Jun 6, 2021
Literary Characters
Who are some of your favorite literary characters, and why?
I’ll go first:
~~ Amy Elliott Dunne (Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn) ~~
👱♀️ Amy’s internal monologue is wicked and acerbic and yet also, somehow, totally endearing. Gillian Flynn is the master of dark humor, and Gone Girl is one of my favorite contemporary books. (Also a great film adaptation by David Fincher. Approve.)
~~ Yossarian (Catch-22 by Joseph Heller) ~~
I’ve long been saying that Catch-22 is my “favorite book,” but to be fair it’s been awhile since I’ve reread it, and in my experience that doesn’t always go so well (Tom Robbins, I’m lookin’ at you. 🤨) Here’s another darkly comic book, which I have a special fondness for because: this was one of the first books I read for pleasure after 9 years of required school reading… AND, Yossarian always reminded me of my high school boyfriend, who was also tall and horny and of Middle Eastern descent. I totally understood why that nurse took up with him.
~~ Lisbeth Salander (Stieg Larsson’s Dragon Tattoo books) ~~
🐉 Sure, whatever, I’m basic, but Lisbeth is a badass and I will fight anyone who disagrees with me. (Hey, ANOTHER good Fincher adaptation! New theory: David Fincher is really good at adaptations. See also: Fight Club; Mindhunter.)
~~ The Bronx (N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became) ~~
This is the recency effect; I only read this book last year. But it’s an AMAZING book for many reasons—it’s written in the present tense; it’s a modern-day sci-fi fantasy with Lovecraftian influence(?); and I guess I never got around to reviewing for y’all. Probably because I was stymied and didn’t feel up to the task. Anyway, The Bronx was my favorite. I don’t want to say anything else because it will spoil it. 😉
Ask me next week and I’ll have a whole different list for you.
Who are your faves? Let’s 👏🏻talk 👏🏾about 👏🏻books!👏🏿
(and next time we can talk about our favorite TV characters. I missed my calling as a critic.)
🤓🤓🤓
About Sam
Samantha Pollack is a Copywriter & Creative Director who works with ethically minded, mission driven businesses who are actively trying to reshape our culture (and possibly tear down the patriarchy). She’s also the founder of The Highly Sensitive Business Owner, a 12-week online program that helps HSPs & neurodivergent business owners create healthier, more sustainable systems in their work.
Sam also writes about feminism, privilege, pop culture, entrepreneurship, the creative process, and whatever else is on her mind. She currently lives in Asheville, NC.
Emails for cult thought leaders.
(Personality included.)
Want to learn how to craft emails that inspire action and engagement WITHOUT the “tried and true” (cough: patriarchal) norms we’ve all been taught?
I’m doing it, and I can show you how to do it, too.
(But sometimes, I also like to write about the books I’m reading, or the creative process, or the entrepreneurial experience, or why I hate Steve Jobs, or how I met my BFF. I’ll send you emails like that, too.)
*Just kidding. It’s only an email list.
Books. Cats. Rants. Drawrings.
(and every couple months or so, an unexplained absence 🤷🏻)
