TOP TEN TUESDAY | CHARACTERS I’D FOLLOW ON TWITTER

I follow a lot of people on Twitter, so many that I have no idea anymore who, exactly, I’m following. But there are always a few accounts that stand out. That either inspire me, inform me or just make me feel like fuck, yeah, you get it. You know what I’m talking about. We could be friends. These are my favourites. Sometimes I am lucky and can engage in a back and forth with them, but I’m also perfectly happy to just stand back and take it in. Picking literary characters who would fit into this coveted last category is difficult, because who someone is in person is usually not who they are online. Often it’s the quiet ones who are hiding that razor-sharp wit. But I think, possibly, I’d enjoy these ones:

Augustus Waters from The Fault In Our Stars by John Green because he’s smart, irreverent and damn funny. There’s also an undercurrent of life experience (especially for a teenager) that gives weight to his thoughts and no small amount of compassion.

There are several characters in Jonathan Tropper’s This Is Where I Leave You that I would definitely follow. Even the asshole character would probably be good for a laugh (though I’d also probably unfollow him inside a week).

Hermione Granger because of course. Of course. There couldn’t be a list like this without her on it. She might not be big on humour, but she’s smart, knows a lot of stuff, and would be a treasure trove of magical knowledge. Next best thing to going to Hogwarts.

Karen the keyboardist from Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones and the Six. She was the character I thought would translate best to real life. But she was also a female drummer in a time when women were overlooked and underestimated, and she had to be constantly aware of how her actions could affect her career. She couldn’t get away with the behaviour of the other band members, and she had to weigh up what she wanted in the moment against what it could do to her long-term goals. I think she would be an inspiring female role model.

Bri and Starr from Angie Thomas’ books On the Come Up and The Hate U Give. They are both such strong, independent, smart and kickass characters. Very different, but equally followable.

Agatha Raisin from the M.C. Beaton mystery series. I’m not sure how long I’d follow her for, because the drama and self-involvement might get a bit wearing, but I’d definitely give her a try!

This one is a bit of a cheat as it’s an author who wrote memoirs, but Shirley Jackson is someone I would have loved to follow on Twitter, particularly if such a thing had existed when her kids were young. I think there would have been so much relatable and hilarious #momlife content!

Veronica Mars from the self-titled book series, TV show and movie. It’s a whole thing. She’s such a savvy, smart, take-no-nonsense character, and one of the strongest female role models out there.

Mark Watney from The Martian. I mean the book is mostly just him, alone, on a desolate planet trying not to die. And it was immensely entertaining. So he would crush Twitter.

The Queen from The Uncommon Reader. Post-book (I can’t tell you why without spoilers, but that’s an important qualifier as it would make a huge difference to what she could say!) I’d follow her for insights on books she was reading, what she’s learning from her reading experience about human nature and what it’s like balancing public life with a literary obsession.

This was a hard one! What did you guys come up with? I feel like I’m missing some very obvious ones!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.