Ah yes, another Monday. The excitement of the Christmas Holiday is upon us. Now that we both have a few days off work, we must cram in all of our Christmas shopping.
The need to shop for gifts for others outweighs the need to stay home and read. But, oh, how I will miss reading. And, my only thought besides finding the right gift for the people on my list is how will I survive the next few days without a book in hand?
Shopping for books, for others, will have to suffice for now. I've long enjoyed giving and receiving the gift of books. Books make great gifts and so do items related to books
Before I head out I want to contribute to a round of my favorite tropes. There are certain plot points that I've become partial to.
Who is the True Monster and What Actions are Cruel?
I’m a huge fan of who is the true monster stories. In fact, these are generally my favorite types of characters, and I tend to like those that are in hiding. You know what I mean, whereas we read and see how the character gets to bloom. I think that is because when I was a child I was greatly bored by the perfect prince heroes. Instead, I was more drawn to the disfigured musical genius who lives beneath the Paris Opéra House and the product of the mad scientist in the Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.
The Gruff Older Character Whose Life is Changed by a Precocious Child
Yes! I am a huge fan of these stories. I think because I am drawn to cantankerous and quirky characters. I mean, they seem more interesting to me, and I like a plot where we get to see people slowly change for the better. A couple of good examples of this that I appreciate are Ebenezer Scrooge as visions of Tiny Tim lead Scrooge to improve his ways or Marilla Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables as we see how Marilla softens once Shirley enters her life.
Characters Showcasing their Skills in a Competitive Setting
I guess you could say I like a competitive setting where the outcome is heart-touching in a silly type of way. Like throwing of the flags in Under the Tuscan Sun. Where a young Pablo competes in the flag-throwing contest in Cortona to show he's worthy of marrying his love. Pablo participates in this culturally rich tradition but all doesn't go as well as anticipated! If you've already read the book then you'll want to check out this link to the movie. Pablo's actions remind me of my husband. He will attempt to do something wonderfully romantic and most of the time it comes across as more comical.
Oh, She's Gone to the Birds
I blame Poe and Hitchcock for this but I often like books where the protagonists have a bird at his side and/or occasionally a skull and crossbones nearby. You can find the best of Poe here. And the movie 'The Bird's' here.
Friends-to-Lovers
