Day 13: Book whose main character is most like you

You know how some people get upset because they say all blonds or all short people or all whatever are not the same....well I have never felt that way about red heads. There is just something special about being ginger....and it binds us all together. I say that because the easy answer to which character is most like me is....all the redhead ones! :) I love to read about a red haired heroine. I think it is, at least in part, because when I was younger there weren't many. Redheads were seen as the awkward ones, the wicked stepsister type characters (Cinderella....it's the worst). I am not sure why red heads have such a bad name in literature. But I love the ginger characters!

That being said there are many characters, ginger or otherwise, that I have felt were "like me" over the years. Meg in a Wrinkle in Time reminds me of me mostly because her younger brother makes me think so much of my younger brother, though there are many other reasons as well. I decided not to choose that book again, though, and instead pick

Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins

If you are looking for a weird book, Tom Robbins is your man. His work just twists my mind in a million directions every time I read one of his books. My favorite book by him is actually called Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas, but the book I listed above has a character that is so much like me it is WEIRD. I mean....like kinda freaky weird. I remember when I finished reading it commenting to someone that I was a little worried that perhaps the book was indeed about me and that one of my friends (or possibly just a stalker) was using the pen name of Tom Robbins.

The character in this book is not only a redhead, but a redhead born in April. (my birthday is April 18th). I have never given a whole lot of thought to the validity of your birth month having anything to do with your personality before, but this character Leigh-Cheri, has so many of the same traits as me that it kinda makes me wonder. Now I have to admit that it has been a lot of years since I read this book and that I feel I have changed quite a bit in those years. So if I were to read this book again, it might not strike me with such force, but it is still definitely the winner for today's challenge. I looked up a summary of the book which referred to her as a redheaded vegetarian liberal princess and former cheerleader. I was never a cheerleader, but if I had been I probably would have gotten kicked off (as did she).

I usually end my blog with telling people to GO READ the book I have discussed. This one I would hesitate to recommend to every one. Tom Robbins is a very liberal thinker and writer. If you don't like to read about sex and liberal lifestyles...he is probably not for you. I will say, though, that every book of his I have ever read has made me think about things in a different light and helped me have a more open mind about things (like I needed that right? ha ha). This character that I say is just like me is actually NOT just like me in a lot of ways, but there are enough similarities that I found myself a little creeped out reading 'about myself' in some ways. If you do read it (and if you know me) let me know what you think about our similarities!!

Karissa thinks THIS book has a character just like her...who do you identify most with?

Day 11: Book from your favorite author

So I noticed something today that I have never noticed before, while almost all of my favorite books are YA books, the people I would list as my favorite authors are, by and large, not (at least primarily) YA writers! Weird huh? I thought so...

Well I have never actually tried to choose an actual "favorite" author so I am not really sure what to do with this post. I first off want to say that I have several favorites which  include (but are not necessarily all of them, just in case I forget someone):

Madeleine L'Engle
Patrick Rothfus
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Pat Conroy
Chiam Potok
John Irving
Tom Robbins

Since I have already mentioned the top 3 authors in other posts, I decided I need to choose on from the remaining four, but was still hesitant to pick one over the others. So I cheated just a little bit and looked ahead at challenges still to come. I feel sure I will use both Potok and Robbins later, so I am now left with John Irving and Pat Conroy, both way too good to pass by. SO....today you get two books. (eh sue me)

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

This book was recommended to me by several friends, to be honest I am not sure which read it first so I have no intention of naming names here, but when I read it I was blown away!! This story is odd and unique and powerful and heartbreaking and...so many, many things. This book was also my first introduction to John Irving, who I now love as a favorite! Many of his books have been turned into movies (this one included although I have not yet seen it and it is, I am told, VERY different and even sports a different name - Simon Birch). He is an amazing author. This is my favorite book by him, but I would say...read whatever you can find!

The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy

It was harder for me to chose a "favorite" book by Pat Conroy. Not because he is a lesser writer, but because I have loved them all! I think the one that sticks with me the most, though, is the Lords of Discipline. Pat Conroy attended, and graduated from, the Citadel, which provided the basis for this book. A powerful quote from the book,

...I have a need to bear witness to what I saw there. I want to tell you how it was. I want precision. I want a murderous, stunning truthfulness. I want to find my own singular voice for the first time. I want you to understand why I hate the school with all my power and passion. Then I want you to forgive me for loving the school. Some of the boys of the Institute and the men who are her sons will hate me for the rest of their lives. But that will be all right. You see, I wear the ring...

shows what kind of a book it is! Publishing it caused a great deal of conflict for Conroy with the Citadel, which is a common thread with the publications of most of his books. Conroy is a "Southern" Literature writer and writes, with breathtaking honesty and reality about the south. He is cruel in some ways, but also loving to the culture. Having spent a good deal of my life in the south, but yet always being willing and able to see its deficiencies, makes his book particularly powerful to me. This book also is a testament to the reality of the military, which was also part of my life as an army brat. So obviously it struck me on many levels.

If you have not, read Pat Conroy and John Irving. They are amazing! Be ready for them though....whew!

Karissa's book by a favorite author is another favorite of mine! Check it out!