My Favourite Fictional Characters…
Which fictional character would you like to meet and which fictional character is your favourite is a question I ask authors a lot and it got me thinking about my own favourites. I wanted to share some of my favourite characters. I have many and so it was hard to pick a few.
Ron Weasley (Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling.)
I could not have a character favourites list without Ron being mentioned. He is my favourite Harry Potter character. He is so well written. His lines and humour are brilliant and is made all the better by Rupert Grint’s facial expressions. Harry is the main character but he is so much stronger when he is with his friends. Ron is very loyal. I can relate to him. He’s not always very confident. He’s the youngest son (I am the youngest in my family) and he does sometimes struggle with faith in himself.
Penguin, 1999
Ralph (Ralph’s Party by Lisa Jewell.)
Ralph’s Party is in my top five favourite books (I have mentioned it recently.) Ralph is one of my favourite heroes. He is very shy, unassuming and lives in Smith’s (his best friend) shadow a little bit.
I really warmed to him as a character when I was reading the book and he is such a contrast to the more confident and slightly cocky Smith. He seems a lovely, gentle man. He’s uncomplicated.
Ebenezer Scrooge (A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.)
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My Favourite Book Covers
Orion, January 2015.
If you’re a frequent visitor to Novel Kicks then you will know that I have a thing for book covers. It is bordering on obsession if I am honest. It was a little hard to pick but here are a few of my favourite book covers…
That Part was True by Deborah Mckinlay.
I think this is one of my favourite covers ever. I read this at the beginning of the year and loved it. Eve writes to Jackson to praise a scene from one of his books and they discover a mutual love of cookery and food. They are soon exchanging letters.
The plot was great. It’s a gentle kind of book. I completely adored this cover. The blue cover and the decoration is so beautiful I almost didn’t want to read it because I didn’t want to ruin the cover.
Penguin, 2008.
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen.
This particular cover was re-released as part of Penguin’s hardback clothbound classics series and was designed by Coralie Pickford-Smith.
The story of Pride and Prejudice is so well known. Lizzie and Darcy’s story will always be one of my favourites. There has also been so many editions of this book but I think that this cover is one of my favourites. It’s so pretty.
by Books I’d Like To See Adapted into Films…
I will 90% always prefer books to any movie made that is based upon them. For example, although the movie was great, I will prefer Where Rainbows End to Love, Rosie (same with P.S I Love You for that matter.) My Sister’s Keeper is another example. I preferred the book and definitely preferred the novel’s ending to the movie adaptation. It is always tricky when it’s a book you love so much. You have such an idea of what the scenery looks like, the appearance of the characters; a solid picture is formed and it’s hard to shift.
However, there are exceptions – Bridget Jones’ Diary, I’m talking to you. I adore the film as much as the book. The second movie not so much but it was always going to fall short because of its lack of the Colin Firth interview scene which couldn’t be done for obvious reasons. I did think the adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars was quite faithful to its source material. I will read things though and I will wonder what the scenes would look like if they were to be adapted into movies or I will think that what I am reading would make a great film.
Here are seven novels I’d like to see adapted (seven because I couldn’t pick just five)…
Penguin, 2014
The Friday Project, 2011
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.
I adored this book and Don Tillman is one of my favourite fictional characters. Rumours are that this has already been put into pre-production/development and this makes me very excited. There are some humorous and very touching moments in this book and I think it will translate well to film (especially if Simsion has anything to do with the script.)
The basic premise is that having never had a second date, Don Tillman devises the Wife Project – a scientific experiment to find the perfect wife for him. Then in walks Rosie, the girl that doesn’t fit into any of his criteria.
According to IMDb, Jennifer Lawrence has been cast as Rosie. In my opinion, Jennifer has proven that she can do serious and quirky (she was great in The Silver Linings Playbook.) I am eagerly anticipating this adaptation.
The Tiny Wife by Andrew Kaufman is another book I’d love to see turn into a movie.
I loved this book. The plot is so interesting and I took away a great message from it and so I think it would make a great film. A robber walks into a bank but instead of taking money, he steals an item of sentimental value from each of the people in the bank. After the robbery, strange things start happening to these people. It’s a book about appreciating what you have before it is too late.
The plot is a great premise and I’d be interested to see where they would go with the film. There is such an atmosphere to this book. The only thing about this book if it were to be adapted is that it’s only about eighty pages long so there would be a bit of script padding which isn’t always good.
Another book I’d like to see adapted is Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.
by Quick Spotlight: Shiraz Notebook from Paperblanks
Drawing inspiration from one of the most glittering periods in artistic history, The Shiraz collection from Paperblanks is a glimpse into the elegance of the 16th century Ottoman Empire.
The original cover artwork from which this dish hails was commissioned by one of the Princes of Shiraz, decorated with rows of golden lockets and overlaid with filigree. This royal Persian design provides the ideal place to house your history.
If you’ve been visiting my blog for a while then you will know my obsession with notebooks. I am a writer, I need notebooks. You never know when you’re going to need one…. right?
I’ve been sent this lovely Shiraz notebook from Paperblanks and this made me very excited. I’ve always been a fan of these notebooks. The particular one I’ve been sent is A6 in size and is lined.
The cover is stunning and what I love about these notebooks in particular is that the covers are also very good quality. I also like the fact that there is also a black elastic band to hold the book together which means it’s not got damaged whilst I’ve been using it. I tend to carry the kitchen sink around with me and so notebooks can get damaged in my bag.
by My Favourites: August Stationary Haul
I am obsessed with stationary. I used to work in one of the big office stores so you can imagine how much of my monthly wage I actually ended up keeping hold of. You can never have too many pens, notebooks, pencils and colouring pencils. I don’t care how old I get, I will always love this time of year as its an excuse to browse all the new stationary. Why should it only be the kids and teenagers going back to school having all the fun in buying stationary? Exactly!
I wanted to share some of the stationary that um, cough, fell into my basket or more accurately, made a flying leap. I love things that help keep me organised (I need all the help I can get,) and seriously, I have so many pens but that still hasn’t stopped me buying more so my haul is a mixture of various things. Where I can, I have put a link to things in case you want to check it out (I have not been paid to feature any of these products – they are things I have brought and just wanted to share.)
Firstly, it’s The Weekly Times from Fox & Star. £11.95 + postage and packing.
I’ve previously mentioned this on social media. I saw this in a haul I watched on You Tube and absolutely loved the look of it. There are fifty sheets in total and what I love about it is that it includes Saturday and Sunday too. A couple of desk planners I have brought in the past only cover Monday to Friday and for what I want to use it for, which is blog planning, this is ideal. It’s also not dated so it’s flexible in where in the year I decide to use it. I love the fact that it has a protective plastic cover and it’s so smart in appearance. I adore this desk planner and it is going to become a permanent item in my stationary pile.
The second item in my haul are these Harry Potter themed notebooks from The Literary Emporium (£4 each.)
If you’ve not guessed by previous posts, I love Harry Potter and get excited when I find Harry Potter themed things. I adore these three notebooks from The Literary Emporium. They are A5 in size and have 80 recycled pages so they are perfect for slipping into my handbag. I have been using the ‘Advanced Spells’ book for my to-do lists and it’s great for that too. The quality of the paper is lovely and the covers are quite sturdy (mine has survived a few trips in my bag which is a little like Mary Poppins’ carpet bag.) You can buy just one book at £4 or all three for £10. Bargain I reckon and a must for Potter fans who also love to write.
by Book Club
