abundance of katherines | Watching the Words

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Book bloggers create their own lists based on the chosen topics and post links to our lists. It’s a way of all sharing our thoughts and our love of books. And who doesn’t love lists??

So this week’s challenge was to list the top ten most memorable secondary characters. Those characters in novels that were not the main focus, but that captured your imagination, made you want to see more of them. Some of mine come from the same series of books, series that have wonderful casts of characters, which is part of what makes those series great.

Rudy – Liesel’s dearest friend in The Book Thief. He is sweet and awkward, funny and brave. Everything a first love and a best friend should be.
Neville Longbottom – Who doesn’t love this dorky and awkward wizard from the Harry Potter series? Especially when he finds it in himself to become a courageous hero.
Professor Snape – The poor misunderstood and heartbroken seeming-villain of the Harry Potter series who is ultimately proven to be a hero.
Professor McGonagall – Another character from the Harry Potter series – tough, brave, smart, kind, and caring she really should have been the headmaster long ago!
Foaly – The geeky, arrogant, but utterly cool and brilliant centaur in the Artemis Fowl series.
Holly Short – The tough, determined elf police woman from the Artemis Fowl series. Her relationship with Artemis is humorous, difficult, and touching.
Hassan Harbish – The funny, smart, witty sidekick in An Abundance of Katherines always made me laugh.
LuLu – How to describe LuLu? This ex-prostitute who squeezes into spandex, eats lots of fried chicken and donuts, and manages to nearly kill everyone she tries to help is a laugh a minute in the Stephanie Plum series.
Hawk – I adore this funny, smart, tough, will-do-anything pal to Spenser in the series by Robert B. Parker. You know he always has Spenser’s back and their relationship is both hilarious and touching.
Cokie – The mulatto driver for the madam in Ruta Sepetys’s Out of the Easy is ultimately the one who is there for Josie. His constancy and his humbleness while doing what is right make him one of my favorites.

So this week’s challenge was to list my favorite books featuring travel, travel of any kind whether it’s airplanes, cars, or by foot – travel across town, through time, or across the world – these are books about travel that I liked.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert – Although I found Gilbert’s story annoying in some regards – in reality who can take a year off to focus on themselves while traveling around the world – I did love the stories of her travels. Her stories of her time in Italy, India, and Bali were amazing tales of what it’s like to become immersed in different cultures around the world.
Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson – Ginny gets a ticket to London from her deceased aunt along with 13 little blue envelopes that she needs to open at various points throughout her trip. What will follow is an adventure throughout Europe that will teach her about herself and her aunt and give her new perspectives on life.
The Cliff Walk: A Memoir of a Job Lost and a Life Found by Don J. Snyder – When the author loses his job at Colgate University as a professor, with three kids and another on a way, and receives over 100 rejection letters he ends up building a house in Maine and working as a day laborer to support his family. Both a personal and a physical journey it was a moving memoir.
Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer – Harrer’s memoir tells the story of the time he spent in Tibet after escaping from the British during WWII. He gains acceptance within the Tibetan culture, ultimately becoming a friend and tutor to the Dalai Lama, fleeing the country with him when the Chinese invaded. A wonderful and beautiful story with amazing insights into the Tibetan culture.
Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffeneger – One of my favorite novels ever – and if we’re talking about travel why not talk about time travel? This is the story of Henry, a librarian who travels through time (and not voluntarily) to meet up with Clare, an artist who is living a normal life. The story of their love, crossing through time, is told artfully.
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck – I love Steinbeck and this is one of my favorites. A heart-wrenching tale of the Joads during the Great Depression as they are forced to leave their home in Oklahoma and travel to California to seek their future.
On the Road by Jack Kerouac – It’s been a long time since I’ve read this book – but isn’t it the ultimate road-trip book? Sal and Dean wandering their way across the country, free, hippies, and all the things that sound romantic until you realize they’re really not? That eventually they tire you out and drag you down?
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall – McDougall provides an engrossing story about ultra-runners, from scientific research to the Tarahumara Indians in an isolated part of Mexico that run hundreds of miles, to a race between those very natives and the world’s best ultra-distance runners. An interesting story with travels all over the country and an in-depth look at an isolated and private tribe within Mexico
Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye by Rachel Joyce – Harold is recently retired and living in a small English village with his cranky wife when he gets a letter from an old friend who is dying of cancer. Instead of stopping at the post office to send his response he keeps walking, deciding to walk across the country to deliver it personally. I found the book to be humorous, poignant, and charming.
Abundance of Katherines by John Green – I have admitted to a love for John Green and this is one of my favorites. Colin, a former child prodigy, has only dated girls named Katherine (and always with a “K”, never a “C”), and has been dumped by all of them, nineteen times. He takes off on a road trip with his best friend in search of a provable Katherine Theorem. What follows is funny and insightful, a story of friendship, love, and figuring out who you are.