipes throughout and main character Hannah owns a cookie shop. But, they are mysteries, and this is the reason I wouldn't want to be Hannah. She's always the one to find the dead bodies! That's not my idea of fun.

I picked Dan Brown's most famous character because of the way his career would have progressed. If I chose to get an obscene amount of education and then work on my own research projects while being a professor at a prestigious American college, I'm expecting to have a pretty low key life. That's not the case for Langdon. He repeatedly gets pulled into dangerous, life threatening situations all around the world. I doubt that's what he signed up for!

Ursula Todd had an extraordinary life. Er. Lives. She's the main character from the amazing novel Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. She relives her life over and over and over again. I don't think that's something I would like. I wouldn't want to know what's going to happen (like World War II) and be powerless to stop it. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Where Did THAT Name Come From?

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created by the lovely folks at The Broke and the Bookish. They created it because they're "particularly fond of lists" and since I also enjoy lists, I've decided to participate in this fun feature.

Do you sometimes wonder how author's come up with their characters' names? I always do. Especially when the names are...shall we say...a little unconventional. This week's list is all about character names we love or that we find unusual. I've done a sort of combo list...mostly they're all memorable names but some I really like and others are very WTF. What character's names do you like or find really odd? Links lead to my reviews, where applicable.

Don't forget to check out their blog for a full list of everyone participating this week!

Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling
The names are all a little odd but they're awesome. I also really like that there are stories behind some characters' names (Sirius, for example). There are also some names that I love (Luna, George, James...oh, probably more).

Hunger Games Series - Suzanne Collins
Katniss, Peeta, Primrose...yeah, theses names are a little out there!

Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins
Cricket and Calliope. Enough said.

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
We meet the main character as Cath but we find out later that her name is actually Cather. Her sister is Wren. They tell their friend, when he wonders where the names came from, that their mom didn't realize she was having twins and didn't feel like coming up with another name. Hint: Say the girls' names together and you'll see what name their mom had chosen!

Pushing the Limits - Katie McGarry
At first you really think Echo's name is bizarre (and Noah actually makes fun of it) but then you find out that she's named after a myth, as was her brother (I can't remember it, though! Curses.). I'm really glad we got the backstory because it made it a little less WTF.

This Lullaby - Sarah Dessen
For some reason, Remy's name sticks out for me. I like it because it's a little different but it's not so different that you'd really wonder what her parents were thinking. Honourable mentions from other Dessen books: Auden/Eli from Along for the Ride, Ruby from Lock and Key, Annabel from Just Listen, Scarlett from Someone Like You.

Sweet Thing - Renee Carlino
I just really like Mia's name!

Life After Life - Kate Atkinson
Ursula is another name that has a story - and isn't necessarily as odd since she was born (over and over again) in the early 1900s (can't remember the exact year!). Her mother picked it because it means 'little bear'.

Where We Belong - Emily Giffin
I really wonder where Giffin came up with Kirby.

Go Small or Go Home - Heather Wardell
Forrest is one of my favourite guys that Heather has written...maybe even one of my favourites in all the books I've read. I admit that it has a lot to do with the fact that he's a pro hockey player (hello, I am Canadian) but he's a great guy. But where did his name come from?

Guest Post: Savannah Page

Welcome to my second stop on the CLP Blog Tour for When Girlfriends Chase Dreams! Today author Savannah Page has been kind enough to write a guest post for Books Etc. When I was reading the series I wondered what drew her to writing a series about such a dynamic group of friends so I sent along this prompt/question: Each book in the When Girlfriends… series features a different girlfriend. Did you always plan to alternate perspectives? And did you find that you had favourites? (I know that’s probably like asking a mother which child is her favourite!). I hope you enjoy Savannah's response!

In the earliest conceptualization stages of my When Girlfriends… collection I knew two things without a shadow of a doubt: 1) That I wanted a group of best friends from college to star in a friendship-themed set of novels, and 2) That each girlfriend would get her own story (and maybe, just maybe, two).

I wanted to alternate perspectives because I knew right away that each girl would grow on me and would have her own fab story to tell—they all just had to have their own novel. But I also did it as a way to flex my pen and better hone my craft. I had the main theme of friendship, and I had a solid set of characters, so with those things fixed I felt like I had a good chance to play with things that could be changed from book to book, like voice, tense, and POV. I knew before I even started that I didn’t want every single novel to have the same exact style. Similar, yes, so they can all be tied together as a family, but some differences here and there so I could show and practice versatility.

One of the toughest things, five novels in, has been to keep to my own distinct chick lit author voice, while at the same time have each character stand out as her own person and have her own way of telling her story. With each When Girlfriends… novel I want readers to feel like they’re still reading within the series/from the same author, but that they’re getting something new. Like they’re picking up a new diary.

As for a favorite girlfriend/novel? That’s a tough one! Definitely like asking a mother which child is her favorite. I really enjoyed writing When Girlfriends Chase Dreams because my day job is wedding-related (I blog for a wedding florist), and it was my NaNoWriMo baby. It was a blast to write, and Claire’s an endearing character. She’s full of so much energy and she’s just a sweetie (when she isn’t freaking out over planning her big day).

My latest release, When Girlfriends Take Chances, just might be my favorite. Emily is definitely an adventurer and free-spirited character. She inspires me and even reminds me to live each day to its fullest—take chances.

But, having said that, I still think that I’m most proud of When Girlfriends Make Choices. That novel made me push the envelope a bit and do something in both theme, style, and tense that I’ve never done. It took me longer than usual to write that one and I think the amount of time I invested, the constant rewrites, and the fact that I really wrote the book that was in my heart, make …Make Choices one of my absolute faves. Funnily, though, my favorite character just might be Sophie (When Girlfriends Break Hearts), but probably because I’ve been gathering ideas for her second book for a long while now. She’s been on my mind a lot!

Thanks for inviting me to guest post today, Kaley. I’m glad you could be a part of the tour!

Readers, don’t forget to enter the fabulous CLP When Girlfriends Chase Dreams Tour Giveaway. One lucky reader will win a 1 year subscription to the “Martha Stewart Weddings” or “Martha Stewart Living” magazine (print or digital). Details are at the CLP tour page.

Guest Post: Colleen Oakes

Thanks for stopping by for my second tour stop for Elly In Bloom by Colleen Oakes. Before I started reading the novel (which I loved, by the way, and you can check out my review here), I knew there were some similarities between main character Elly and author Colleen. When it came time to suggest a post topic, I was curious to find out how Colleen found the balance between writing an autobiographical novel and a novel that happens to have a heroine with a few of the same characteristics she did. I love love love the post Colleen sent to me and I hope you do too!

At my book release party, my Dad approached my best friend Kim and asked her a hilarious question.  “Are you Kim?” he asked.  “Yes, that is my name.”  “No, I mean…are you Kim? Like in the book?”  She laughed. “Well, I’m not Elly!”  

My Dad smiled. “Well, of course not! Isn’t that my daughter?”

Often times, when you are the author of fiction, you can find yourself bordering the line between your own life and the bright, shiny lives of your own characters.  While I’m not sure this problem happens to the writers of say, science fiction (Am I am alien today? Nope, still me.), it can absolutely happen to writers who tread a little more in real life and a little less on the fantastical sphere.  Like say, if you used to be a chubby floral designer in St. Louis, and now you’re a chubby novelist writing a novel about a chubby floral designer in St. Louis.

Elly, my main character, is absolutely an embodiment of my own heart, my own insecurities, and a colorful collage of several extraordinary women in my life.  Her struggles with weight, food and men is very personal to me. She’s not a carbon copy in any sense of the word, but those fears that she overcomes are all something that I, or those I know, have conquered in their own life. As I wrote the book, there were times when I had to remind myself “That is what you would do, but it’s not necessarily what Elly would do.”  While Elly carries my heart within her pages and has a slew of issues that we share, there are also some key differences that kept me from falling head first into her life.  I luckily, have never found my husband tangled up in bed with a redhead.  I’m blessed to be married to an amazing man who is faithful and caring.  I do not have a weakness for artists, though I do have a weakness for beautiful things, be it a beach or a cute dress.  Elly has experienced the death of her mother, where I was lucky enough to treat mine to a movie this afternoon.  However, both Ellyn and I have a deep love for flowers and floral design. We both prefer hot chocolate over coffee, and we both tend to fall clumsily into the worst possible situation.  We can both be awkward, quick tempered and easily intimidated. And we’re both not entirely confident in dressing ourselves.

Finally, writing someone like yourself can be liberating, as if your typewriter suddenly took on the form of a therapist.  Writing someone like yourself can also be terrible, a revealing of your worst traits.  Walking the line between fiction and real life is at best a tightrope.  Veer too close to your character and you’re writing a very revealing autobiography. Veer too far and you are out of touch with the emotional heart of your story. 

They key is to keep a firm grasp on reality, while letting your rich characters play free in your imagination.  If you love them, you cannot make them into yourself. It’s a disservice to them, and to your story. 

And if you can’t do it alone, find someone to remind you. And then name a character after them.

About the Author
Colleen Oakes is a passionate Colorado native who really enjoys living in other places. She attended college in Bronxville, NY where she received her degree in Creative Writing. After college, she opened up a successful wedding florist before the writing urge came knocking. Now she is a night owl who does most of her writing in pajamas. When not drowsily hitting the keys, Colleen enjoys swimming, reading, and immersing herself in nerdy pop culture. Elly in Bloom debuted in September, 2012 via Amazon Publishing. She now lives with her husband in North Denver, where they are awaiting their first child through adoption. Colleen blogs about life (good, bad, and awkward) pretty frequently over at The Ranunculus Adventures. (http://ranunculusadventure.blogspot.com/) She is currently at work on the sequel to Elly in Bloom.

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Guest Post: Meredith Schorr

It's my second stop on the A State of Jane CLP Blog Tour. Thanks for stopping by! I reviewed the novel last week (check it out here if you missed it) and today's post was written by the lovely author, Meredith Schorr. I'm always interested in the process author's go through when they're writing so I asked Meredith how she figures out the characters in her novels. I hope you all enjoy this insight into the world of writing - I sure did!

Getting Inside My Character’s Heads

Thanks so much for having me on Books Etc., Kaley.  I follow your blog pretty often so it’s pretty cool to be a guest today!!
When I wrote my first novel, Just Friends with Benefits, it was fairly easy to get into the head of my main character, Stephanie Cohen.  That was because when I wrote Just Friends with Benefits, I sort of inserted myself into a fictional story about a woman named Stephanie.  I got Stephanie into more trouble than I’ve experienced personally and I like to think I’d be smart enough to avoid a few of the mistakes she made, however, when I wrote Stephanie’s reactions to things, I often asked myself, “Self – how would you react under these same circumstances?” and I went from there. 

For instance, Stephanie tended to overanalyze things Ad Nauseum, especially statements or small actions from men.  I had a tendency to do the same - before I evolved J.  Stephanie tended to drown her sorrows in drinks with friends, multiple rolls of sushi and a vigorous run on the treadmill.  I do the same.  If there was a full glass of water on the table, Stephanie would be the one to accidentally knock it over. That’s usually my role among my friends and family. This was not the case when I wrote about Jane Frank, the main character of my second novel, A State of Jane. Jane Frank and Meredith Schorr have very little in common personality-wise so it was not simply a matter of looking inside myself to see what I would say/do given a specific set of circumstances.  I basically had to become Jane while writing the novel.  And that is, in a nutshell, what I do while writing.  I don’t know how I do it – certainly not by hypnosis or any magic spell but it just happens.  When I write, I become my main character (assuming I am not already her)… Jane Frank is a Type A, list-making, neat-freak who, at least when introduced to the reader, truly believes that if you do everything “right”, things will work out just as you want them to.  Perhaps it is a result of her upbringing.  She grew up the youngest daughter of an upper middle class happily married couple.  She met her first boyfriend at 16 and stayed with him until she was 25.  She works as a paralegal but has a job in her daddy’s law firm waiting for her when she graduates law school.  And her older sister met the love of her life and is trying to start a family and follow in her mother’s footsteps.  This is how life is supposed to look to Jane and she sees no reason why anything should get in the way of that.  I knew all of this when I started A State of Jane and took it all into consideration when writing what decision, judgment call or choice Jane would make, how she would react to disappointment, how she might respond to her world crumbling around her.  I must confess it was kind of fun watching the world slam the door in Jane’s face for a little while.  It was also rewarding to see how she resolved her issues and, in doing so, became a better person.  As Jane grew up, I almost felt like I grew up a little too.  I guess that’s what happens when you become your main character!  Quite the incentive for the Happily Ever After ending J

Guest Post: Samantha March

Yesterday I reviewed the fabulous novel The Green Ticket by the equally amazing Samantha March. Today, I have a guest post from the author herself! I knew Samantha had tried something a little different when it came to planning her second novel so I wanted to know how she got to know her characters in this book. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did!

Meeting the Cast

Getting to know your characters can be a tall order. Some simply pop into my mind all planned out – I can visually see them, I know instinctively what they like and what they do for a career, etc. Other times, I have no clue. That is when I like to use a character interview. I have a set of questions that range from what do you drive to what is your favorite food to what is your favorite childhood memory. Some questions might not seem like they would mean a lot to a plot, but as you put together each answer, a little sliver of your characters comes to life. By the time I have them all answered, I have a much better idea of who my character is and what they bring to the story. I tend to only do these for my major characters. In THE GREEN TICKET for example, some I used the interview on was Lila, Henry, and Hannah. (I had Alex pretty well planned out and didn’t feel the need to use one.) I think this is a great tool and have already started using the interviews with the characters to book number three! 

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten All Time Favourite Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. They created this feature because they're "particularly fond of lists" and since I also enjoy lists, I've decided to participate in this fun feature. This week's list is Top Ten All Time Favourite Characters. Don't forget to check out their blog for a full list of everyone participating.

1. Ron Weasley - Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
I could probably fill up this list with all Harry Potter characters but Ron is definitely my favourite. It's great to see him come into his own over the course of the series.

2. Anne Shirley - Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery
There's just something to love about this free spirited red head from PEI and I loved reading the series back to back to see how she grew and what happened in her life.

3. Elizabeth Bennet - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Ah, Pride and Prejudice. Great book with a fantastic protagonist. I know I'm not alone when I say she's my favourite Austen heroine. She's got spirit and doesn't try to hide it - this is huge in an era when women were not supposed to have much of a personality.

4. Jessica Darling - Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty
This series was so amazing because it featured a smart, witty, and different kind of teen girl. Perfection.

5. Katniss Everdeen - The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
In a time where female YA protagonists are not always very strong (ahem, Bella), Katniss provides an amazing character to young girls. She has to deal with issues that many teens can relate to (other than the whole having to kill other teenagers thing) and she handles them in a strong way.

6. Laura Ingalls Wilder - Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
It's kind of strange to pick a real person as a favourite character but in all fairness, she did write her life as fictional books. I love Laura because she shows how resilient you had to be in the late 1800s. We may think life was oh so hard back then and yes, her novels show that, but they also show how much fun could be had and I really like that.

7. Remy - This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
Remy is the main character in my favourite Dessen novel. She's got a bit more spunk and energy than some of her other characters and I think I was drawn to that. She's tough and vulnerable all at once and just plain awesome.

8. Bridget Vreeland - Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares
This was another one where I could have picked any of the main characters but I think Bridget tops my list of the girls of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I think it's because she seemed to be much more complex than the other girls, in that she had issues that required a lot more work to sort out. When I was reading Sisterhood Everlasting she was the character that I really wanted to see settled and figured out.

9. Georgia Nicolson - Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison
These books were freaking hilarious - great for a teen girl. I think they were so funny because Georgia herself is funny. Besides, you can't help rooting for a girl who has an evil, massive cat named Angus and a pain in the butt little sister. She's just trying to live a normal teenage life which, of course, includes some quality snogging :)

10. Jane Madison - Jane Madison series by Mindy Klasky
Jane is a librarian and a witch. How neat would that be? I think that says it all!

After I completed this list I noticed a trend. A lot of these characters are from a series and I think I can figure out why I gravitated towards those characters - it's because I've had more time (ie books) to learn to love them. Does that make sense to everyone else?

Who would YOU choose as your top fictional characters? Let me know!

Happy reading :)