Weekly Question - Feb 5 - Friends and Crushes

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

What literary character would you like to have as a friend and why?
and/or
Do you have a "literary crush" - a character you could fall in love with?

[Milena]

I would like to be friends with anyone from the Three Pines series by Louise Penny.
I know I have had literary crushes, but I can't think of one at the moment.

[Samantha]

I think I often want to be friends with people who work at books stores most recently Tookie from the The Sentence was someone I thought I would enjoy being around.

I feel like in the last few years I have read so many mystery/thrillers where everyone is terrible it is hard to come up with others I would want to befriend.

I don't feel like I get book crushes but sometimes a voice on a audiobook can be sexy. One that stands out is the narrator of Our Kind of Cruelty. I found his voice to be so lovely that I think I gave the book and his character a lot more grace then was deserved. I listened to this around the time that You was being released on Netflix and there were a lot of people who thought Joe was so hot - it really made me think about this book and how the Mike was a terrible person to have a crush on.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Of course I would like to be friends with Elizabeth Bennett or Jo March. I adore Emma but being her friend would be exhausting.

I don't care that much for literary hotties like Jamie from Outlander (too crude) or Mr. Darcy (too aloof.) My literary crush is Lord Peter Wimsey, from the series by Dorothy L. Sayers - a gentleman detective with a love of literature, a brilliant mind, and a sense of humor.

[Joyce]

My book crush is definitely the independent-minded Bruno, Chief of Police from Martin Walker’s series set in the Dordogne. I don’t care if he never catches another criminal as long as I can call round his house for dinner and pet his puppy. I mean his young Bassett Hound of course...

[Ellie]

If I was a bit younger I'd love to be part of the book group in the The Paper & Hearts Society series.

I think with any long running series I stick with, the characters start to feel like friends, even if maybe they aren't the best friend material.

For crushes they probably only last as long as I'm reading the book. I'm sure I had more literary crushes when I was younger, but if I reread those books now, I wouldn't feel the same way.

[♞ Pat]

I want to meet Lestat.

[Sophia]

As someone who still revisits the series as an adult I think I'd still like to be friends with basically everyone Tamora Pierce has written, Tortall or Emelan, even though I never want to live in any high fantasy world (I'm very attached to things like electricity and indoor plumbing.) Or girls who didn't behave just because they were told, like Laura Ingalls Wilder or Jane Eyre or Anne Gilbert.

I don't remember any literary crushes but I do remember reading Jane Eyre waaaay too young and not knowing what a Byronic hero was yet and being very fed up with Rochester's brooding and not being terribly sad when his house burned down. So more of an anti-crush, if you will!

[Sheena]

This is a great question but I'm having trouble coming up with an answer! So going through my recently read list and breaking it down a bit ..

I would love to have Parvaneh from A Man Called Ove as a neighbour. She's so kind and funny and we would swap dinners & treats.

I'd go drinking with Sunshine Vicram from A Bad Day for Sunshine because she seems like she'd be fun to party with. And Amos from Expanse could come too! I so love his deadpan/snarky sense of humour.

The whole inner circle of of ACOTAR would be awesome friends, and Rhys is probably my favourite 'crush'. He's protective of those he loves, accepts & loves them completely for who they are faults and all, treats Feyre as his equal in all ways. He's a bit fun and playful and seems to have great taste in wine.

Loralee from The Sound of Glass would be a great BFF, she's so kind and resilient and stays classy no matter what is a happening around/to her.

[Hannah]

I also am having trouble with this one! I like character focused books, but I rarely feel like I personally would like to be friends or partners with a book character.

I guess one thing that comes to mind is Becky Chamber's work — I think I'm definitely tempted by the idea of being part of a close-knit group of people all living and working together on a spaceship like in The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Her characters always seem really genuinely interesting and loving, like they would make really fun and loyal friends. There's a similar dynamic in The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell as well.

[Ashley Marie]

Friends:
- the cohort from Rachel Caine's Ink and Bone series
- the gang from Craig Schaefer's The Long Way Down series
- Locke and Jean from Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora
- Kaul Shae and Anden from Fonda Lee's Jade City

Crushes:
- Caitlin (The Long Way Down)
- Marko and Alanna (Saga, Volume 1)
- the Kaul siblings (Jade City)
- the Eastwood sisters (The Once and Future Witches)

[Sunny]

I would love to have Jane Marple as a friend and neighbor. I could visit with her every day. Or better yet, I could move in with her and be a care-giver/companion. Calling her "Aunt Jane" would be an honor. And how much fun it would be to live in St. Mary Meade!

Oh, the characters I wanted to marry in my younger days!
Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Ellery Queen, Paul Drake (P.I. from Perry Mason), Dermot Craddock (Miss Marple) Dr. Palfrey, and Aramis (3 Musketeers).

These days I crush on Jack Higgins’ Sean Dillon, and a couple of characters created by Dick Francis: Sid Halley and Ian Pembroke.

[Jennifer W]

I can't think of any crushes I've had on characters, though I'm sure there have been a few.

Recent characters I'd like to hang out with, Lucy and Talia from The House in the Cerulean Sea would keep me entertained and on my toes!

I'd also love to hang out with Opal from The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, but I'm not cool enough!

[Bana AZ]

I think I only ever imagined being friends with the characters in Harry Potter, no other books. My crush was Ron, but when he and Hermione were getting together, I shifted to his brother George.

My most recent crush though is Charlie Lastra from Book Lovers.

[Joyce]

Friend
Eve Dallas (although crushing on her husband might be a problem)
Stephanie Plum

Crushes
Roarke
Eric from Sookie Stackhouse
Ranger from Stephanie Plum books. He is just so hot.

[Dana]

My one and only crush is and will (maybe) remain Dimitri Belikov from Vampire Academy. :D