Ten Literary Characters I Would Totally Snog

So, Veronica over at ToddledDredge had a post the other day with silly post titles she has spared us. Interestingly enough, several of us commented that we would actually like to read the one about ten literary characters she would make out with. Oh, Veronica. You sly little minx, you. You passed the torch on to those of us that made those comments. By NAME. And you created a meme. So, being put on the spot and anticipating the flood of readers this would result in (what? a girl can dream), I had to really think. Think about those times I read a book and just sighed longingly when I read about the main, sexy, male character. So, here you go. In no particular order. Those I would snog.

1. Jamie in "Outlander", by Diana Gabaldon. Oh, Jamie, you sexy Scotsman, you. Just one little peek under that kilt. What say ye?

2. Nick in "The Stand", by Stephen King. He was a deaf mute, but that's OK, Nick. You and I understand each other just fine.

3. Christopher Snow in "Fear Nothing", by Dean Koontz. He has xeroderma pigmentosum, but so what? We can have all kinds of adventures out of the sunlight. And he has such cool friends. However, I would have to learn to surf. Maybe Liz can teach me.

4. Nicholas from "A Knight in Shining Armor", by Jude Devereaux. Who doesn't like a time travelling guy? And one who is actually a knight? Well, I sure do. Take off that helmet, Nicholas.

5. Sam from "Metro Girl", by Janet Evanovich. Sam, Sam, Sam. Sigh. And I don't even like NASCAR. But you can rev my motor any time.

6. Alex from "When the Bough Breaks", by Jonathan Kellerman. Alex, you sexy psychologist/turned police detective helper. You are so mellow yet you can kick some ass.

7. Spenser from "Hundred Dollar Baby", by Robert B Parker. Former boxer turned private eye, he works out all the time. Take off that shirt, Spenser. Just let me see.

8. Stone from "Shoot Him if He Runs", by Stuart Woods. I didn't realize I had an affinity for so many cop-type characters until I made this list. Stone, even though you are actually a lawyer, you do enough investigating and kicking ass to turn me on.

9. Steve Carella from "The Big, Bad City: A Novel of the 87th Precinct", by Ed McBain. These books have some age on them now, but I still love them. The tenderness and love Steve feels for his gorgeous, deaf wife, Teddy, make him incredibly sexy.

10. And last, but certainly not least in any way. James Bond from "Casino Royale", by Ian Fleming. When I was in high school, I discovered the James Bond books tucked away in the Mystery section of our local public library. The library was in an old Victorian house and the mysteries were in a corner room with a window that overlooked huge, old, overgrown trees that brushed against the window when the wind blew. I found one of the old James Bond novels and curled up in a chair by that window. In one of the books was the quote "He let the tapes of her taut slip." I pondered over that quote. I thought about it. I took the book home and read it again and again. I knew that he was undressing her. I knew they were having sex. It just took me a while to interpret the British writing to correlate tapes for straps and let for undo. This is the first time I can remember reading about sex in a book and thinking, thinking, thinking about it. And about the tall, dark, handsome, sophisticated, kick-ass secret agent who was the hero.

This was long before the movies. When I finally saw the movies, I was disappointed. Sean Connery was a pretty good James, but the one in my head was much better. I could develop whole scenarios in my mind in which I was the bikini-clad heroine who would win his heart while drop-kicking villains.

I still like guys to kick ass in the books I read.

So, what about you? What guys do you like in the books you read? Let's hear about it. I'm tagging Liz and Lucy's Mom and Bio Girl and Phoenix and Nikky. And anyone else interested. Let me know when you post.

Books That Made A Difference To Me

Have you seen that feature in "O" magazine where celebrities talk about the books they have read that have made a difference in their lives? I read it every month and just CACKLE OUT LOUD at the books and authors they choose. Come on, now. Is one of your absolute favorite books REALLY a book by Ernest Hemingway and another by Philip Roth? Their lists always include classic books, books by authors I have never heard of, books that, frankly, sound extremely boring. Do they REALLY choose these books? They always have these completely deep, insightful things to say about the books also. COME ON. I'm not saying celebrities can't be intelligent, articulate, perceptive...OK, I am.

That's not really fair, since I am sure some are. I mean, some have actually graduated from Yale and other fancy-schmany places. But why don't they ask some average, normal people about books that have made a difference to them? Like ME?

And, now that I have said that, it would be very difficult to come up with a list of books that have made a difference to me. Because every single book I read makes a difference to me. I'm a ruthless reader. If a book does not grab me pretty quickly, I throw it aside and pick up another one. I always have a pile of books available. I visit the library every week and buy books as well. I read voraciously and omnivorously. I am not a slave to genre. Here is my criteria for a good book. It must tell a good story. That's it. It can be a Romance, a Western, a Science Fiction story, a Fantasy, a Mystery, or any combination of those, but it must tell a good story.

There are authors and titles in my head right now clamoring for attention and I am sure as soon as I exit from this post, I will think of more, but let me share just a few of my favorites.

Lightning, by Dean Koontz
Several of his books are trying to make their way onto this list and I would love to list them all because I think he is an author who makes his characters so alive that when you think about them later, you actually have to make an effort to remember if you read about them in a book or met them at a party. But this one is my favorite because I love time travel stories with all the many different outcomes that could result. The central premise of this one is a surprise to the reader, which doesn't often happen to me. I almost always figure that stuff out. Not this time.

Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon
Another time travel story, but in this one, she travels into the past back to Scotland, though the standing stones. One of the most powerful love stories I have ever read, this is the first in a series and will keep you enthralled from the first page to the last with the story of Jamie and Claire.

Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella
Ernest Hemingway? Pah! I'm much rather read something that makes me laugh out loud. Chick Lit has gotten a bum rap from some other bloggers recently, but, like all genres, there is the good and there is the bad. This is the good. You will love Rebecca and all her adventures in shopping, money management and romance in this one and in the sequels to this book.

One For the Money, by Janet Evanovich
If you haven't met Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter and owner of the perfect big hair and hastily applied mascara, you have a treat in store. There's also several in the series, so once you are hooked, you can read them all.

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
And now one that is a little more serious. I discovered Ayn Rand in college and, although she does get a little wordy at times, I still love her characters and the stories she tells. I still think about events that happened in this book and it's been decades since I read it. And I want to BE Dagny Taggart.

The Stand, by Stephen King
I am faithful to Stephen and always read his new books, even though some of them make me...queasy. But my favorite is this one (although it was a close contest with The Talisman) because I love a story that pits good against evil and has great characters.

The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
This is the first in a trilogy she wrote about the King Arthur legend. I love it because it tells the story of Merlin from the time he was a little boy and makes all the characters we have read about before, seem so very real.

OK, I'm going to stop. I could write and write and write about books, but there's a few you might want to check out. I think I'll just go read instead of writing about more. And so should you.

This is Why

I just made myself cry reading a book aloud to some of my students. It was "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane", by Kate Dicamillo, and if you haven't read it, YOU SHOULD.

I like many components of my job as a library media specialist in an elementary school.

I love the whole technology component, much of which didn't even exist when I started working as a librarian back in the stone age. Even checking out books using a computer was just a glimmer in some future-thinking librarian's eye back then. Web pages? (What's an Internet?) Projectors hooked to a computer that sat on your desk? Blogs? Wikis? Spam? Even email was actually called Electronic Mail at first and we were all intimidated by the very idea of sending mail on the computer.

I love working with kids. I love that ah-ha moment that occurs with them every now and then, that spark which ignites a love of reading, that connection when you match them with just the right book.

I love books. All kind of books. Kid's books. Grown-up books. books of every genre. I love to look at them, to smell them, to feel them, to read them. And when I get a new book order? And I can open all the boxes and spread them out and pick ANY ONE I WANT to read? That's better than Christmas and my birthday combined.

I love working with truly dedicated teachers who care about what they are doing and know it is the most important job in the world. And show it every single day.

But the best part. The very best part. Is reading a really good book to the kids.

I love to make them laugh out loud with delight. I love to make them put their hand over their mouth in suspense. I love to make them so involved in the story that they sit mesmerized, spellbound, in the thrall of the tale. And I like to make them sad. That may sound cruel. But I like to make them think, make them talk, make them appreciate what they have, make them put themselves into someone else's life for an instant.

I don't often cry when I read to them. But it was a small group. We were totally into Edward's adventures. It was the end of the book and he was in the doll shop when someone came in to choose him. I could tell a couple of the students guessed what was going to happen because they leaned forward, obviously excited. I shook my head at them not to tell the others. When I finished the last sentence, my eyes filled with tears. The kids sat silently thinking. One of the girls leaned forward spontaneously and put her hand on my knee in kindred sympathy and shared joy.

This is why I am a librarian. This moment.