TTT: Books too precious to touch

Top Ten Tuesdays was created by The Broke and Bookish, but is now hosted weekly by That Artsy Reader Girl and anyone is free to participate! This week’s topic is page to books too precious to touch. I don’t collect books for personal reasons, and my library is not super big because I like having a small personal collection. The only books I hold dearly are the books I have signed by my favorite author, but I still lend them out. All this being said, I don’t own any books I wouldn’t let anyone touch. I want to own books so that my children can read them and other people can lend them out (though I would appreciate some courtesy when my friends and family read them), so this topic is a little moot for me. So instead of books, I’m going with characters that are too precious to touch

I think there’s a lot of characters that are so amazing, but I also am really protective of some characters because people tend to judge them too harshly because they think they’re “not serious enough” or their behavior “is stupid”. So I definitely have characters I like people to think a little more critically about, and not just take at face value. As readers and people two tend to think deeply about their characters, I think we’re all guilty of taking attacks at our favorite characters personally. And on the other end of the spectrum, are equally as guilty of judging someone else’s favorite too quickly. So let me know if you have any characters like that, I’m always looking for more unique perspectives on characters that add depth. Alright, let’s go!

• Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones (the TV show)
  SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES (highlight to read—it’s in white text) BUTTTTTTT… I flipping love Sansa. She’s the first person on this list just because I just finished the entire series (I can finally get back on the Internet HUZZAH). She is such a strong character, and I think she’s also a poster child for characters who are simplified and judged at face value—this all in combination with sexism too. Particularly in the early seasons. I mean yes, she wants to be queen and blindly follows and is too trusting, but I think EVERYONE forgets or ignores the fact that she was a CHILD at this time. She doesn’t have to be anyone, and even if she just wants to be queen everyone just dumps on her because “oh she’s a silly little girl, and is so stupid”. I get so fired up when people blame Sansa for what happened to her and how she reacted. PROTECT SANSA QUEEN OF THE NORTH FOREVER.
• Harry Potter from The Order of the Pheonix by J.K. Rowling
  
  I feel really strongly about this, and I apologize because I’m sure I’ve included or talked about Harry Potter in the fifth book on this blog very recently. But it really kind of pushes my buttons when people complain about him being “whiney” in the 5th book. He’s a little… hard to understand. But considering the events at the end of the 4th book (and the 5th picks up right after the 4th ends), it’s totally understandable. Harry is clearly suffering from PTSD and/or depression but people just complain that he’s angsty and being a teenager… Um no he was just held hostage and watched a friend of his be murdered. Of course his behavior isn’t going to be up to our A+ standards. I just really think people should think about that before complaining that he’s annoying.
• Lara Jean from To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
  
  People always complain about Lara Jean being naive and so young. But I don’t see that as a bad thing. I mean she’s a little naive in some ways, but also very wise in a lot of ways. The writing of the book reflects and suggests what we read is exactly how Lara Jean thinks, and I love that about the book. There’s a a kind of humble joy in Lara Jean that I think is void of so many characters. Lara Jean is also one of subtle and quiet strength, she’s quite resilient and though people don’t think of this book as feminist, I think Lara Jean is a great example of feminism, especially because she has always respected herself and done what’s best for her. She has a healthy amount of skepticism, but is also willing to forgive people. Overall she’s much more complex than a “silly girl who just likes to bake”.
• Lydia Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  
  So many people love to hate Lydia Bennet (I know I use to be one of them). I was chatting with my good friend Jessica a few weeks ago about Lydia and she totally changed my perspective on Lydia Bennet. I detailed it a lot in a discussion post, but it kind of boils down to the fact that we on some level believe Lydia got what she deserved when she ended up with Wickham, which is absolutely not true. It also leads back to new age feminism. Like we give more slack to girls and women who are strong and independent; who pull themselves out of their own situations and “earn the respect of the men and equality they deserve.” But that’s the thing with feminism; you don’t have to do anything or be anything to deserve respect and equality. You just automatically get it because you’re a human, and Lydia deserves more of that.