Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Top Ten Literary Crushes

I stumbled across this post over at Chelsea's blog and knew at once I would have to pilfer the idea. Below you will find, in no particular order, ten of my worst literary crushes.

1. Legolas from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Long before Orlando Bloom ever stepped into leggings or glued on his rubber elf-ears, I was smitten. Badly.

2. Thomas the Disciple from the New Testament. He who by pragmatism guarded his heart as best he could against a hope so great it would crush him were it to prove hopeless, after all.

3. Fritti Tailchaser from Tailchaser's Song. For bravery and humility, Fritti has most of his human hero-counterparts beaten by a far shot. The best cat in literature, save, perhaps for Christopher Smart's Geoffery.

4. Coren from The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Persistent in love and loving, even in the face of his own confusion. Kind, even in anger.

5. Morgan of Hed from The Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy. A man who knows the worth of riddles, of myths and legends and how they surface unexpectedly in the lives of even the most unsuspecting people. A man who pushes hard after understanding and full knowledge of deep things.

6. Pwyll Twiceborn from The Fionavar Tapesty books. Self-sacrificing (literally), gentle, wise, solid.

7. Winnie-the-Pooh. C'mon. Who hasn't been in love with Pooh since you were old enough to say his name?

8. Professor Lupin from the Harry Potter books. My guilty secret. (Oh, alright! I admit Neville Longbottom is right up there, too.)

9. Mr. Knightly from Emma. The perfect big-brother, close friend turned true love and husband. I swoon. Of course, Jane Austin is excellent at penning perfect men, those creatures of excellence with perhaps just one flaw tiny enough to render them not only human, but more perfect than they'd be if they were...well...perfect. Mr. Darcy, for example.

10. Professor Bhaer from Little Women. Yes, I was unhappy when Jo turned Laurie down, but when Professor Bhaer rescued Jo in the rain, I knew he was a man of quality.

Bonus: Young Matt from The Shepherd of the Hills. Who wouldn't be at least a little twitterpated at a guy who would take on a mountain lion bare-handed and risk his life to save his city-boy rival who is there to whisk away his true love?

[Note: Below you will find other Top Ten Literary Crush confessions.]

Julie Carter at Carter's Little Pill

7 comments:

Julie Carter said...

I love it.

Colleen said...

What a great list and great reasons for it! I fretted to a friend just yesterday that there would be no good books left to read and then what? But thanks to you my list has grown a little longer.

Fieldfleur said...

I love Young Matt too. Thomas, oh yes. You have a crush on Neville Longbottom? Well, he could be cute as he quivers out of fear of a curse. Perhaps it's a sympathetic crush? The men of Austin, yes, idealism, which is to say we have crushes on God himself? Hmmmm.... an enlightening post, truly.
:)

Teri

Lucindyl said...

Julie--Likewise for the list you posted.

Colleen--Welcome to QL! Many of the books I listed are in the fantasy genre, I'll let you know right up front. Some people just don't go there. If you try any of these and decide you like them, though...oh, boy, do I have a list for you. :)

Teri--Hey. Neville is no wimp. He comes across that way in the first few books, but in the fifth he begins to come into his own and becomes a formidable force in his own right. I think Neville is the guy to watch.

Crushed on God? Hmmm... Interesting. I doubt my post was particularly enlightening, but your comment, now...

Lucindyl said...

I forgot to mention that I would LOVE for anyone who reads this to post their own list.

BTW, I notice things like this are more often picked up by women than men. If there are any readers of the male persuasion out there, I'd especially enjoy lists that don't have Mr. Darcy in them. (What IS it about that guy?!)

Anonymous said...

::gasps:: you never even once mentioned *my* literary crush...::pouts and swoons for Mr. Sherlock Holmes::

Constance said...

Wow, Cindy. This lets us right into your soul...fantasy genre indeed.

May I be bold enough to suggest that Mr. Darcy wins our hearts with his wounded puppy dog look. Until Colin Firth put his face to this character, Darcy didn't make it to my list.