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March 8: Ten Characters Everyone Loves But I Just Don’t Get or Ten Characters I LOVE But Others Seem To Dislike
I’m going with ‘characters I don’t get.’ Nobody hurt me!
1. Mr. Rochester. Jane Eyre; Charlotte Bronte.
2. Clary. City of Bones; Cassandra Clare.
3. Katniss. The Hunger Games; Suzanne Collins.
4. James Bond. Casino Royale; Ian Fleming.
5. Jamie. Outlander; Diana Gabaldon.
6. Marlena. Water for Elephants; Sarah Gruen.
7. Jean Valjean. Les Miserables; Victor Hugo.
8. Ash. The Iron King; Julie Kagawa.
9. Tris. Divergent; Veronica Roth.
10. Edward. Twilight; Stephenie Meyer.
caitlinsternwrites 
Okay, I won’t hit you. Probably. 😀 But I have to admit that several of your choices are BIG faves of mine. Mr. Rochester? OMG. He’s a tormented, guilt-ridden man, and they always resonate with me, I guess. Jamie??? Even more shocked, here. Oh, so sexy and I remember loving him, totally. (Though I haven’t read the book since it came out, unlike Jane Eyre, which I’ve read many times.) Edward? Willing to do anything to save Bella’s eternal soul? And Katniss? The epitome of bravery and selflessness, willing to face almost certain death to save her sister?
It just proves the point that reading is a very subjective thing, doesn’t it? We each bring so much of ourselves to a book that it shapes our perception of it, I think.
I will admit, I’ve never seen the fascination with James Bond. Arrogant man, silly books. But that’s just me. 😀
Reading *is* very subjective, so I think it’s fine when people don’t like characters I d0–and vice versa. Glad you at least mostly agree.
James Bond is one of those characters that are fun to read about, but if I ever met him, I’d probably end up pouring my drink over his head. My TTT
I remember reading about one female character who absolutely loathed Bond… but was so helplessly attracted to him, she couldn’t help herself…
Yeah, no.
Edward was on my list, too!
😉
Curious….what is it about Jean Valjean that annoys you? Happy reading! https://ireadboooks.wordpress.com/2016/03/08/characters-that-annoy-the-hell-out-of-me/
I didn’t really go for characters that ‘annoy,’ me, just ones I ‘don’t get.’
But, for me, he’s a little flat–so tirelessly good, focused on protecting people, so self-sacrificing, etc.
I haven’t read any Bond books, but I’ve seen a few movies and I totally agree.
I don’t have Ash from the Iron Fey series on my list, but I wish I had included him. I didn’t understand why people liked him at all. Even in The Iron Knight, which I think only existed because people liked Ash so much…
Great list!
Bond’s so much worse in the books, I wouldn’t recommend them at all!
I bet there’s more than 10 characters for most people.
Great list! I forgot about Katniss! I loved her in the first book but then after that she drove me crazy.
The strong character devolution is a sad and far too frequent thing.
You are not the only one I have seen putting Edward, Katniss, and Clary on the dislike list. I’ve seen their counterparts in a few lists as well. I like them all generally speaking, but I understand why you might not. Mr. Rochester, however, oh no! I enjoyed him a lot, but it’s okay. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your list with me!!
No character is universally adored, I think–and that’s a good thing. Everyone is entitled to like what they like. 🙂
Yes, exactly! Well said. 🙂
Interesting — you seen to not get some of the big name heroic characters of fiction. James Bond, Jean Valjean, Jamie, Rochester. I’m sure that says something profound about you, but I have no idea what!
Well, it was characters people ‘love.’ 😉
And since they include liars, womanizers, attempted bigamists, or overly controlling characters, I sometimes wonder what it says about everyone else…
lol, I love this! How about Edward being 100 years older than Bella? This happens way too often…
It’s less how much older he is, and more how old she is–if she was in her thirties, say, it’d be okay, I think.
I have never understood the appeal of Edward. My TTT
He’s dangerous? 😛
My 13 year old self loved Edward. Thankfully my 21 year old self is wondering what the hell I was thinking haha. Looking back I just do not see the appeal in him or Jacob haha.
Hey, I suppose that means they were well targeted toward their audience. And we’ve all read books that we loved at a certain age, that we probably wouldn’t at any other age!
Great list! I’m actually re-reading Jane Eyre right now, and it’s interesting to see how my understanding of it has changed since I was a teen. But then, I never really loved it for Rochester. I always liked and respected Jane.
Mr. R. doesn’t deserve her, but she marries him anyway. That loses her some points in my opinion, but I do like her much better than him!
Oh, no, I love Mr. Rochester, LOL.
You’re certainly allowed to. 🙂
Tris was on my list this week too.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/08/top-ten-tuesday-47/
Yeah, she’s a love or hate kind of character, I think.
I agree
I like Jane Eyre, but I never really cared for Rochester. 🙂
Check out my TTT.
And yet she picks him!