Three characters

LJ tagged me for a meme. While this wouldn't normally compel me to blog, I will humor her just this once.

Name three characters (from books)...

1. You wish were real so you could meet them.
Aslan, from the Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis). Lions have always been my favorite animal anyway, and meeting Aslan would be wonderful and terrifying at the same time.

Gandalf, from The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkein). Gandalf always intrigued me - he seems to know and understand more about what's happening in the story than almost anyone, as if he has insight into what's going to happen. Yet he has his blind spots as well, which make him rather more endearing. Frodo is a little too helpless; Aragorn, nearly inscrutable; and Sam, just a bit too one-dimensional. Gandalf is my favorite character from LOTR, and one it would be interesting to know.

John Clark, from the Jack Ryan novels (Tom Clancy). Clark is a mysterious and deadly CIA operative who is a patriot with his own moral code. He is completely loyal to his friends and his enemies? Well, they have a way of meeting their end with extreme prejudice. Don't mess with The Snake.

2. You would like to be.
It's probably not exactly abiding with the rules, but since I have lots of Star Wars books, I'm going to say a Jedi. Who wouldn't want to be able to sense others' thoughts, move objects with your mind, and fight with a lightsaber? "These are not the droids you're looking for."

Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbes (Bill Watterson). That counts as a character from a book, right? Calvin's smart-alecky attitude I have got down pat, but his absolute unwillingness to accept school/chores/girls/or anything else he doesn't like without a fight (usually in vain) I also can identify with. I like his imagination too.

Hmm, this is harder than I thought. Maybe Jack Hawkins in Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson). Although the first part of the book doesn't go too well for him, being left a treasure and pretty much single-handedly rounding up a band of pirates is pretty sweet.

3. Scare You.

Captain Ahab, from Moby-Dick (Herman Melville) scares me, mainly because people with insane obsessions are scary.

I'm reading this series of Star Wars books called Legacy of the Force (only four of the nine books have yet been released). The main character, Jacen Solo, is the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, and he's been one of my favorite characters over the last 15 years since he was created. He is a very powerful Jedi, but he is turning to the dark side, and he will become a Sith (I know this due to marketing for the books). The scary part is that his master has foretold that he will have to sacrifice (kill) someone precious to him to become a Sith lord. I am dreading who it is going to be. They've already killed off Chewbacca and Jacen's brother Anakin in the last few years, so I have a feeling that they're going with someone pretty important, especially because this storyline with Jacen has been building for several years now.

Mrs. Havisham from Great Expectations (Charles Dickens). That lady was creepy.

In putting together this little bit of nothing, I realized that I don't really read much fiction, or more accurately, I read a very narrow range of fiction. Most of my reading, other than Star Wars books, is history, biography, scientific or political. Now I am presumably supposed to pass this on to other bloggers, but since I don't often read blogs, other than LJ's, I don't guess I will.

This quiz tells me I'm smart...

You paid attention during 100% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
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And although I did have a couple of good teachers in high school, the autodidact comment is on point. Most of the things I know about history, science, religion, politics, art, etc., were self-taught (or at least self-reinforced). Does it make me a better person? No, but it doesn't do much for humility.