Content has been a little scarce here at BBB, mostly due to a HUGE book organizing project I've been doing.  It turned out beautifully, though, and I will definitely be sharing pictures in the near future.  In the meantime, I wanted to join the lovely ladies over at The Broke and Bookish in celebrating the third day of the week with my favorite bookish meme, Top Ten Tuesday.  This week's topic stumped me a little bit, but after some thinking I finally came up with this list of Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters:


1.  Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger (from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)—Yeah, yeah, I know these two are going to be on everyone's lists.  For good reason, though.  Harry could not have defeated Voldemort (time after time after time) without Ron's loyal aid and Hermione's brains and bravery.  They're both lovable, admirable characters.  The HP books simply would not be the same without them!


2.  Hagrid (from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)—HP's chock-full of memorable secondary characters, but Hagrid's one of my very favorites.  This gentle giant has just the right amount of gruffness, sensitivity and warmth.  Who doesn't love Hagrid?


3.  Samwise Gamgee (from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)—Another no-brainer.  Sam is a funny, kind and devoted friend to Frodo.  A perfect sidekick.


4.  Manchee (from the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness)—I usually don't like books that feature talking animals, but this series is a huge exception.  In the books, all living things can read each other's thoughts.  Therefore, Manchee the dog can "talk" to his master, Todd Hewitt.  The canine's thoughts are much simpler than those of the humans around him, but his personality and dogged loyalty to Todd comes out through his thoughts loud and clear.


5.  Willie Woodley (from Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys)—Willie, the no-nonsense owner of the French Quarter's most popular brothel, really shouldn't be such a lovable character.  She's bossy, she's crude, she's greedy and she makes her living from an industry most would agree is morally reprehensible.  So, why do readers lavish her with such fierce adoration?  It's because of her loyalty, her intelligence, and the way she protects Josie, even at her own peril.  Oh, yeah, and she's funny, too.


6.  Piper Williams (from the Alcatraz series by Gennifer Choldenko)—The always-scheming warden's daughter makes for a fun secondary character, especially considering what a stick-in-the-mud Moose Flanagan can be.  Piper confuses him so much that, in Al Capone Does My Homework, he says he likes her on the outside, just not so much on the inside.  Ha ha!  Piper's a great character.


7.  Roar (from the Under the Never Sky series by Veronica Rossi)—Everybody loves the fierce, but funny Roar.  His complete devotion to his friends (especially Liv) makes him the kind of character you wish you knew in real life.


8.  Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert (from the Anne of Green Gables books by L.M. Montgomery)—What's not to love about this down-to-earth brother and sister, who take in the indomitable Anne Shirley when no one else will?


9.  Templeton the rat (from Charlotte's Web by E.B. White)—I love irascible characters whose goodness hides under a gruff exterior, surprising even them when it reluctantly emerges.  Templeton's an excellent example.  Though he doesn't mind getting "paid" for his services, he'd do anything for Wilbur and Charlotte.


10.  Grammy (from The Lorax, 2012 feature film)—So, I know this is a film character, not a book character, but whatever—the film's based on a book, so that counts, right?  Anyway, I think this charming old lady is summed up perfectly by Audrey, who exclaims to Ted, "How cool is your grandma?"  So cool.  

Well, how'd I do?  Do you agree with my picks?  Which characters made your Top Ten list?

P.S.  Book images are from Barnes & Noble; other images were taken from Tumblr and other sites around the Web.

So, my second pick for the R.I.P. challenge was Gordon Dahlquist's The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters. I checked it out at the library today, without even reading the book jacket or the reviews. If I had noticed how many times reviewers used the words "sex" and "erotic," I probably would have stuck it right back on the shelf. I didn't notice, so I started reading...and gave up about 56 pages in. It's just not my cup of tea. Since there are so many great books out there, it's my policy not to read any that I don't like. Therefore, I'm officially abandoning this one. Instead, I'm going to read J.R.R. Tolkien's classic Lord of the Rings for the Peril the Second part of the R.I.P. challenge. It's weighty enough to take the place of The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it more.