The Polliwog Blog

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Character Based Challenge: Day 4

Who is the most annoying character in any book you've ever read?

Hm, there have been annoying characters in books I've read. Effie in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series was annoying when she took the pants and when she was dating Brian. The aunts in James and the Giant Peach where just plain annoying. I'm looking through the books on my bookshelf and re-orientating myself with the annoying characters. Cokie Mason was annoying in the Baby-Sitters Club. Haymitch is pretty annoying as a drunk in the Hunger Games, not so much in Catching Fire, and I haven't seen enough of him yet in Mockingjay (I'm only 27 pages in). Snape fans are pretty annoying when it comes to Harry Potter, but they're not characters so they don't count. :p

The most annoying, though? That's a tough one. I know there's a character out there I've just wanted to slap. I'm trying to remember who it is. I'll come back if I remember.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Character Based Challenge: Day 3

Who is your favorite secondary or minor character?

Does Ron Weasley count? I wouldn't call him a secondary or minor character, but he's not the protagonist. He counts for me. I've already spent one Character Based Challenge Day talking about him and I don't want to spend a lot on one character. Should I find another favorite? OK. Let me see if any come to mind.

I've got it. Rue from The Hunger Games. I can't say much without giving away the story and I do not want to do that. Rue is a sweet little 12 year old girl chosen to be in the games from District 11. She reminds Katniss so much of her sister, Prim. Rue is sweet and touching. She's the one in her district who sings to the Mockingjays when it's quitting time. That's what Katniss and Rue have in commong: mockingjays. I really took a liking to Rue and have to be honest, when we really meet her I wanted her to win the games instead of Katniss.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Character Based Challenge: Day 2

Who is your favorite protagonist of all time?

Hm, that's a deep thinker. I'm not sure I have an all-time favorite. Perusing my bookshelf, I am reminded of James from James and the Giant Peach, Harry Potter, the girls of the Baby-Sitters Club, Landon and Jamie from A Walk to Remember, Jody Baxter from The Yearling, Dicey from the Tillerman Family Series, among others. No real protagonist sticks out in my mind more than the others. It's easy for me to get attached to characters, but I don't place anyone above the rest. Well, maybe Ron Weasley, but he's not the protagonist.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can playing along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
Be careful not to include spoilers! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

A small white-haired man who seems vaguely familiar is reading a book. He hold up a finger as if to say, "Give me a moment." Then he turns and my heart skips a beat.
P. 17 Catching Fire (Hunger Games, #2) by Suzanne Collins

Monday, February 6, 2012

Character Based Challenge: Day 1

It's a new month and I'm starting a new meme. I actually wanted to start this on February 1, but I must admit I forgot. This is a short one, lasting about 11 days and it's based on characters.

What book character would you say is the closest to yourself?

This is easy. That's Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter series. I'm not a red-head male wizard from England. I'm a brown haired female Muggle from America. But, I've never connected to a character the way I connect to Ron. I think our personalities are similar. He's more open and rude than I am. He stuffs his face with food. I don't do that. He suffers from what I like to think of as middle child syndrome. He has insecurities. He's dealt hand-me-downs and leftovers. He feels forgotten sometimes, many times. I feel that way, too. He hates living in the shadows of his siblings. I live in the shadows of my siblings. At least I thought I did until I realized the name I was making for myself. That's Ron. He was forging his own identity, but he was the only one who didn't see that. Ron gets jealous easy, an example given to us in Goblet of Fire. I'm trying to work on my jealousy issues, see the better side and all that.

I do think relating to Ron I have learned things about my character to make myself a better person.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Book Review: Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow

I've been wanting to read this book ever since it's debut. Why I hadn't just bought myself a copy, I don't know. When I found it on netgalley.com I immediately requested it.

I am a huge Tim Tebow fan. I have been since his days at Florida. My mom, not a football fan, saw him play and knew there was something special about the kid. I believe this was his second year at Florida, before the Heisman and before the first National Championship with him as a starter (this would be the year 2007). He was just a college quarterback trying to make his way through the SEC. It's tough being a Georgia fan rooting for the Florida Gators, but Tebow was just that good. When Sporting News printed the letter from George W. Bush to Tim Tebow it cemented everything. This kid wasn't just a football player, he was a Christian. He wasn't just a Christian. He was a big-time Christian. Many athletes call themselves Christians and they are, but this kid walked the walk, talked the talk, thought the thought, lived the life. He was. He is.

The book is very simple. It feels like he's talking or telling the story to a young child. It does make it easy to read and I like that. What I found a little boring was how stretched out the book felt with so many chapters on each football season. Even as a sports fan, it's a little much. Repetitive, that's what it is.

Tim Tebow is a very dedicated man. He goes above and beyond what is asked of him. He doesn't just do well because of his faith, but because of the hard work and dedication he puts into everything he does. He's also a very emotional guy.

Every trial, every thing that happens Tim believes is a message from God. I believe that, too. He gets hurt and he wants to know what God's trying to teach him. Lose, what is God saying there (you can't pray for victory, for one thing). It's amazing how much he relies on God. I love it.

Too bad this book was written before this season. I would love to get Tim Tebow's thoughts on that.

What really stinks is the netgalley version did not include PICTURES (and I know there were some because one of the Q&As references one). Maybe I'll have to get my hands on a hard copy so I can look at them.

I give the book 4/5 stars. I read it for pleasure and as a request on netgalley.com.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Got Great Giveaways

This is a meme hosted by I Am a Reader Not a Writer. I do mine a little bit differently as I gather all the great giveaways I've seen on the internet, book related!

Giveaway Hops