Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Favorite Minor Characters



10. Mma Makutsi in
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series

Mma Makutsi scored an astounding 97% at
Botswana Secretarial College,
but she longs to be more than just a secretary
at a detective agency.



9. The Little Seamstress
from Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Luo finds a stash of illegal classical novels
during Mao's Cultural Revolution
and shares them with an uneducated tailor's daughter,
changing the lives of everyone in the story.


8. Manny Rat, Muskrat, and C. Serpetina from 
The Mouse and His Child

Lots of wonderful minor characters in this
classic story of a mouse and his son
who seek to find a way to
become self-winding.


7. The Family and the Animals from
My Family and Other Animals
by Gerald Durrell

Who is zanier? Durrell's family
or the animals they take on as pets
during the five years they live
on a Greek island.


6. Julia from
Julie and Julia

You get to know Julia Child
quite well as Julie
attempts to cook something every day from
Child's brilliant Mastering the Art
of French Cooking.


5. The Dead Wife from
The Photograph

His wife is long dead,
yet she becomes a fascinating character
in this novel about how a man's
perception of his wife changes
upon discovering an old photograph of her.


4. The Office from
Then We Came to the End

Like many good books,
the setting becomes a strong
minor character in this novel that tells the story of
the struggles of a group of people
in an anonymous office
that is having great troubles of its own.


3. Ludo from
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont

Mrs. Palfrey moves down in life
to live at the once-reputable Claremont.
She meets a young struggling writer
who brightens her bleak life.



2. Turtle Wexler,
 Flora Baumbach, Christos Theodorakis, Denton Deere,
Denton Deere, J.J. Ford, Alexander McSouthers,
Grace Wexler, James Hoo, Berthe Erica Crowe,
Otis Amber, Douglas Hoo, Theo Theodorakis,
Sydelle Pulaski, Angela Wexler, Sandy Hoo, Jake Wexler
from The Westing Game
 
Sixteen potential heirs try to solve the mystery of
who killed Samuel Westing.

 

1. Lula, Ranger, and Grandma Mazur in
the Stephanie Plum mystery series

You just have to love these
ridiculous minor characters
in this little mystery series.




Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

26 comments:

  1. Of Course , I loved Ludo in Mrs Palfrey, I ended up buying the film lol . Loved the film Julie and Julia also. :) Thanks for stopping by The Phantom Paragrapher .

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  2. I always look forward to your top ten lists because they are always so well thought out. Of course, they always make me think that I didn't think mine out long enough.

    Belle

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  3. I never got around to reading the books, but I watched the TV series of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and loved it. Anika Noni Rose played Makutsi and she was brilliant. Great list!

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  4. That is a great list! I loved Turtle so much from the Westing Game that I once had a dog named Turtle. I also love the minor characters in the Plum series- I'm getting a little annoyed with the series as time goes by, but I always look forward to Grandma and Lula. :)

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  5. I've never read any of these books (I have heard of a couple though) but some of them sound really interesting, especially Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress and The photograph. I'll be adding them to my TBR list!

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  6. Great choices. I particularly like Mma Makutsi--wish I'd thought of her. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is on my TBR list, so I'm looking forward to seeing whether I agree with you here as well.

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  7. I love all the characters from The Westing Game too! I think Jake Wexler is my favorite, though I do love Sandy! And Grandma Mazur just cracks me up. I love it when she tries to open a casket. Good list.

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  8. Goodness your list looks really great! I have definitely missed out on some good books! Thanks for the list! New follower!

    -Em
    http://sashandem.blogspot.com/

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  9. It's interesting that you included a setting as a minor character and I agree with your reasons for doing so.

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  10. The only book I've read on your list is The Westing Game and unfortunately, I don't remember the characters individually enough to choose any one of them for my list. But, I do remember enjoying that book and enjoying the characters as well.

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  11. Fabulous list as ever Debbie. I'm not sure how you manage to come up with such a wonderful, eclectic list every week, it indicates a lifetime of fine reading I'm sure.

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  12. The Westing Game is one of my favorite books from when I was a kid and I'm so happy to see that someone included it on their list. :)

    Also, I've never read Julia and Julia but I saw the movie and I found Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia to be funny, touching, and just plain amazing. Julie, on the other hand, seemed to be an obnoxious, selfish woman and I didn't like her at all. I'm hoping the real woman isn't as unlikable.

    Great list!

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  13. You have some diverse and creative choices listed as always. Looking forward to checking out some of these books. Lovely choices.

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  14. Love that you chose Mma Makutsi! I love that series and she is one of my favorite characters!

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  15. I would never expect the Cultural Revolution to be the setting of a children's story, but life is filled with little surprises!

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  16. Excellent list, Debbie. I loved The Photograph by Penelope Lively when I read it a while back. It's kind of a depressing book, but depressing in a good way. If you know what I mean. I couldn't put it down.

    I also enjoyed reading the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. Gerald Durrell has always been a favorite of mine as well. Loved reading your list.

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  17. I've only read one McCall Smith book (I'm afraid it's not my thing...) and it's been a looooonnnnng time since I've read the Westing Game--that's one that I enjoyed with my son. The rest are all new to me.

    Here are my choices: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2011/05/top-ten-tuesday-minor-characters.html

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  18. Great List of Minor Characters! Thanks for stopping by my blog :)

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  19. You write the best top ten lists. Seriously.

    Mme Makusi is an inspired choice, as is anything from Then We Came to the End. Now I have to investigate some of your other books (the Penelope Lively comes to mind) because of other books here that I've read and enjoyed, like The Westing Game and Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont. I was a little worried about Ludo, that he wouldn't be kind to Mrs Palfrey, but he was great.

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  20. Fantastic list!

    It would never have occurred to me to include a setting as a minor character, but the more I think about it, the more I agree with you. Sometimes a setting contributes more to a story than a conventional character ever could.

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  21. I haven't read any of these books! But there are a few that I'm looking forward to reading :)

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  22. It does sound a little crazy to think of a setting as a character.

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  23. Wow, I haven't read any of these books, but some do look interesting! Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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