Favorite Fictional Character --- 2012 In Review

It's amazing to me that 2012 is almost over.  It seems like it was only a few months ago that I was doing a wrap up post for 2011.  For that matter, Christmas of last year doesn't even seem so long ago.  I know time fly when you are having fun, but this is getting to the point where years are just starting to blend in together.  Everything seems to go by so fast anymore.  I guess the only thing to do is sit back, and enjoy it while it lasts.

This was the second year of doing "theme" months, and I think I'm sticking with it.  It has made the decision making process so much easier, that I can't imagine going back to the old system of picking a character out of thin air.  It was also the second year I had used guest bloggers during the months of July and August, and I can say without a doubt, that will be something utilized once again in 2013.  It makes life so much easier for me during those two months, and it allows characters to be featured that I never would have thought of.

What I really want to do this year is thank you guys for your continued interest in this feature.  I know that not all the characters get equal love, which is fine with me.  Characters I love, aren't necessarily characters you guys will love, or even know about.  My goal with this feature is to present you guys with characters that have meant something to me, made me cry or laugh, or simply entertained me for the amount of time I spent in there presence.  So whether a character gets no comments, a few comments, or tons of comments, just knowing that I may have given the character enough exposure, for someone else to fall for the character in the same way, is all that matters to me.  So thank you for comments on these posts, it makes the work worth it.

January was a month in which I saw one of my favorite soap operas, One Life to Live, leave the air.  So I planned on using the month to highlight my favorite characters from the show.  That worked out for the first two weeks, but then life caught up with me in the form of bronchitis, and I just didn't have the energy for the third week.  I did a repost that week, and for the fourth week, since I was already out of the theme, I went with a different character all together.

Victoria Lord

Dorian Cramer

Lady of Shalott (Repost)

Wonder Woman

February was the month I decided to feature the four main characters from one of my favorite sitcoms, The Golden Girls.  The only problem was that the month had five Wednesdays in it.  So I started the month off with some of my favorite teenage sleuths, and finished the month off with the girls.

The Hardy Boys

Rose Nylund

Blanche Devereaux

Dorothy Zbornak

Sophia Petrillo

March was all about my favorite Looney Toons characters.  There are so many of them, that it was hard to narrow down, so I have a feeling you will be seeing another batch in 2013.

Foghorn Leghorn

Sniffles

Witch Hazel

Pepe Le Pew

April was the month I believed in second chances.  Over the years I had featured characters I really, really loved but others didn't seem care all that much for them.  So I wanted to do a month of reposts of some of my favorite characters that got almost no love the first time around.  For the most part, they got a little more attention this time around, but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that they will get more love in the future.

Mandrake the Magician

Don Music 

Savil Ashkevron

Brett Hopper

May went to the dogs,  and it was the hardest month I have ever had at narrowing down the characters to feature.  I couldn't do it on my own, so I left it up to chance.  I wrote down the names of about 30 different canine characters that I love, and every week, I drew a new name out of the hat.  Needless to say, there are a lot of names left, so expect another dog month in 2013.

Benji

Scooby-Doo

Pluto

Harry, The Dirty Dog

Huckleberry Hound

June's theme was actually inspired by May.  When I did the post on Harry, The Dirty Dog, it got me thinking of some of my favorite characters from children's books.

Amelia Bedelia

Curious George

Claudia & Jamie Kincaid

Sammy the Seal

July was the first of two months that some of my favorite bloggers took over the feature and showcased some of their favorite characters.  For the month of July, they were; Bev of My Reader's Block, Beth of Beth's Book Reviews, Lydia of The Lost Entwife, and Rhonda of My Life In Not So Many Words....

Phryne Fisher

Miss Parker

Anne Shirley

Spencer Reid

August was the second month that some very generous bloggers stepped in to feature their favorite characters.  It's a life saver since this is the busiest month at work.  For the month of August, they were; Gef of Wag the Fox, Terri of Alexia's Books and Such..., Blodeuedd of Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Tasha of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Books, and Carol of Carol's Notebook.

Leonard "Bones" McCoy

Girl at the Window

Rand al'Thor

Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert 

Miss Scarlet 

September was not a good month for blogging or for this feature.  Life just seemed to take over that month, I think I only got around 15 posts done all month.  I only got three FFC posts done, and there was no theme.  I felt lucky to be able to get that much done.

Bumblelion

Cornelia Van Gorder

Anya Jenkins 

October is one of my favorite months, as Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  As usual, this month's feature was all about some of my favorite characters that makes me think of Halloween.

Mr. Hood

Ichabod Crane

Jack Skellington

Rosemary Woodhouse

November got off to a great start.  It was all about The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is one of my favorite traditions on Thanksgiving.  So I wanted to feature characters that have had their own balloons in the parade.  I got the first three weeks done, then a horrible stomach bug hit, and I was not able to finish the month with a fourth character.

Snoopy

Kermit the Frog

Pikachu

December is all about Christmas characters, or in this month's case, characters that epitomize winter for me.  I'm still not sure we are going to have a white Christmas this year, though as I type this on Christmas morning, we are supposed to have snow later in the day.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Because of the lack, so far, of a real winter, I wanted to feature characters that made me think of snow and all the fun it brings.

Jack Frost

Snow Miser 

Suzy Snowflake

If anyone wants to check out the whole cast of characters that have been featured on the blog over the years, here is the entire list.

Merry Christmas

May You Have A Very Merry Christmas And A Prosperous New Year!

Mystery Challenges Wrapped Up

I didn't do that many challenges this last year, mainly because they are so damn stressful.  I only did three, two of which were mystery related.  Now that the year is about over, I guess it's time to see how I did.

The first challenge I had signed up for was the A-Z Mystery Author Challenge hosted by Michelle of Red Headed Book Child.  The goal was to try and read through the entire alphabet, using the last name of the author.  I knew I wouldn't be able to get all the way through, but I wanted to see how far I could get.  I wasn't sure what would happened, but I did manage to get 15 letters of the alphabet conquered.  I don't know if the is doing it again next year, but if she is, I'm in.

A-  Miss Me When I'm Gone by Emily Arsenault

B-  Royal Blood by Rhys Bowen

C-  Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie

D-

E-  Wolf in Man's Clothing by Mignon Eberhart

F-

G-  The Case of the Borrowed Brunette by Erle Stanley Gardner

H-  Our Man in the Dark by Rashad Harrison

I-

J-  The Dispatcher by Ryan David Jahn

K-

L-

M-  The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne

N-

O-

P-  Prime Suspect by Lynda la Plante

Q-  A Puzzle for Fools by Patrick Quentin

R-  The Great Mistake by Mary Roberts Rinehart

S-

T-  The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

U-

V-  The Greene Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine

W-  Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

X-

Y-

Z-  The Girl Below by Bianca Zander

The Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge was hosted by Bev of My Reader's Block.  My goal was to read nine books in three different categories.  It came down to the wire, but I managed to pull it off.  I'm really looking forward to the way she has structured the challenge for the coming year.

Golden Age Girls

1.  The Great Mistake by Mary Roberts Rinehart

2.  Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie

3.  The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

4.  The Man in the Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart

5.  The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie

6.  Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie

7.  The Album by Mary Roberts Rinehart

8.  Murder in Pastiche by Marion Mainwaring

9.  Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie

Cherchez le Homme

1.  The Greene Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine

2.  A Puzzle for Fools by Patrick Quentin

3.  The Case of the Borrowed Brunette by Erle Stanley Gardner

4.  The Case of the Lucky Legs by Erle Stanley Gardner

5.  The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne

6.  The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart

7.  The Case of the Perjured Parrot by Erle Stanley Gardner

8.  The Kennel Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine

9.  The Corpse With the Eerie Eye by R.A.J. Walling

Occupational Hazards

1.  Miss Pinkerton by Mary Roberts Rinehart

2.  The Haunted Lady by Mary Roberts Rinehart

3.  The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart

4.  The Red Lamp by Mary Roberts Rinehart

5.  The Yellow Room by Mary Roberts Rinehart

6.  Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey

7.  The Frightened Wife by Mary Roberts Rinehart

8.  The Episode of the Wandering Knife by Mary Roberts Rinehart

9.  Wolf in Man's Clothing by Mignon Eberhart

Mailbox Monday for 12/24/12

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at Mailbox Monday and is currently being hosted by Suko's Notebook.

I received a wonderful package in the mail from my friend Beth of Beth's Book Reviews.  She sent along paperbacks of Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers and Champagne for One, Might As Well Be Dead, Too Many Cooks, and The Mother Hunt by Rex Stout.  She also included some wonerful cookes, that are about a fourth gone already.

I won a trade paperback of City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte from Wendy of Caribousmom.

I bought a hardcover of The Domino Men by Jonathan Barnes for $1 from The Dollar Tree.

I got an early Christmas present from a friend who knows that I love Steve McQueen.  He bought a four movie DVD that includes Bullitt, Papillon, The Getaway, and The Cincinnati Kid.

The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

The Dragon Reborn - the leader long prophesied who will save the world but in the saving, destroy it; the savior who will run mad and kill all those dearest to him - is on the run from his destiny.

Able to touch the One Power but unable to control it, and with no one to teach him how - for no man has done it in three thousand years - Rand al'Thor know only that he must face the Dark One.  But how?

Winter has stopped the war - almost - yet men are dying, calling out for the Dragon.  But where is he?

Perrin Aybara is in pursuit with Moiraine Sedai, her Warder Lan, and Loial the Ogier.  Bedeviled by dreams, Perrin is grappling with another deadly problem - how is he to escape the loss of his humanity?

Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve are approaching Tar Valon, where Matt will be Healed - if he lives until they arrive.  But who will tell the Amyrlin their news - that the Black Ajah, long thought only a hideous rumor, is all too real?  They cannot know that in Tar Valon far worse awaits...

Ahead, for all of them, in the Heart of the Stone, lies the next great test of the Dragon Reborn...

I enjoy this book, but it's not my favorite of the series.  Most of the book is focused on Mat as he is healing from the separation from the dagger, the girls hunting for the Black Ajah, and Rand's acceptance of who he is and the taking of Tear.

We get an introduction to the Aiel, and it's obvious from the start that Rand's story is going to continue to develop with the Aiel.  There is too much foreshadowing of how Rand looks like an Aiel, for his back story to go in any other direction.  At this point, the Aiel seem to be a little one dimensional, but I know that in the upcoming books that we are going to get a better look at them.

The development of the Black Ajah, and the tentacles they have throughout the White Tower is one that I find fascinating and boring at the same time.  I really don't care who the individual members are, though I'm surprised by some that are found out later on in the series.  I'm more interested in how they are being manipulated by The Forsaken, and the damage they do to our heroes.

I like the glimpses of Perrin we get in this book, though I wish we would have had more of him.  Speaking of Perrin, this is where we meet Faile, and at this point in time, I can't stand the girl.  I know my feelings of her change later on in the series, so I'll be curious to see if I still end up liking her in the end.

At this point in time, this is the last book I've read in my rereading bonanza, and I'm not sure when I'll get to the fourth book.  I'm hoping soon, but knowing me, I'm not going to be holding my breath.

Other Books In The Series:

The Eye of the World
The Great Hunt

The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

For centuries traveling gleemen have told the tales of The Great Hunt of the Horn.  So many tales about each of the Hunters, and so many Hunters to tell of...

Now the Horn itself is found: the Horn of Valere long thought only legend, the Horn which will raise the dead heroes of the ages.

And its stolen.

Rand al'Thor, the farm boy who is thought to be the Dragon Reborn - the leader long prophesied who will save the world, but in the saving destroy it; the saviour who will run mad and kill all those dearest to him - refuses to accept his fate.  Even facing the dreaded Amyrilin, the leader of the Aes Sedai who may intend to "gentle" him, Rand fiercely denies his Power.  He will have none of it - no matter what Myrddraal and Trollocs, Aes Sedai and dreams stand in the way.

But with the Horn another object is stolen: a dagger from the terrible ruins of Shadar Logoth.  Unless the dagger is recovered, Mat Cauthon's life will end.  And Mat is Rand's oldest friend.  Unwillingly, distrusting everyone, Rand is drawn into the Hunt.

As Egwene, the innkeeper's lovely daughter, and Nynaeve, the young village Wisdom, set out for Tar Valon's White Tower, seat of the Aes Sedai, Rand and the ogier Loial, accompanied by Perrin Aybara, the Wolfbrother who was once a blacksmith, track the Horn and dagger through Shienar - and enter a world stranger than time itself.  But Rand cannot escape his Power.  The Dark One is stirring in Shayol Ghul.  The Dark One wants the Horn.  The Dark One wants Rand.

The Great Hunt opens shortly after the events of The Eye of the World.  Rand and his friends seem to be in a sort of limbo as they are waiting around, trying to figure out what comes next.  Rand, especially, seems to be caught between what he thinks his duty is, and the looming future that he seems to be being pushed towards.  It seems to be a theme throughout the book, and for many of the characters.

Rand needs to accept that he can channel and that he is in fact The Dragon Reborn.  Perrin has to come to grips with the fact he can commune with wolves, which is one of the many reasons Perrin is one of my favorite characters.  Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne are starting their lessons in channeling the Power, and get sucked into the hunt for the Black Ajah, the corrupt Aes Sedai who serve The Dark One.

As I said these really won't be reviews, more like a collection of thoughts.  So By the way, in case I don't mention it later on, I really hate The Children of Light and the Seanchan.  I'm kinda of iffy about Min at this point in time, and love the Forsaken, especially Lanfear.  Verin is cementing herself as one of my favorite characters.  Loial, while he's a little annoying at times, is fantastic.  I really want to travel through the Waygates as some point in time, as long as I don't have to go crazy from it.

Other Books In The Series:

The Eye of the World

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend.  Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again.  In the Third Age, ad Age of Prophecy when the World and Time themselves hang in the balance, a wind rises in the mountains of mist...

and Rand al'Thor is cold.  Though the spring festival of Bel Tine come tomorrow, it is a year without spring, a year when green things fail and hope is dying.

It is a year of strangers; of a lady; and a gleeman with his tales of heroes; and a peddler with news of the present - of war with Ghealdan, far away, and of the rising of a false Dragon - the savior whose coming, foretold and dreaded, will bring a new Breaking to the World.  but the worst strangers are monsters Rand thought only legend - the bestial Trollocs, and the horrifying Halfmen, whose eyeless gaze is fear.

They want a boy on the brink of manhood, born within a certain span of months.  They want Rand himself, or his burly, deliberate friend Perrin, or the prankster Mat.

It is a world where nothing is what it seems.  Not Nynaeve, the village wisdom, who can Read the Wind.  Not Moiraine, the lady from outside, whose beauty hides a terrifying identity and a Power that seemed only yesterday to be the stuff of legend.  Not the lady's companion, Lan, whose chameleon cloak is stranger than the fluttering, multihued garment that proclaims the gleeman's trade of old Thom Merrilin.  And not Egwene, the innkeeper's dark-haired daughter, caught between childhood and womanhood, between love of Rand and determination to become all that her destiny would make her.

The villagers know only that Trollocs hunt them.  They have no way of knowing that the Dark One, imprisoned by the Creator at the moment of creation, is stirring in Shayol Ghul.

It is a time of prophecies to be fulfilled.  The Wheel of Time is weaving a Web in the Pattern of Ages, a Web to entangle the World.  It is a time when Time itself may die, when the Eye of the World may be blinded.  What was, and what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

This isn't going to be a review, because I suck at reviewing high fantasy.  I've gone back and read every review I've done of a fantasy book, and for whatever reason, I'm just not good at it.  I'm not sure if it's the scope of the books, as I tend to read fantasy that involves a slew of characters and can take place across kingdoms or encompass the entire planet.  It's hard to gather your thoughts on a book(s) that have such a scope, at least for me it is.  When it comes to the World of Time series by Robert Jordan, that handicap becomes even bigger for me.  There is just something so massive and unfathomable about the the world the author created in this series, that I wouldn't even know where to begin.  So instead I'm just going to give some brief thoughts.  They may not be logical or explanatory to most, but if you have read these books, you will know what I'm talking about.

I guess you can tell that I've read these books before.  The first eleven books, which Robert Jordan wrote before his death, have been read so many times, I've lost count.  I have yet to read the last two books that Brandon Sanderson wrote, and am looking forward to the third and final book in a few months time.  So I wanted to reread the first eleven books in order to refresh my mind on all the happenings and characters involved.

I'm a huge fan of the first book, The Eye of the World, and don't find it to be handicapped by the problem I have with most first books of a series.  Most authors use the first book to do the world building, the character introductions, and some basic back story narration.  And for most authors, that about it.  Robert Jordan, with this series, still does all that, but he includes it alongside a ton of action and a harrowing flight out of Edmond's Field, the village our young heroes hail from.  He's able to do everything needed to set up the rest of the series, without bogging it down.  I think that's one of the many reasons I fell in love with this series in college.

Obviously I love Rand, Perrin, Mat, Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne; they are the glue that holds these books together.  Even when they are being annoying, or doing something I can't stand, I never find myself not caring about what happens to them.

Moiraine, Lan, Siuan Sanche, and the rest of the Aes Sedai, along with their Warders, explore an aspect of magic that I'm pretty sure is unique to Robert Jordan.  It's hard to come up with an idea for the source of magic, especially in the fantasy world, so when it happens, it's something to be celebrated.  Speaking of Aes Sedai, can I just say how much I love Verin, even knowing what I know happens later on, I can't help but enjoy her.

I also enjoy the journey into the Borderlands, the kingdoms that protect the rest of the continent from the The Great Blight and the blasted lands.  It is nice to see the way in which Robert Jordan was able to give personality and structure to so many kingdoms, to make the unique and different from each other, but still be able to give a common purpose to this collective.  The journey into The Great Blight itself reminds me of a overly vivid nightmare, full of the worst things a brain can imagine.  I loved meeting the Green Man and wept when he met his fate.  It's a great bit of lore, and have been trying to remember what else I know about him and his origins.

Overall, this is a wonderful introduction to a series I love, and one that I look forward to getting to know once again.  Every time I read these books, I pick up something new that while I may have read it before, I didn't pay too much attention to it previously.  With each reread, my understanding of what Robert Jordan was able to produce, grows even more.