Strong? How about Interesting?

I have to admit that I wasn't very concerned with this until very recently. I wasn't concerned with the fact that I was being influenced by those around me to think a certain way and from birth. I was taught by the media and movies and books that men were good protagonists and women either had to be side characters or “strong” female leads. When I was younger I used to see these feminist debates about female characters needing to be a necessity and that there were far too few of them to go around.  I promptly decided then that I didn't care and went back to reading novels with male leads because they were more interesting and female leads tended to whine a lot.

 When I was little I got into science fiction and fantasy. I would watch Star Trek with my dad and when Lord of the Rings came out I almost lost my mind. But even when these female characters were there right in front of me I didn't see them for what they were. I tend to think back now and wonder why I never looked up to these characters, like Eowyn and Arwen? I wonder why I didn't see them and want to be just like them. Eowyn is a total badass, she was the only one to fight and kill the witch king. Yes, they were strong characters, but what is the point of a strong character if they aren't interesting?

More recently there is Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, Mother of Dragons and Breaker of chains from the George R.R Martin series A Song of Ice and Fire, or a series more commonly known as Game of Thrones.  She’s a character that people can look up to. She went from being a scared little girl to one of the most powerful women across the Narrow Sea.  Not only is she a strong character but she is incredibly interesting as well. She is not always this hard and callous woman, she has genuine emotions of fear and desperation and she is passionate about what she believes in. These are things that make dynamic and interesting well rounded complex characters. These are the types of female characters that should be accepted.

I want to bring up one more character that is not from a book, but from a video game. Her name is Ellie and she is sarcastic and headstrong fourteen year old. I read an article a while back about how Ellie wasn't a good example of a “strong” female character. I’m sorry I don’t remember the name of the article or where I found it. I think it was fan made. The person’s entire basis for this opinion was a scene in the middle of the game where she had a break down. She started crying and suddenly she isn’t what the audience thought she was.

For one thing, how does crying make a person weak? In Ellie’s defense she had just been through an incredibly hard situation where she was almost murdered, and I thought that she had an appropriate response. When finally being safe after an incredibly dangerous situation it is okay to have a moment of release. However, because she is showing this hysterical side of herself she was automatically deemed weak.  

I really don't like the term “Strong Female Character”. It gives the impression that if a female character isn't made of stone and doesn’t have real emotions then they aren't strong as well. So let me tell you what makes an interesting character. A character who cries and a character who gets angry, a character who is sarcastic and witty, even a character that lets their emotions get in the way of their reasonable thinking.

I don’t want a strong female character, I want an interesting one! 

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

If you like the urban fantasy genre, you're going to love this one!

I started reading this series when I was sixteen (I checked it out from the library the day I pretended to be sick so I wouldn't have to go to All-Region band…..yeah probably sixteen.) It sounded silly of course, a skeleton detective who was also a sorcerer, but I checked it out anyway. I fell in love with the characters immediately. Wit and sarcasm are two attributes that I hold in high esteem and these characters were full of it. Derek Landy’s writing style is, well, you know when people say reading a book is like watching a movie in your head.  These books are cinematically ready. Seriously, they could go from book to screen immediately. The fight scenes alone are brilliant, I could see every move these characters make and it is amazing.

Short description:

Twelve year old Stephanie Edgley inherits her Uncle's estate and is attacked on her first visit to the property alone. A mysterious skeleton detective, Skulduggery Pleasant, swiftly comes to her rescue. He explains that he thinks her uncle was murdered and that she may soon follow him they join forces and set off to solve the crime in a series of adventures that take them into a world filled with ancient evil creatures, including Nefarian Serpine, who seeks the Scepter of the Ancients and the infinite power it will bring him.

And that is just the first book.

If you can't tell by now the Skulduggery Pleasant series is one of my absolute favorites! As I said before the characters are phenomenal and funny beyond reason. It would be hard to choose a favorite; however I can, so I will. His name is Billy- Ray Sanguine and he is an assassin from Texas (Hey, that’s where I’m from!), or as he likes to put it an hitman deluxe. He’s just your typical psychopath with a bit of charm and no eyes.  Although, I do have a soft spot for Spring-Heeled Jack.

Is it bad that I that my favorite characters are technically villains? Does that say something about me?

This time around I’m not going to talk about specific events that take place within this series. I don’t want to spoil anything. I want you to read it because it is so incredibly beautiful. (Beautiful?) Nope not taking that back, it is beautiful. All eight books and the novellas!
The ninth book and final installment come out this fall.

As an aspiring writer of sci-fi/ fantasy these books have really encouraged my efforts. Reading these books opened my eyes to the fact that not all great books have to be hard faced and serious. (Get it hard faced… Hard back covers… okay I'll stop with the puns.)  I don't want to be sappy but these books changed my life.

Unfortunately these books aren't very popular in the states so the publishers here are way behind. Only the first couple of books are available in the U.S. Because of this I have had to order most of these books from a bookshop in Ireland. 

Shout out to Kenny’s Books in Galway, Ireland!

Kenny’s has free shipping worldwide and the prices are incredibly reasonable, and if an issue arises, which it most likely won't, they really make an effort to work with their customers. 
Here is a link to the website. http://www.kennys.ie/

Anyway, I'll end this.

These books are fantastic, and if you're looking for a series to become unintentionally obsessed with this is the one. You'll laugh out loud, you’ll cry hysterically, you will lose your mind, but hey, it’s worth it. 

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger

I'm not going to lie; I don't see what all of the fuss is about.

I get it he’s troubled by his past and he’s using a defense mechanism in order to keep himself from having to live an actual life. I get it, the reason he acted the way he did was because it was a coping device for the loss of his younger brother, but even his sister, who was ten years old, was able to see how destructive and nonsensical Holden’s behavior had become.

Our main character, Holden Caulfield (I suppose I should have introduced him more clearly) is a teenage with a tortured soul.  He hates the people around him because they are all “phonies”. He thinks that if they enjoy anything or if they have an opinion on something that is different from his own then they are being fake. Basically he is simply a regular teenage boy with a bad attitude. My problem with him is that he does nothing to try and make his life better.

For example, he flunks out of his prep school and he doesn't even really seem to care. When his history teacher Mr. Spencer tries to shake him out of his apathy all Holden can do is wonder how fast he can get out of this man’s house and why he is pretending he cares. The only reason I can find for this is that Holden doesn’t want to be helped. He wants to keep living with no responsibilities. He doesn't want to grow up.

Maybe he feels guilty for Allie’s death. Not maybe, he does feel guilty for it. So if Allie won’t get the chance to grow up then he shouldn't either.

Saying this I should also add that I don't have any sympathy for the guy. I understand why he feels the way he does, however, as I said before he doesn’t do anything to make it better. Even by the end of the book when he finishes telling us the story of how he got to the mental institution he still isn't sure if he wants to do anything to better himself. He keeps on feeling sorry for himself.

I can't stand it.

If I had to rate this book on a scale of 1 to 5, I would have to give it a 2.

If I want to listen to teenagers complaining I'll start eavesdropping at the mall.

Please don't make me go to the mall… 

Hi There Neighbor

Hello!

My name is Emily Docktor and I am a senior in college. I am an English major so you can imagine that most of what I write will be related to books and/or literature in general. But there is a large chance that I will get side tracked on topics I find necessary to comment on.  I love sci-fi and fantasy novels as well as some young adult fiction. I like classic literature as well; however, I don't read it as often as I do other genres.

So get ready, I'll be back soon with my opinions on books, movies, possibly videogames, and maybe even role models in literature.

Yeah, this is going to be fun.