30 Day Book Challenge: Day 14, 15 & 16

I stumbled across this 30 day book challenge by The Chronicles of Radiya and decided to give it a try. Hopefully it will lead to 30 consecutive days of blogging that liven up the blog a bit and give us a chance to get to know each other a little better.

I was away for the majority of the weekend, and forgot to schedule the day 14 and 15 posts. Oops. So today you get to learn three new bookish things about me instead of the usual single answer!

Day 14: Your Favourite Author(s) From Your Childhood

From my early childhood, I loved Robert Munsch, Eric Carle, and Dr. Seuss. I still remember how part of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? goes, and I’ve read my new copy of Oh, The Places You’ll Go (which was a graduation gift from my parents) so many times this past year, so clearly they were pretty influential reads.

When I was a bit older, I fell in love with the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, and the Inkworld trilogy by Cornelia Funke. I also really loved Roald Dahl’s books, and I’m so tempted to purchase the box set of his works since there are a few that I still haven’t read.

Day 15: Your Five Favourite Characters Of All Time

This is going to be a difficult decision, since there are so many characters that I love (and love to hate) for so many different reasons. Can I do my twenty favourite characters instead? Asking me to choose my absolute favourite characters is like asking me to choose a favourite song or the three books I’d bring to a desert island: virtually impossible because the answer changes all the time. Here are five characters that I adore (in no particular order):

Hermione Granger (Harry Potter series)
Hermione is such a real character, and I could relate to her in so many ways. I love that she’s a bookworm and that she loves learning, since it showed me that there are people out there who are just as passionate about these things as I am. She’s such a loyal, determined friend who is perfectly capable of facing danger standing up for herself. She’s such a great role model for young women, and I’m so thankful that J.K. Rowling created her.

Jeane Smith (Adorkable)
While some of her actions caused me to shake my head, Jeane is definitely an admirable character. An avid blogger, jumble sale shopper, and CEO of her own lifestyle brand, she can easily be described as “quirky.” She’s not “secretly beautiful” and has a few wobbly bits, but she’s okay with that. She doesn’t really care what anyone thinks of her because she’s happy and confident in her own skin, and she shows that being a dork is awesome.

Will Herondale (The Infernal Devices series)
Will is smart, sarcastic, snarky, and ridiculous. He comes across as arrogant and, at times, downright rude, but there’s a heartbreaking reason why he keeps people at arms length. If you are able to break through this snarky exterior, you’ll find a broken boy who is willing to do anything to protect you – even if it means giving up his life or the one he loves. Will also loves books, and completely understands what it’s like to lose yourself in a fictional world.

The Darkling (The Grisha series)
But, Erin, he’s evil, you say. And that may be true, but I love morally ambiguous characters because the distinction between “hero” and “villain” isn’t as clear-cut as we would like to think. The Darkling is power-hungry and manipulative, but his brief touches of humanity make me wonder if he feels that his actions and decisions are for the greater good. He’s done some horrible things that aren’t excusable or defensible by any means, but I hope that we’ll be able to understand why he did them – after all, he’s such a complex character that he has to have a motive aside from “well, I’m the bad guy, and this is what we do.”

Charlie (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)
I loved being inside Charlie’s head, even though it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. He’s so open and honest with his thoughts, and would often say something completely profound that would resonate with me. My high school experience was similar to Charlie’s in many ways (though also drastically different), so at times it felt like I was the one writing the letters. Charlie’s journey from the naive, unnoticed wallflower to a more confident young man who has found love is both heartbreaking and beautiful, and I loved seeing how what he saw/read/felt/heard affected him as an individual.

Day 16: Your Favourite Genre

I don’t really have a favourite genre, as it changes with my mood: contemporary, sci-fi/fantasy, dystopian, historical fiction, paranormal… I like them all!

Who were your favourite authors when you were younger? Which fictional characters do you adore? And what genre is your favourite?