Favorite Female Characters

One aspect of the "bookstagram" community (i.e. those who have Instagram accounts dedicated to books) that I've really enjoyed since bringing Top Shelf Text to Instagram has been the "tags" that go around. People are really creative in coming up with unique tags that prompt you to show off your book collection in new ways. Essentially, you get tagged by another account, which then challenges you to take a picture of specific books. For example, I've participated in tags to show the 20th book on my shelf, a book with a unique cover page, and to show a rainbow of books. One of the tags that I recently participated in was for your pick of top five female characters, and boy was it tough to decide.

Here are the #topfivefemalecharacters that I shared on Instagram (in no particular order):

1. Miss Penelope Lumley, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place

"...in Miss Penelope Lumley's day, it was universally understood that there is nothing like a nice cup of tea to settle one's nerves in the aftermath of an adventure-- a practice many would find well worth reviving." - The Hidden Gallery

2. Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice

"Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can." 

3. Daenerys Targaryen, Game of Thrones

"I am the blood of the dragon. Do not presume to teach me lessons." - A Dance with Dragons

4. Hermione Granger, Harry Potter

"I've learned all our course books by heart, of course." -Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

5. Madeline, Madeline

"To the tiger in the zoo, Madeline just said 'Pooh-Pooh.'"

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Disclaimer: I cherish these characters, but it's hard for me to say that they are absolute top five in all of the books that I've ever read. Because let's be honest, that's a lot of books, and five isn't a big number. I can think of a bunch more character that I truly admire (a post for another day, perhaps?), and I love that we, as readers, can draw inspiration from characters of all ages in all different seasons of our lives.

Do you have a few favorite female characters?

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P.S. I'll be taking next week off from the blog while I finish up two of my summer courses (it feels like finals right now), so check back the following week for some new reviews. I have been reading up a storm and can't wait to share with you all!

Happy Reading!

-Madeleine-