Anna Karenina made me fall in love with the way a MAN talks about love and desire… never thought this day would come but here I am. I loved every part from levins POV because his love for kitty is present in all his thoughts and actions
1. Violet and Klaus from A Series of Unfortunate Events. 2. Tinman from Wizard of Oz 3. Harry Potter and Hermione 4. Frederick from Train to Impossible Places 5. Alice from Alice in Wonderland (my favorite book of all time) 6. Martha from Loves Comes Softly
Jane Eyre is my #1 comfort character. I totally agree with Anne and Gilbert and the Honeychurch bunch. Others: Antonia, Becky Sharpe in Vanity Fair, the little prince and Wilber, The March sisters, Oliver, Nicholas and Kate Nichelby and Cheri. I am 1/3 through with The Count of Monte Christo. The first section was riviting. Its going a little slower now. Still a long way to go but I am really enjoying it.
I loved the Stiva and Levin bromance too. It’s amazing how like-able Stiva becomes, after being introduced in the book as a cheater. He seemed superficial in many ways, but was always there for Levin when he was in a dark place.
I totally agree with you, Carolyn: Atticus Is a comfort character! He is such a loving father and lives by what he believes in. ❤ Something I found out within the first pages in Don Quijote is that he is such a dear character. I love him. ❤❤😊 Now, a very sweet and comfort character I’ve come accross: the Abbot Faria in The Count of Montecristo. I now is a big chunky book, but it reads so easily and is such a wonderful story that you won’t be able to put it down. It’s like a good friend telling you a beautiful story. 😊❤
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza is definitely a pick for me too! Such a wonderful friendship of two people who are absolute goofballs but also terribly compelling and complex.
I read To Kill A Mockingbird as a teenager and the inclusion of Boo Radley meant a lot to me. I always preferred to be alone, felt misunderstood, and never wanted to be noticed so it was shocking for me to relate to the hero for once.
Jo is the only one I really liked in _Little Women_ ; she's the only one with a spine and isn't a fop. I could not read Woolf's _A Room of Own's Own_ without thinking of Jo.
If someone is subscribed to your channel and Emmies, it’s almost impossible yo fight the urge to read classics. I did read classics years ago, but you two re-ignited that need to read all the classics! 😊
Love your list, Carolyn! I add Jo and Amy March from Little Women, Sara Crewe from A Little Princess and Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden to the list. ❤
I missed Ove when I finished the book. I agree about Frederik Backman - he writes humanity so well. I've read several of his books now, not just cried but sobbed.
SPOILERS!!!! I didn't actually sob - in fact that's hard to even imagine but certainly my eyes welled up several times. However, what makes the novel really work IMO was the way it connects back to the opening scene. I mean you're wondering what's going to happen to this guy and his hook, or the train, and then you remember that the story starts in the present so pretty clearly he's going to survive. And then finally when he's finally found a new family he presents the little girl with the gift, and bang! we're right back at the first scene again. Without that circulatory reading experience I think maybe we've got a long short story. But back to crying, I think one scene really gets you is when you realize why there are rubber scuff marks on the floor.
Read White Bird! It’s a beautiful graphic novel of a young Jewish girl who befriends a classmate, Julian, who hides her during the war. I love Julian!! Such a great comfort character and a warning that this book will make you cry!!! I was a nanny for an eleven year who gave me this book one day years ago and basically just told me to read it because it’s important and it’s so good. And he’s right!!!!
Sometimes I fall in love with books for the prose or the ideas. Sometimes its the characters I enjoy so much. Thanks for sharing this handful of favorites.
I found you through your annotating video (I wanted to learn how to do it) but stayed for your passionate love of classics. I hated most of what I was made to read in school, so I never really wanted to read classics, but your love combined with me finding a classic for a dollar at my local library inspired me to pick up the original text of one of my favorite movies of all time: The Count of Monte Cristo. And I'm in love with it. I'm only 60 pages in but enjoying it so much. You have to finally pick it up if you haven't already even if it is a doorstopper. lol. It's so good.
loved the video, so wholesome!! for me, it would be charles wallace from a wrinkle in time (it's also my comfort book since middle school), finny from a separate peace, annie from joy in the morning by betty smith, francie and katie nolan from a tree grows in brooklyn by betty smith, willem from a little life, charlie from perks of being a wallflower, patroclus from the song of achilles, lettie hempstock from the ocean at the end of the lane, and william stoner (he has suffered a lot so it's not exactly comforting but i really cared about the character) from stoner by john williams
I keep checking out Hugo Cabret from the library but don't have time to read it... until now! It's on my nightstand right next to me and I'm going to start it as soon as I finish typing! Anne and Gilbert, and even Diana, Matthew, Marilla... absolutely comfort characters! Charles Dickens is a comfort author for me. I've tried Don Quixote a few times but just can't get into it enough to stick with it for the whole long book, but I haven't given up yet.
Another great video! To name just a few: - Sarah from A Little Princess (my childhood favorite) - The Herondale family from The Infernal Devices and The Dark Artifices series - Scrooge from A Christmas Carol - Jo and Amy March as well as Laurie from Little Women - Sephy, Callie and Tobey from the Noughts and Crosses series - Betty, Fraya, Lint, Trustin and Landon from Betty by Tiffany McDaniel - Anne (of Green Gables) would be one of mine too Lots of love ❤
I loved Levin also! Also Chauncey from The House in the Cerulean Sea.Most of Dickens characters are my favorites. I still think Dickens writes the best characters. Love Anne and Gilbert too.
Pretty much any character from LOTR, but particularly Faramir. He's my comfort character, my one true literally love, and the captain I would happily die for.
My (more than) top10 comfort characters are: 1. Anne, Gilbert and the Cuthberts from Anne of Green Gables 2. Monsieur Ibrahim from Monsieur Ibrahim and The Flowers of the Qur'an (highly recommend this to you) 3. Ove and Parvaneh from A Man Called Ove 4. Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings 5. Hermione and Sirius from the Harry Potter series 6. Kaz and Inej from Six of Crows 7. Liesel from The Book Thief 8. Nancy Wake from Code Name Hélène (she was a real spy in WWII) 9. Morozko from the Winternight trilogy 10. Hedvig from The Snow Sister + Sidney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities I'm reading To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time (I'm from Hungary, and we didn't have to read it in school), and I absolutely agree with everything you said about Atticus Finch. He's such an amazing character. 😊
when I read comfort characters immediately I thought of Anne and Gilbert, and Nick and Charlie I adoreeeeeee them!!!! And you literally mentioned them! 😭😭😭 Gilbert is my big-time crush!!💕💕 I consider Anne as my kindred spirit, my bosom friend and sometimes I imagine myself as her haha (Also sometimes I imagine Emma can look like Anne if she had read hair) About Nick and Charlie, I just can't get over them.... I want more!! Also, Elizabeth and Darcy!! And omg Ove, I love that grumpy old man! Eleanor Oliphant is one of my comfort characters! And Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom!! After seeing this video, I am sure whatever book you recommend I am pretty sure I will enjoy it....
@@jmsl_910 Hi! I don't remember much... However, I liked how she dealt with everything... Having no friends and don't know how to be like to in social circumstances and dealing with her mother and subtly changing over time, taking care of people, changing herself etc... Seems like a big deal to me... If you read the book the progress won't look much as you are going through the book but when you complete and grasp the whole book together then you will understand how much she progressed and how good it was for her... Just like in real life, we do not understand tue changes we are going through in the present but when that is in the past you will feel like you havw come a long way....
i laughed out loud when you got to anna karenina but i totally see where youre coming from with levin. his anxiety was so real and relatable to me and ive never related so much to something as i did those three pages about mowing grass. i get so caught up in my head and always forget the joy of meaningful manual work, of moving your body, of collaborating with others. and i totally get you about atticus too. kind of a dilf. 😁 my personal comfort characters are actually almost entirely from ya/childrens novels because theyre characters ive grown up with. cimorene from dealing with dragons totally captures myself at 9. the one exception is pride and prejudice (which is still an old favorite) and i just cant choose one favorite character in an austen book because it's really the combined cast that makes it all so entertaining and real.
I highly recommend watching the Soviet War and Peace film series (1966-67) directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. It is truly one of the best epic movies ever made! These films are light years away from the American version...
Do you and Emma have a plan for the Game of Tomes reschedule? Not impatient, just don’t want to miss an announcement. Sorry if you said in this video - I haven’t had a chance to watch yet but I’m so happy you posted!! 😊
The Levin sections were my favourite parts in AK. I just started reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret today, after getting a bunch of Brian Selznick books in the mail and gushing over every page.
"The Count of Monte Cristo" is one of my favorite novels of all time. It's a heavy read, but it's sooo good. I can't wait for you and Emma to read it, because I'm really curious as to what you'll think of it!
"The adventures of Levin and Stiva" I would read that book! I can totally imagine Levin and Oblonski leaving the annoying third guy and running off together when they are out hunting!
Ugh you’ve finally convinced me to pick up the behemoths that are tolstoys novels. Pierre and Andrei are already comfort characters from the miniseries, and since nick and Charlie and Anne and Gilbert are such comfort characters for me I feel I have to follow your recommendations! Due for a to kill a mockingbird reread as well, that was an elementary school fave. A really bad example of a comfort character to protect may be pony boy? The outsiders wrecked me
if you are talking about anna katenina, i had the same hesitation. i half-listened & half read it--it went by so fast!! like i started AK on a friday afternoon & was finished by (very late) sunday night. it's a very engaging plot & tolstoy's writing style isn't at all what i expected. he writes crisp sentences & uses common vocabulary words. (unlike charles dickens) i read the translation by two people--which i really enjoyed. i tried AK years ago with the constance translation & stopped. i'm glad i gave another translation a try
@@jmsl_910 ok but talking about Charles dickens, Sydney carton is such a comfort character. Ok I definitely have to pick up Anna Karenina! I think I will try listening!
Well, I watched your video before Emmie's. 😀 You had me at "comfort". My comfort character is probably Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. Reliable, no surprises, solves all mysteries. Have a great reading week Carolyn. (BTW, I could have bet my bottom dollar on the feature of Anna Karenina-I laughed out loud). Thank you ! 💙
I’ve only read one Poirot novel, The Murder on the Orient Express, but I can definitely see how he could be a comfort character!! Thank you, you too! Oh my goodness hahaha You know me very well! 💖
Love this! Some characters I want to protect forever are Inej from Six of Crows, Reynie from the Mysterious Benedict Society, Vasya and Sasha from the Winternight trilogy, and Taran, Ffleudur, and Eilonwy from the Prydain Chronicles. 💖
I'm curious if you have ever read "Go Set A Watchman" by Harper Lee. Because I also LOVED Atticus Finch all through my childhood up until the day that I read "Go Set A Watchman".... and I didn't feel that it was the same character that was in the Mockingbird. It actually ripped my heart out because of it. I feel like the Atticus in Watchman is a complete 180 than the Atticus in Mockingbird.... I am wondering how you felt about it, or if it made a difference for you as well???
What a great topic for a video! I'm totally with you about Atticus Finch, but I also liked Scout very much! Come to think of it, although I'm in my 30s, my other comfort characters all are slightly immature (either teens or young adults), such as Holden Caulfield (I think he's the most significant one for me), Oskar (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, I have mixed feelings about this one, but yeah), Gilbert (from What's Eating Gilbert Grape) and, surprisingly, Scarlett O'Hara (Gone With the Wind).
Personally I have 3 fictional characters who are ideals for simulation in the life. These are Atticus Finch from To kill mockingbird by Harper Lee (his acting by Gregory Peck is amazing!), duke Leto Atreidis from Dune by Frank Herbert (his acting by Oscar Isaac the best, but Leto is boring in Dune by David Lynch) and Oras Bianshon from Human comedy by Honore de Balzac (nobody plays his in an adaptation).
Characters that are a a comfort are Jane Eyre, Anne/Diana/Gilbert, Sydney Carton, The Losers Club from IT, March Sisters, Scarlet/Cinder/Cress/Winter/Carswell Thorne/Prince Kai/Jacin from The Lunar Chronicles, Agnieszka from Uprooted, and Ceclia and Marco from The Night Circus.
Bigwig from Watership Down, Frodo from Lord of the Rings, Sara Crewe from A Little Princess, Robin Hood, King Arthur. By this, of course I mean simply characters that mean the most to me. If you're talking fictional crushes, Sara Crewe could stay but I'd have a slightly different take. ;-) Interestingly though I'd say Maid Marian was always my beau ideal of a fictional crush--to the extent that my mental image of her was always whatever girl I was currently interested in. Anne would be one as well. 🙂
I've read a lot of books this summer, but it seems that I am attached to books that have conflict and the characters are not so pleasant, or in pleasant situations. The conflict, whether personal, or situational, or its resolution, seems to be what draws me to the book. This leads to interesting characters, but not necessarily pleasant ones (eg. Ned Kelly of the notorious Kelly Gang). The best book I read this summer was The Code of the Woosters, but I wouldn't want to be any of the characters. I think you would love it.
My favorite book of all time is the count of monte Cristo. It made me cry multiple times though. Still love it all the same. My new favorite is half a soul by Olivia Atwater. I’m not sure I have comfort characters but I have comfort books like harry potter. And the Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones, lol I guess I’m into Heptalogies.
Levin is the best, and thank you for reminding me of Oblonsky, I had forgotten his name. You're right, Anna Karenina is about everything! Another comfort character for me is Andrius in Between shades of gray by Ruta Sepetys, and then there are some more from Dickens
I love Tao from heartstopper so much, I love all the characters but Tao is just my favorite. (I haven't read the graphic novel, I'm talking about the series).
my ultimate comfort characters are jane eyre and mr. rochester but, love, please read the count of monte cristo!! im 120ish pages in and its so incredible; im a beginner when it comes to classics & 1000+ pages is very intimating but it's worth it! :)
hmmm....maybe I never mentioned that to me Nick is the hero of War and Peace, but people are allowed to have (wrong) opinions. btw - the re-reading of W&P goes surprisingly fast - possibly because all of those names make sense the second time idk - nice to see you again!
@@kurtfox4944SPOILERS!!!!! Honestly, I've no idea who the translator is on my Kindle version. The first time I read it was one of the Penguin Classic edition, so is that Rosemary Edmonds? I don't really remember the name. Since then I've read it a few times, all with different translators, but I think the first was the best, but maybe that's psychological, idk. As for the hero, surviving is a pretty big deal, so that kind of eliminates Andrei, but also Andrei has the wrong temperament for a classic's hero. He's so severe, and tbh after what he went through with Natasha can you really accept him as a hero? Well, if you can, that's great for you, but as I just said, honestly that whole episode with her makes it very hard to take him seriously - like it or not that's just how I'm wired. And then there's Pierre, who has always come off as bit buffoonish to me, particularly when he uses numerology to realize his mission in life is to assassinate Napoleon Bonaparte. Then there's that awful first marriage... Plus, his second marriage, to Natasha, makes him look a little sheepish. Add to all that the adventures in the war, and there's the one scene which more than anything makes Nick the hero - his rescue of Maria during the peasant revolt. Also, Nickolai is driven by the need to do what's right, as a hero should, including making good on his father's debts (another character who appears a bit buffoonish IMHO), so, basically, that's why I like NIck as the hero of W&P.
@@jamesduggan7200 I like your assessment; great dialogue. For me, I did not think the book required a "hero". They all have their flaws. The scene you mention above is heroic, but for much of the book, Nikolai is so immature. In a sense, it is a coming-of-age story for Nikolai (which is realistic since the story spans the years whereby he is the prime character in the age range to grow from adolescent to adult), but it would be to simplistic to say that was the theme of the book, as you could posit many. I think many of the characters are fully realized and they all accumulate some (spiritual or emotional) growth, or at least change, which is part of the reason I like the book. It is not like some stories where the only character to grow is the main one. In short, a heroic scene but the book need not have an identified hero (if anything the book has an anti-hero, Napoleon).
@@kurtfox4944 Yes, I'd say you're right on both points. It doesn't need a hero and Nick grows into it. Nevertheless, I've alwys thought of him as the novel's hero and have had the Andrey/Pierre debate many times. I can understand being sympathetic to Andrey but he's also given to brooding. As for Pierre, he really has only one good scene - on the battlefield helping with the artillery - however apparently I underestimate how attractive he becomes as the relationship with Natasha deepens. tbh I can never forgive here for breaking Andrey's heart but then I don't really understand what it is to be a pretty teenager pushed into a marriage with an older man. I've always preferred the love relationship between Nick and Maria, which seems serendipitous and fortuitous at the same time, as if some all-powerful guiding hand brought them together to fulfill their destiny. And, yes, I too enjoy the chat - thx.
Here is a list of the characters I would protect at all costs, and they all come from the same book! Samuel, tom, and dessie Hamilton, Lee, and cal trask, and Cathy Ames, all from East of eden! oh what absolutely brilliant characters. I love them so dearly, and the fact that I love one of them is deeply concerning to me! if you know you know! The characters in east of eden I've mentioned above are perfection.
I always had mixed feelings about Stiva. On one hand, he's a great friend to Levin and people in general. He always wants to help and support. On the other hand, how he treats Dolly is horrible and how fast he seems to be over Anna's death felt kinda strange, too
Winnie the Pooh, Anne Shirley, and Boo Radley. In a crisis I break out my Little Golden Book collection. The Saggy Baggy Elephant and The Monster at the End of the Book are perfection.
The princess herself ❤. My comfort characters I would say is Jesus Christ and Moses. Jesus a man that cared for people. He has so much power and authority that he gives whoever believes in him the ability to overcome anything you’re dealing with. Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter because his mother place him in a basket when he was just a child so that he wouldn’t be killed by the Egyptians mandate. To fast forward a bit, Moses envisioned God as a burning bush. God wanted Moses to free the Israelites from Pharaoh’s bondage. Long story short, Moses followed everything that God told him to do and Moses was able to free the Israelites from Egypt.
Biblical ones for me would probably be Joseph (Jacobs youngest son who was sold as a slave by his own brothers and wrongfully imprisoned by his Egyptian master) and Jonah. (The prophet so terrefied of condemning the city of Ninive that he went the complete opposite way only too end up having to do it anyway after going through a storm, and being swallowed by a big fish!) I always have deep empathy with theese men when reading the scriptures.
@@GlennErikMathisen nice! Yeah, there’s so many passages in the Bible that brings comfort knowing that God will not leave us nor will He forget us. Great passages of scriptures you pointed out.
i love andrei . but it's nikolaj whom i feel so connected .i understand him . And pierre is basically home , he is the love which sustains every seasons . but andrei as much as i love him , he makes me so lonely . that''s why for me it's pierre and nikolaj .
this is pretty niche but when you mentioned atticus finch, my mind instantly went to that off book improv musical where the mock trial kids sing a ballad about atticus finch 😄it's around 12:10 th-cam.com/video/Ivf58k53nu0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ztUT5wax9wNCwTGq&t=730
Yes! He’s not the best husband 👀 but he’s a wonderful friend (especially to Levin) and he just makes me laugh! *this also might be due to the fact that Matthew Macfadyen plays him in the 2012 adaptation, and he’s an absolute gem*
You are pronouncing Anna (re: Anna Karenina) incorrectly. Tolstoy was Russian, so it’s pronounced: “On” as in “on the fence” and then “nuh.” a · nuh kr · i · nuh · nuh- Here is a video: th-cam.com/video/hk5iD1MoakY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=71kED4G4HEtTX35U You’re welcome - a Harvard graduate student of literature.
You’re my comfort character
🥹💖 ditto
Anna Karenina made me fall in love with the way a MAN talks about love and desire… never thought this day would come but here I am. I loved every part from levins POV because his love for kitty is present in all his thoughts and actions
1. Violet and Klaus from A Series of Unfortunate Events.
2. Tinman from Wizard of Oz
3. Harry Potter and Hermione
4. Frederick from Train to Impossible Places
5. Alice from Alice in Wonderland (my favorite book of all time)
6. Martha from Loves Comes Softly
Jane Eyre is my #1 comfort character. I totally agree with Anne and Gilbert and the Honeychurch bunch. Others: Antonia, Becky Sharpe in Vanity Fair, the little prince and Wilber, The March sisters, Oliver, Nicholas and Kate Nichelby and Cheri. I am 1/3 through with The Count of Monte Christo. The first section was riviting. Its going a little slower now. Still a long way to go but I am really enjoying it.
I loved the Stiva and Levin bromance too. It’s amazing how like-able Stiva becomes, after being introduced in the book as a cheater. He seemed superficial in many ways, but was always there for Levin when he was in a dark place.
I totally agree with you, Carolyn: Atticus Is a comfort character! He is such a loving father and lives by what he believes in. ❤ Something I found out within the first pages in Don Quijote is that he is such a dear character. I love him. ❤❤😊 Now, a very sweet and comfort character I’ve come accross: the Abbot Faria in The Count of Montecristo. I now is a big chunky book, but it reads so easily and is such a wonderful story that you won’t be able to put it down. It’s like a good friend telling you a beautiful story. 😊❤
Highly recommend you to read Black Beauty, one of my favorite comfort characters, it’s such a wonderful book!
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza is definitely a pick for me too! Such a wonderful friendship of two people who are absolute goofballs but also terribly compelling and complex.
My comfort character is Bilbo from the hobbit and the lord of the rings, i just love that little guy
I read To Kill A Mockingbird as a teenager and the inclusion of Boo Radley meant a lot to me. I always preferred to be alone, felt misunderstood, and never wanted to be noticed so it was shocking for me to relate to the hero for once.
Same!
I love that! 🥹📖💖
Yes me too!!
❤📚❤️...wonderful video!!! Anne of Green Gables a definite comfort character for me. I also, always and forever, love Jo in Little Women.
So glad you love Anne too💖 Oh, yes!!! Jo March is another kindred spirit ✨
Jo is the only one I really liked in _Little Women_ ; she's the only one with a spine and isn't a fop. I could not read Woolf's _A Room of Own's Own_ without thinking of Jo.
If someone is subscribed to your channel and Emmies, it’s almost impossible yo fight the urge to read classics. I did read classics years ago, but you two re-ignited that need to read all the classics! 😊
Love your list, Carolyn! I add Jo and Amy March from Little Women, Sara Crewe from A Little Princess and Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden to the list. ❤
I missed Ove when I finished the book. I agree about Frederik Backman - he writes humanity so well. I've read several of his books now, not just cried but sobbed.
I’m so glad you agree! Yes, me too 🥹
SPOILERS!!!! I didn't actually sob - in fact that's hard to even imagine but certainly my eyes welled up several times. However, what makes the novel really work IMO was the way it connects back to the opening scene. I mean you're wondering what's going to happen to this guy and his hook, or the train, and then you remember that the story starts in the present so pretty clearly he's going to survive. And then finally when he's finally found a new family he presents the little girl with the gift, and bang! we're right back at the first scene again. Without that circulatory reading experience I think maybe we've got a long short story. But back to crying, I think one scene really gets you is when you realize why there are rubber scuff marks on the floor.
Read White Bird! It’s a beautiful graphic novel of a young Jewish girl who befriends a classmate, Julian, who hides her during the war.
I love Julian!! Such a great comfort character and a warning that this book will make you cry!!!
I was a nanny for an eleven year who gave me this book one day years ago and basically just told me to read it because it’s important and it’s so good. And he’s right!!!!
Sometimes I fall in love with books for the prose or the ideas. Sometimes its the characters I enjoy so much. Thanks for sharing this handful of favorites.
I found you through your annotating video (I wanted to learn how to do it) but stayed for your passionate love of classics. I hated most of what I was made to read in school, so I never really wanted to read classics, but your love combined with me finding a classic for a dollar at my local library inspired me to pick up the original text of one of my favorite movies of all time: The Count of Monte Cristo. And I'm in love with it. I'm only 60 pages in but enjoying it so much. You have to finally pick it up if you haven't already even if it is a doorstopper. lol. It's so good.
loved the video, so wholesome!! for me, it would be charles wallace from a wrinkle in time (it's also my comfort book since middle school), finny from a separate peace, annie from joy in the morning by betty smith, francie and katie nolan from a tree grows in brooklyn by betty smith, willem from a little life, charlie from perks of being a wallflower, patroclus from the song of achilles, lettie hempstock from the ocean at the end of the lane, and william stoner (he has suffered a lot so it's not exactly comforting but i really cared about the character) from stoner by john williams
I keep checking out Hugo Cabret from the library but don't have time to read it... until now! It's on my nightstand right next to me and I'm going to start it as soon as I finish typing!
Anne and Gilbert, and even Diana, Matthew, Marilla... absolutely comfort characters! Charles Dickens is a comfort author for me. I've tried Don Quixote a few times but just can't get into it enough to stick with it for the whole long book, but I haven't given up yet.
Another great video!
To name just a few:
- Sarah from A Little Princess (my childhood favorite)
- The Herondale family from The Infernal Devices and The Dark Artifices series
- Scrooge from A Christmas Carol
- Jo and Amy March as well as Laurie from Little Women
- Sephy, Callie and Tobey from the Noughts and Crosses series
- Betty, Fraya, Lint, Trustin and Landon from Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
- Anne (of Green Gables) would be one of mine too
Lots of love ❤
I read betty earlier this year, and I have never cried so much while reading a book. I loved it to pieces!!
Love your list, specially Sarah from A Little Princess, and Jo, Amy and Laurie from Little Women. Oh, and Anne Shirley too!
@@michellesabrina127 I hear you! So beautiful and heartbreaking. I'm glad you enjoyed it too.
I loved Levin also! Also Chauncey from The House in the Cerulean Sea.Most of Dickens characters are my favorites. I still think Dickens writes the best characters. Love Anne and Gilbert too.
Pretty much any character from LOTR, but particularly Faramir. He's my comfort character, my one true literally love, and the captain I would happily die for.
I have a crush on Eomer. Lol
My (more than) top10 comfort characters are:
1. Anne, Gilbert and the Cuthberts from Anne of Green Gables
2. Monsieur Ibrahim from Monsieur Ibrahim and The Flowers of the Qur'an (highly recommend this to you)
3. Ove and Parvaneh from A Man Called Ove
4. Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings
5. Hermione and Sirius from the Harry Potter series
6. Kaz and Inej from Six of Crows
7. Liesel from The Book Thief
8. Nancy Wake from Code Name Hélène (she was a real spy in WWII)
9. Morozko from the Winternight trilogy
10. Hedvig from The Snow Sister
+ Sidney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities
I'm reading To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time (I'm from Hungary, and we didn't have to read it in school), and I absolutely agree with everything you said about Atticus Finch. He's such an amazing character. 😊
Aragorn💜
10:09 This makes me so happy I am taking A Room with a View on vacation! I’m so glad you love it and that you mentioned it in this video ❤
when I read comfort characters immediately I thought of Anne and Gilbert, and Nick and Charlie
I adoreeeeeee them!!!! And you literally mentioned them! 😭😭😭 Gilbert is my big-time crush!!💕💕
I consider Anne as my kindred spirit, my bosom friend and sometimes I imagine myself as her haha (Also sometimes I imagine Emma can look like Anne if she had read hair)
About Nick and Charlie, I just can't get over them.... I want more!!
Also, Elizabeth and Darcy!! And omg Ove, I love that grumpy old man!
Eleanor Oliphant is one of my comfort characters! And Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom!!
After seeing this video, I am sure whatever book you recommend I am pretty sure I will enjoy it....
eleanor disturbed me so much. please say more about what you loved about her. i think i need to re-read that book...
@@jmsl_910 Hi! I don't remember much... However, I liked how she dealt with everything... Having no friends and don't know how to be like to in social circumstances and dealing with her mother and subtly changing over time, taking care of people, changing herself etc... Seems like a big deal to me... If you read the book the progress won't look much as you are going through the book but when you complete and grasp the whole book together then you will understand how much she progressed and how good it was for her... Just like in real life, we do not understand tue changes we are going through in the present but when that is in the past you will feel like you havw come a long way....
Behemot, black cat from Master and Margarita.
i laughed out loud when you got to anna karenina but i totally see where youre coming from with levin. his anxiety was so real and relatable to me and ive never related so much to something as i did those three pages about mowing grass. i get so caught up in my head and always forget the joy of meaningful manual work, of moving your body, of collaborating with others. and i totally get you about atticus too. kind of a dilf. 😁 my personal comfort characters are actually almost entirely from ya/childrens novels because theyre characters ive grown up with. cimorene from dealing with dragons totally captures myself at 9. the one exception is pride and prejudice (which is still an old favorite) and i just cant choose one favorite character in an austen book because it's really the combined cast that makes it all so entertaining and real.
My comfort characters: Pip from Great Expectations, Werther from The Sorrows of Young Werther, and Victor Frankenstein from Frankenstein
Holden Caulfied is my comfort character
I highly recommend watching the Soviet War and Peace film series (1966-67) directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. It is truly one of the best epic movies ever made! These films are light years away from the American version...
Do you and Emma have a plan for the Game of Tomes reschedule? Not impatient, just don’t want to miss an announcement. Sorry if you said in this video - I haven’t had a chance to watch yet but I’m so happy you posted!! 😊
The Levin sections were my favourite parts in AK. I just started reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret today, after getting a bunch of Brian Selznick books in the mail and gushing over every page.
Mine to 😊 He’s simply the best!
Ahh that’s so exciting!!
"The Count of Monte Cristo" is one of my favorite novels of all time. It's a heavy read, but it's sooo good.
I can't wait for you and Emma to read it, because I'm really curious as to what you'll think of it!
Immediately thought of the March sisters
Yes, completely agree 💖
"The adventures of Levin and Stiva" I would read that book! I can totally imagine Levin and Oblonski leaving the annoying third guy and running off together when they are out hunting!
too funny! you should write it!! that would be epic🩵
@@jmsl_910 Yeah right! "Move over Leo. I think I have a better idea for this story..."
I don't think so. Fun to picture though 😉
Ugh you’ve finally convinced me to pick up the behemoths that are tolstoys novels. Pierre and Andrei are already comfort characters from the miniseries, and since nick and Charlie and Anne and Gilbert are such comfort characters for me I feel I have to follow your recommendations! Due for a to kill a mockingbird reread as well, that was an elementary school fave.
A really bad example of a comfort character to protect may be pony boy? The outsiders wrecked me
if you are talking about anna katenina, i had the same hesitation. i half-listened & half read it--it went by so fast!! like i started AK on a friday afternoon & was finished by (very late) sunday night. it's a very engaging plot & tolstoy's writing style isn't at all what i expected. he writes crisp sentences & uses common vocabulary words. (unlike charles dickens)
i read the translation by two people--which i really enjoyed. i tried AK years ago with the constance translation & stopped. i'm glad i gave another translation a try
@@jmsl_910 ok but talking about Charles dickens, Sydney carton is such a comfort character.
Ok I definitely have to pick up Anna Karenina! I think I will try listening!
@@jmsl_910 A guess, probably the P&V translation (Pevear and Volokhonsky), as they are renowned by many for their translations of Russian literature.
i love levin 🥹 he's just a little guy who loves the countryside
This video is a great idea ! Thank you ☺️
I think I see some Everyman's Library books in the background, I'd love to see a video on your collection and your thoughts!
I don’t have very many, but I’d love to do a video on my collection :)
Well, I watched your video before Emmie's. 😀 You had me at "comfort". My comfort character is probably Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. Reliable, no surprises, solves all mysteries. Have a great reading week Carolyn. (BTW, I could have bet my bottom dollar on the feature of Anna Karenina-I laughed out loud). Thank you ! 💙
I’ve only read one Poirot novel, The Murder on the Orient Express, but I can definitely see how he could be a comfort character!! Thank you, you too! Oh my goodness hahaha You know me very well! 💖
Love this! Some characters I want to protect forever are Inej from Six of Crows, Reynie from the Mysterious Benedict Society, Vasya and Sasha from the Winternight trilogy, and Taran, Ffleudur, and Eilonwy from the Prydain Chronicles. 💖
I'm curious if you have ever read "Go Set A Watchman" by Harper Lee. Because I also LOVED Atticus Finch all through my childhood up until the day that I read "Go Set A Watchman".... and I didn't feel that it was the same character that was in the Mockingbird. It actually ripped my heart out because of it. I feel like the Atticus in Watchman is a complete 180 than the Atticus in Mockingbird.... I am wondering how you felt about it, or if it made a difference for you as well???
Ah this is gonna be such a wholesome video 💕
😊💖
What a great topic for a video!
I'm totally with you about Atticus Finch, but I also liked Scout very much! Come to think of it, although I'm in my 30s, my other comfort characters all are slightly immature (either teens or young adults), such as Holden Caulfield (I think he's the most significant one for me), Oskar (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, I have mixed feelings about this one, but yeah), Gilbert (from What's Eating Gilbert Grape) and, surprisingly, Scarlett O'Hara (Gone With the Wind).
Personally I have 3 fictional characters who are ideals for simulation in the life. These are Atticus Finch from To kill mockingbird by Harper Lee (his acting by Gregory Peck is amazing!), duke Leto Atreidis from Dune by Frank Herbert (his acting by Oscar Isaac the best, but Leto is boring in Dune by David Lynch) and Oras Bianshon from Human comedy by Honore de Balzac (nobody plays his in an adaptation).
Characters that are a a comfort are Jane Eyre, Anne/Diana/Gilbert, Sydney Carton, The Losers Club from IT, March Sisters, Scarlet/Cinder/Cress/Winter/Carswell Thorne/Prince Kai/Jacin from The Lunar Chronicles, Agnieszka from Uprooted, and Ceclia and Marco from The Night Circus.
if anyone tries to touch Sam from LOTR or Atticus from To Kill a Mockingbird -- you have battle me first! love the video idea💕
Sam is the hero of the story
Bigwig from Watership Down, Frodo from Lord of the Rings, Sara Crewe from A Little Princess, Robin Hood, King Arthur. By this, of course I mean simply characters that mean the most to me. If you're talking fictional crushes, Sara Crewe could stay but I'd have a slightly different take. ;-) Interestingly though I'd say Maid Marian was always my beau ideal of a fictional crush--to the extent that my mental image of her was always whatever girl I was currently interested in. Anne would be one as well. 🙂
I've read a lot of books this summer, but it seems that I am attached to books that have conflict and the characters are not so pleasant, or in pleasant situations. The conflict, whether personal, or situational, or its resolution, seems to be what draws me to the book. This leads to interesting characters, but not necessarily pleasant ones (eg. Ned Kelly of the notorious Kelly Gang).
The best book I read this summer was The Code of the Woosters, but I wouldn't want to be any of the characters. I think you would love it.
My favorite book of all time is the count of monte Cristo. It made me cry multiple times though. Still love it all the same. My new favorite is half a soul by Olivia Atwater. I’m not sure I have comfort characters but I have comfort books like harry potter. And the Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones, lol I guess I’m into Heptalogies.
I loved Half a Soul
@@kimbarbeaureads glad to hear that, have you read the second book in the trilogy?
Levin is the best, and thank you for reminding me of Oblonsky, I had forgotten his name. You're right, Anna Karenina is about everything!
Another comfort character for me is Andrius in Between shades of gray by Ruta Sepetys, and then there are some more from Dickens
He is!! So glad you agree 😊
Ooo those are great choices!
I love Tao from heartstopper so much, I love all the characters but Tao is just my favorite. (I haven't read the graphic novel, I'm talking about the series).
You are my kindred spirit.
Mine are Veronica and Stoker from the Veronica Speedweel series and Sherlock Holmes and Watson (both from the books and from Elementary)
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
- Edmund Burke (often attributed to John F. Kennedy)
my ultimate comfort characters are jane eyre and mr. rochester but, love, please read the count of monte cristo!! im 120ish pages in and its so incredible; im a beginner when it comes to classics & 1000+ pages is very intimating but it's worth it! :)
Winnie the Pooh because he’s unconditionally kind. The Velveteen Rabbit because I’m trying to become Real.
Pooh was top of my list too
I would marry Atticua Finch right now, no lie. Also Anne and Gilbert forever!
My comfort characters are from Shakespeare, typically Hamlet and Othello, but also sometimes Henry V. Then there's Petruccio! Oh so many so many....
hmmm....maybe I never mentioned that to me Nick is the hero of War and Peace, but people are allowed to have (wrong) opinions. btw - the re-reading of W&P goes surprisingly fast - possibly because all of those names make sense the second time idk - nice to see you again!
I would be interested in knowing why you think Nikolai is the hero? (also which translation are you reading?)
@@kurtfox4944SPOILERS!!!!!
Honestly, I've no idea who the translator is on my Kindle version. The first time I read it was one of the Penguin Classic edition, so is that Rosemary Edmonds? I don't really remember the name. Since then I've read it a few times, all with different translators, but I think the first was the best, but maybe that's psychological, idk. As for the hero, surviving is a pretty big deal, so that kind of eliminates Andrei, but also Andrei has the wrong temperament for a classic's hero. He's so severe, and tbh after what he went through with Natasha can you really accept him as a hero? Well, if you can, that's great for you, but as I just said, honestly that whole episode with her makes it very hard to take him seriously - like it or not that's just how I'm wired. And then there's Pierre, who has always come off as bit buffoonish to me, particularly when he uses numerology to realize his mission in life is to assassinate Napoleon Bonaparte. Then there's that awful first marriage... Plus, his second marriage, to Natasha, makes him look a little sheepish. Add to all that the adventures in the war, and there's the one scene which more than anything makes Nick the hero - his rescue of Maria during the peasant revolt. Also, Nickolai is driven by the need to do what's right, as a hero should, including making good on his father's debts (another character who appears a bit buffoonish IMHO), so, basically, that's why I like NIck as the hero of W&P.
@@jamesduggan7200 I like your assessment; great dialogue. For me, I did not think the book required a "hero". They all have their flaws. The scene you mention above is heroic, but for much of the book, Nikolai is so immature. In a sense, it is a coming-of-age story for Nikolai (which is realistic since the story spans the years whereby he is the prime character in the age range to grow from adolescent to adult), but it would be to simplistic to say that was the theme of the book, as you could posit many. I think many of the characters are fully realized and they all accumulate some (spiritual or emotional) growth, or at least change, which is part of the reason I like the book. It is not like some stories where the only character to grow is the main one. In short, a heroic scene but the book need not have an identified hero (if anything the book has an anti-hero, Napoleon).
@@kurtfox4944 Yes, I'd say you're right on both points. It doesn't need a hero and Nick grows into it. Nevertheless, I've alwys thought of him as the novel's hero and have had the Andrey/Pierre debate many times. I can understand being sympathetic to Andrey but he's also given to brooding. As for Pierre, he really has only one good scene - on the battlefield helping with the artillery - however apparently I underestimate how attractive he becomes as the relationship with Natasha deepens. tbh I can never forgive here for breaking Andrey's heart but then I don't really understand what it is to be a pretty teenager pushed into a marriage with an older man. I've always preferred the love relationship between Nick and Maria, which seems serendipitous and fortuitous at the same time, as if some all-powerful guiding hand brought them together to fulfill their destiny. And, yes, I too enjoy the chat - thx.
Here is a list of the characters I would protect at all costs, and they all come from the same book! Samuel, tom, and dessie Hamilton, Lee, and cal trask, and Cathy Ames, all from East of eden! oh what absolutely brilliant characters. I love them so dearly, and the fact that I love one of them is deeply concerning to me! if you know you know! The characters in east of eden I've mentioned above are perfection.
You should try cole &sav our supported love story is just a great book and I’m sure you’re gonna make it
Anne 🧡
what about Benji from the Beartown series ?
I love anna karenina so much even though is an sad story but it's good book to read. The book will be my reread. Levin is my favorite character
Agnes Grey for me. Need to re-read Jane Eyre I think she could be another😁
I always had mixed feelings about Stiva. On one hand, he's a great friend to Levin and people in general. He always wants to help and support. On the other hand, how he treats Dolly is horrible and how fast he seems to be over Anna's death felt kinda strange, too
Ove would be #1 but also Miss Marple 1000% and I just recently read this book but Imogen from Imogen Obviously is also just a sweet lil angel.
Winnie the Pooh, Anne Shirley, and Boo Radley.
In a crisis I break out my Little Golden Book collection. The Saggy Baggy Elephant and The Monster at the End of the Book are perfection.
piranesi is my ultimate comfort character
Bardamu, journey to the end of the night
The princess herself ❤. My comfort characters I would say is Jesus Christ and Moses. Jesus a man that cared for people. He has so much power and authority that he gives whoever believes in him the ability to overcome anything you’re dealing with. Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter because his mother place him in a basket when he was just a child so that he wouldn’t be killed by the Egyptians mandate. To fast forward a bit, Moses envisioned God as a burning bush. God wanted Moses to free the Israelites from Pharaoh’s bondage. Long story short, Moses followed everything that God told him to do and Moses was able to free the Israelites from Egypt.
Biblical ones for me would probably be Joseph (Jacobs youngest son who was sold as a slave by his own brothers and wrongfully imprisoned by his Egyptian master) and Jonah. (The prophet so terrefied of condemning the city of Ninive that he went the complete opposite way only too end up having to do it anyway after going through a storm, and being swallowed by a big fish!) I always have deep empathy with theese men when reading the scriptures.
@@GlennErikMathisen nice! Yeah, there’s so many passages in the Bible that brings comfort knowing that God will not leave us nor will He forget us. Great passages of scriptures you pointed out.
I love Ruth and Peter.
@@kimbarbeaureads nice! Two great people with great character.
My comfort characters:
Edmond Dantes (the Count of Monte Cristo), and Maximilian Morrel.
i love andrei . but it's nikolaj whom i feel so connected .i understand him . And pierre is basically home , he is the love which sustains every seasons . but andrei as much as i love him , he makes me so lonely . that''s why for me it's pierre and nikolaj .
I completely understand what you mean! 😊📖✨
Anne of green gables and heartstopper yes! I need to read Anna karenina
Love to Kill A Mockingbird. Atticus my favorite of all.
I highly recommend watching the movie adaptation.
Anne of Greene Gables.
Heathcliff
Jane Erye
I'd say the Count of Monte Christo ❤
Oh and Artemis Fowl!
Howl and Sophie ❤
this is pretty niche but when you mentioned atticus finch, my mind instantly went to that off book improv musical where the mock trial kids sing a ballad about atticus finch 😄it's around 12:10 th-cam.com/video/Ivf58k53nu0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ztUT5wax9wNCwTGq&t=730
Emmie; and you posted vidoes at yhe same time 😅
I know 😆 friend telepathy hahaha
franny, from franny & zooey
The character whom I'd protect at all costs is Benji from Beartown.
Oh my GOODNESS! Yes!!
Oblonsky? I better read further in the book
Yes! He’s not the best husband 👀 but he’s a wonderful friend (especially to Levin) and he just makes me laugh! *this also might be due to the fact that Matthew Macfadyen plays him in the 2012 adaptation, and he’s an absolute gem*
You are pronouncing Anna (re: Anna Karenina) incorrectly. Tolstoy was Russian, so it’s pronounced: “On” as in “on the fence” and then “nuh.”
a
·
nuh
kr
·
i
·
nuh
·
nuh-
Here is a video: th-cam.com/video/hk5iD1MoakY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=71kED4G4HEtTX35U
You’re welcome - a Harvard graduate student of literature.