I found this week’s Top 10 Tuesday prompt — Characters That Remind Me of Myself — a bit daunting. I lead such a boring life, that it would never make it as a book. 😉 I really struggled to come up with the requisite 10 to fill this post, until I started thinking about what consumes a lot of my thoughts — books! I read them, talk about them, blog about them, sniff them . . . . Anyway, I came up with a list of characters that are surrounded by books too. I really wouldn’t want to trade places with any of them because of their issues, and the fact that some regularly stumble on dead bodies or engage in nefarious activities! And while my husband may say our home is starting to look a lot like a bookstore or library, I do not work at either. But I am a book pusher enthusiast who makes sure everyone has the opportunity to get their hands on the story that is just right for them. Whether you like cozy mysteries, suspense, romance, women’s fiction, or time-slip novels, I hope you find a book you just need to read!
For more fun with doppleganger characters, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.
A Dozen Book Pushing Characters
(aka booksellers or librarians)
Bruce Cable — Camino Island by John Grisham
Violet and Daisy Waverly —Crime And Poetry by Amanda Flower
Annie Laurance Darling — Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart
Callie Randall — Hidden Among The Stars by Melanie Dobson
Helma Zukas — Miss Zukas And The Library Murders by Jo Dereske
Madeline, Janet, and Carrie — The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay
Rick Denton — Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh
A. J. Fickry — The Storied Life of A. J. Fickry by Gabrielle Zevin
Claire Malloy — Strangled Prose by Joan Hess
In The Unlikely Event by Judy Blume. Set in the 1950s, this book takes as its focus fictional characters impacted by the real life events of multiple plane crashes in Elizabeth, New Jersey. There are lots of characters with multiple points of view. Most of my group did not like this book. I found it interesting, but skimmed the last quarter trying to get it finished before our meeting. Interestingly, one of our members is a pilot, having owned her own plane and competed in cross-country relays. We spent a lot of our discussion listening to her fascinating tales of flying solo. Our rating: 2.5 stars
The Storied Life of A. J. Fickry by Gabrielle Zevin. This book got better reviews from our group. We loved the island bookstore setting, the references to books and short stories, and the complex characters. One member of the group mentioned that the story reminded her of Silas Marner. Our rating: 4 stars.
The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel. Only one of our members was familiar with this book before we read it. She had watched some of the TV show based on the book and liked it. However, she was surprised by how much she didn’t like the book. The feeling was unanimous. To me it read like a bad soap opera. I wanted more meat and less gossip. Our rating: 1 star.
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