ten characters I would totally share a library with

Every week The Broke and The Bookish hosts a Top Ten Tuesday link-up for writers. This week’s theme is open — ten characters who share something. I’ve chosen to go the bookish slant, and searched through my stacks for all the fictional readers I could find as a compiled a list of:

My Top Ten Characters I would totally share a library with:

1. Cath, from Fangirl. Cath is probably THE character I’ve identified with the most in all of my time reading books. She’s shy, introverted, is ruder than she means to be, and loves fandom. She writes fan fic, devours Simon Snow books, puts fan art up on her walls — She gets it, and probably has a library heaving with fantasy books (not to mention slashy fantasy books) that I would love to get my hands on.

2. Hermione, from Harry Potter. I mean, first of all, Hermione’s library is basically the Hogwarts library, so you KNOW the girl’s got an amazing selection of books to choose from. Books with moving pictures, books with magic spells, books on the history of the Wizarding World — and, not to be cheeky, but if ever you want to read something Hermione doesn’t have, she can always go “Accio *Subject of Choice*” — because apparently that’s all you need to say to find super rare, hidden books on Horcruxes — okay that rant isn’t necessary right now. The point is, Hermione has access to everything. Books on potions, books on giants, on Animagi, on Charms. And she’s basically a walking encyclopedia in and of herself — who doesn’t want to sit down with Hermione and talk about books? My only qualm: the girl seems to be much more interested in nonfiction than fiction, but when your nonfiction selection involves Wizards and magic spells … yeah, I think we could manage.

3. Meggie, from Inkheart. Meggie’s library is well-loved and sure to be unique, as her father Mo, a book repairer, rebinds all of her favorite books after they become tattered from frequent re-reading. Meggie and Mo also have the totally awesome ability to read characters and objects out of the stories they’re reading aloud — they can bring piles of gold coins pouring out of Treasure Island and can pull Tinkerbell, in all her glittering and tinkling glory, right out of the pages of Peter Pan. Granted, there’s usually some kind of trade, and something from the real world gets zapped into the book, often including actual people … but the chance of getting thrown headfirst into a fictional world is one I’m willing to take.

4. Everyone from The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. These people absolutely love books and even created their own book club, which helped them survive emotionally the stress and turmoil of World War II. They’re a group of readers, writers, and pretty serious gossipers — totally worth sitting down with and talking about books.

fanart by linnpuzzle

5. Aziraphale, from Good Omens. Ah, Aziraphale, everyone’s favorite angel instrumental in stopping the apocalypse (or is that Castiel, now?) He runs his own bookshop, and even though he’d probably be loathe to ever lend or sell me a single book, it’d be totally fun to have a cup of tea and scan through his selection.

6. Bilo Baggins, from The Hobbit. BILBO! Who wouldn’t want to take a stroll through Bilbo’s cozy hobbit hole, loaded with books and food and comfortable things? Maybe he’d even lend you his hand-written book of his adventures with the dwarves! I mean, the Ring would be lurking around in his waistcoat pocket, so it might get kind of awkward, being in the presence of pure evil and all — but think of all the books!

7. Elizabeth Bennet, from Pride and Prejudice. I’m trying to find quotes proving Lizzie was a big reader, but am coming up short. However, I have a very strong image of Lizzie Bennet sitting in the drawing room with Mr. Darcy and the Bingleys reading a book, and of course she has access to both Mr. Bennet’s and Mr. Darcy’s libraries — I imagine the library at Pemberley being Beauty and the Beast-esque. Besides, with Lizzie’s wit and biting sarcasm, we’d get along well.

8. Jo March, from Little Women.

“Some books are so familiar that reading them is like returning home again.”

Ah, another character after my heart. Jo is an avid reader and writer. If her library consisted of piles of her own plays and stories, I’d descend on it in a heartbeat!

9. Bastian Balthasar Bux from The Neverending Story.

“If you have never spent whole afternoons with burning ears and rumpled hair, forgetting the world around you over a book, forgetting cold and hunger–

If you have never read secretly under the bedclothes with a flashlight, because your father or mother or some other well-meaning person has switched off the lamp on the plausible ground that it was time to sleep because you had to get up so early–

If you have never wept bitter tears because a wonderful story has come to an end and you must take your leave of the characters with whom you have shared so many adventures, whom you have loved and admired, for whom you have hoped and feared, and without whose company life seems empty and meaningless–

If such things have not been part of your own experience, you probably won’t understand what Bastian did next.”

I feel like Bastian and I would totally get each other.

10. Matilda Wormwood, from Matilda. I read Matilda for the first time last Saturday, as the part of the 24 Hour Readathon — needless to say, but I was enchanted. Matilda loves reading and is a mathematical genius — we’d have loads to talk about. (BUT, I’d only want to raid her library if it was in the house she comes to share with Miss Honey. No way am I stepping into the Wormwoods’ abode…)

Also, while researching literary bookworms, I came across this amazing comic: Matilda Gets An E-Reader. GO READ IT, IT’S WONDERFUL. It’s the exact kind of nasty-and-yet-sentimental humor I think Roald Dahl would’ve appreciated.

Honorary Mention: Rory Gilmore, from The Gilmore Girls. I know she isn’t from a book, but Rory Gilmore is the ultimate bookworm! People have compiled vast lists of all the books she read throughout the show — her books were crammed under her bed, overflowing from dresser drawers, piled across her shelves. She would be a great friend to have (once you made peace with having to sit there as she rants about all her personal relationship problems); you can talk about books and school and how much fun learning stuff and being organized is. Yeah, we’d get along. And some of her books come hand-annotated by Jess! Something to consider. 😉

Ah, there were so many more I could’ve mentioned! I LOVE when fictional characters gobble up books as voraciously as I do. The main characters in my WIP love reading — since it’s a fantasy series, I love making up different fantastical, in-universe books for their little bookworm-y hearts to munch on.

Now, I turn things over to you guys — who are your favorite bookish characters? Have you ever read a book BECAUSE a character in a book was reading it? Leave a comment below, let’s talk!

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