Characters I'd Invite to Christmas Dinner! | Twelve Days of Christmas!

My Twelve Days of Christmas continue, and today I thought it'd be fun to do a Christmassy version of a tag that was wandering around the world of Booktube a while ago: The Literary Dinner Party Tag. The original tag, in which you select various literary characters you'd invite to a dinner party, gave you eleven characters, but I've added an extra one for the sake of keeping up with the twelve theme!

I've kept some of the character types you have to choose from the original tag, but also added/altered a few just for my own enjoyment. And if any other bloggers out there want to give it a try then please do!

So, without further ado, let us begin!

1) One character can can/likes to cook

Perhaps a bit of a weird choice, but I would invite Hannibal Lecter. As long as you're not rude he's a perfect gent even though he's a cannibal. Plus in my head Hannibal looks like Mads Mikkelsen, who portrays him in the show and makes my mouth water (hurr hurr hurr). If you've seen the show then you'll know what I mean when I say the way he cooks people looks delicious.

2) One character who owns a house/estate/apartment/palace where you would like to host your dinner

I'd go with Chandresh from The Night Circus. Just imagine eating your dinner in that circus, and you'd have some great entertainment!

3) One character who would bring the best presents

Maybe a bit of an odd choice, but Sherlock Holmes. He's done so many bizarre things and been to so many different places that I feel as though he'd just have an accumulation of weird stuff to hand out to people at Christmas.

4) One hero

Harry from the Harry Potter series. That guy must have had so many awful Christmases as a child that I'd love to invite him over for a great party.

5) One heroine

Georgia Mason from the Newsflesh trilogy. I love her, and I'd love to have a conversation with her.

6) One villain

Jude from the Noughts & Crosses series. I suppose it's debatable as to whether or not this guy is really a villain, but he certainly ain't pleasant. Having said that he always fascinated me, so I'd be interested in listening to what he had to say for himself.

7) One romantic couple

Cinder and Kai from The Lunar Chronicles. I love these two a lot.

8) One non-romantic couple

Katniss and Prim from The Hunger Games. These girls need some good food to eat.

9) One under-appreciated character

Rubeus Hagrid. Such an awesome guy who gets barely any credit, why Harry and Ginny named their son after Dumbledore and Snape and not this guy I'll never understand.

10) One character of your own choosing

I will always love Sirius Black, so he'd be given that extra seat at my dinner table.

If you'd like to have a go at this then go for it! I'd love to see what your answers would be.

Top Ten Tuesday | Books That Made Me Cry

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find out everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's Top Ten Tuesday theme is a freebie - we can pick our own topic! So, as I'm currently in the middle of a trilogy that's breaking my heart more and more with each page I turn, I thought today would be a fitting time to share with you the top ten books that have made me cry. Unfortunately I could only think of nine, but that'll have to do!

I never used to be much of a crier when it came to books and films, but half way through adolescence I started becoming an emotional wreck whenever I watched or read something which, for whatever reason, really struck a chord with me. There are a lot of instances in which I haven't cried where I probably should - I've never found any of the deaths on Game of Thrones particuarly cry-worthy, nor did I cry while reading Mockingjay - but do something horrible to a character that I love and I'll weep.

So, in the order I read them, here are the ten nine books that made me weep:

Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman
I first read this series, which deals with themes such as race and terrorism, back in my early teens, and it had a huge impact on me. The first book in the series has always been my favourite, though the other three are also brilliant in their own way, and it has the honour of being, to my knowledge, the first ever book that made me cry. This is still one of my all time favourite books, and if you haven't read it you're missing out.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter is always going to be one of my all time favourite series, and as a lover of Sirius Black I'm sure those of you familiar with the series can understand why this book made the list. I'm still not over it.






Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

I'm sure all of you can understand why this book's on the list. Oddly enough I didn't cry because of the deaths in this book, I actually cried because of the epilogue. It was so emotional to see these characters that I'd grown up with leading happy, peaceful lives, and knowing that as soon as I finished reading the epilogue the story I'd followed for the past ten years would be over.



Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

During the first year of my A Levels I studied War Literature, and while Birdsong wasn't on our syllabus we were given it to read by our teacher and I'm so glad we were. If you're familiar with the BBC adaptation but haven't read the book please, please read it; the adaptation was appalling compared to how exquisite this book is. Considering it takes place during WW1 I'm sure you can imagine why this book made it onto my list, and now is the perfect time to read it as this year marks 100 years since the start of the war.


The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

WW2 this time, and I imagine even those of you who haven't read Zusak's masterpiece know someone who has; this book touches everyone who reads it in some way, and I'm not ashamed to say I cried more than once while reading it. If you've yet to read it then do pick it up, but I'd recommend the film adaptation too - it's a great adaptation!



The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

An obvious one, I know. Do I really need to say why this book made me cry? I'm pretty certain everyone in the world has read this book by now. I wouldn't call this book one of my all time favourite books by any means, but all the same I found it very emotional.





Glitches by Marissa Meyer

This is probably a bit of an odd one because it's really more of a short story than a book, but I cried reading this. If you're familiar with The Lunar Chronicles then you've probably read this (but if you haven't Meyer has made it available online here!) and if you're not familiar with The Lunar Chronicles then you need to make yourself familiar with them. It's one of my favourite series, and it's so fun. This is a prime example of what I mentioned earlier: getting emotional over a certain character.

Cinder is one of my favourite fictional heroines (why not check out my Top 5 YA Heroines?) and this story takes place before the events of Cinder when Cinder is a little girl. It just broke my heart to see her so little and so vulnerable and so unloved by the majority of the people around her. I definitely cried.


Feed by Mira Grant

And now we're onto the trilogy I mentioned above as currently being half way through. I can't say too much about this book because the reason it made me cry - and I mean really, really cry - is a huge spoiler for those of you who might want to read it. Those of you who have read this book, however, can probably guess why I cried so much at the end of this book. This is another case of growing attached to a character and then having my heart broken because of it. If you haven't read these books yet please do, I haven't even finished the second book yet but I'm already certain this is one of my new favourite trilogies.


Deadline by Mira Grant

Yep, that's right. The second book made me cry, too. In fact I'm not even half way through this book yet and I've already cried almost as much as I did at the end of the first one. Again, those of you familiar with this book can guess why it's already made me into an emotional wreck. Read this trilogy, but prepare yourself for heartbreak.



So those are the top ten nine books that have made me cry! Which books make you emotional?

Top Ten Tuesday | Books About Friendship

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list consisting of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find out everything you need to know about joining in here!

I only discovered this feature this morning and as soon as I saw it I just knew I had to join in! I must give an honourable mention to the lovely Erin, who I first discovered on Tumblr and whose blog introduced me to this feature.

This week's theme is 'Ten Books About Friendship', and as someone who loves friendship in fiction (and who thinks it's somewhat underrated when compared with romance) I'm very excited about this theme! So, without further ado, here's my list:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Let's face it, a list concerning fictional friendships just wouldn't be complete without the inclusion of the book that first introduced us to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

One of the great things about the Harry Potter series as a whole is its focus on love outside of romantic love, which so many stories seem to focus on nowadays. I love how highly this series favours friendship.

Lirael by Garth Nix

I mentioned Lirael in my Top 5 YA Heroines list, and one of the things I mentioned loving most about her is that throughout the entirety of The Old Kingdom trilogy Lirael has no romantic entanglements. I enjoy reading romance as much as the next person, but as someone who's single it's nice to come across a book now and then which says 'you know what, it's okay to be alone and focus on your friendships'.

Lirael's main relationship is with the Disreputable Dog, one of my favourite fictional sidekicks, and their friendship is just gorgeous. If you haven't checked out this trilogy then you really should!

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

At first glance Year of Wonders probably doesn't seem like a book about friendship, it certainly isn't marketed as one. It's a wonderful piece of historical fiction set in 1666 in Eyam, Derbyshire, where the townspeople have elected to quarantine themselves to prevent the spread of the plague. It's such a powerful book, and well worth reading.

I've often seen it marketed with emphasis on a love story, but in all honesty the real love story in this book is the friendship that grows between Anna, our heroine, and Elinor, the pastor's wife. It really is a beautiful book.

(I reviewed Year of Wonders here if you're interested!)

Cress by Marissa Meyer

Okay so I'm probably cheating a little bit here because Cress is a novel about many things, but one of the things I love most about this book (and this series in general) is the friendships that develop between the characters. I particularly love the little trio that is Cinder, Iko and Thorne - they're so much fun!

(And I reviewed Cress here!)

The BFG by Roald Dahl

Who didn't love Roald Dahl's stories as a child? Growing up in Britain I was practically raised on every children's story Dahl wrote. The Magic Finger and Fantastic Mr Fox were always my favourites, but I've always had a soft spot for The BFG. It's an endearing little story, and the friendship between Sophie and The BFG is beautiful.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Here we have one of my favourite classics. The friendship that grows between Mary, Dickon and Colin in The Secret Garden is just exquisite. This is another gorgeous little book, and an ideal read if you're a little intimidated by classics and don't know where to start!

Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Like Cress, Noughts & Crosses is a book about a lot of things, but friendship is certainly one of its biggest themes. The relationship between Sephy and Callum is one of the most stunningly heartwrenching relationships I've come across.

If you're a fan of YA and you haven't read this book yet please, please do, but I feel I should warn you that it will break your heart into a million pieces!

Secrets by Jacqueline Wilson

If you'd asked me who my favourite author was when I was a little girl I'm pretty sure I would have said Jacqueline Wilson. I devoured her books when I was younger - it didn't matter what they were about, I loved them all - and when I think about fictional friendships, Secrets always comes to mind.

When I was little I had four different primary schools because we moved around a lot with my Dad's work; I would have loved to have had a secret friend hiding in my attic.

Skellig by David Almond

Speaking of secret friends hidden around the house, I first read Skellig in school when I was around 11/12 years old and I've loved it ever since. 

The story follows Michael who, after moving to a new house, finds a peculiar man with wings in the back of his parents' new garage. It's an amazing, heartwarming story, and well worth a read if you haven't read it already!

Pirates! by Celia Rees

Last but not least, Pirates! is a piece of MG/YA historical fiction which follows Nancy, the daughter of a plantation owner, and Minerva, the daughter of a slave, who flee to the high seas so that Nancy can escape an arranged marriage.

I've loved Celia Rees's novels since I was an early teen - in fact I have a blog post about Witch Child here! - and Pirates! was the first novel of hers I ever read. The relationship between Nancy and Minerva is much more important than their romantic entanglements and I just love that. If you're interested in piracy but you're tired of reading about boys having all the fun, then you should definitely check this book out!

So there we have my top ten! What are yours?