Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl, provides prompts each week inspiring bloggers to create lists based on the week’s topic. This Tuesday’s prompt, submitted by Hannah, curator of Books, Life and Other Oddities, is to identify character traits beloved by each participant.

I love a good villain! DEVIOUSNESS is definitely a favorite character quality of mine! Among my favorite bad guys are Victor Vale from V.E. Schwab’s Vicious and Draco Malfoy of author J.K. Rowling’s world centering around beloved character Harry Potter. I think I enjoy villainous behavior because I couldn’t imagine doing the things the antagonists do!

CLEVERNESS is another trait I covet with regards to fictional characters. Amateur detectives, like Nancy Drew and those starring in cozy mysteries, immediately come to mind. It fascinates me how protagonists in mysteries are able to solve cases, even without the help of authorities.

In my eyes, BRASHNESS, SARCASM, and HUMOR go hand in hand – is that the right saying?! LOL! Anyway, female characters who possess the aforementioned traits I find to be very entertaining.

The classic UNDERDOG is whom I generally root for – hell, doesn’t everyone? LOL! Even if the character doesn’t experience a happy ending, I still can empathize with him or her. I’m sure we’ve all been the underdog at some point in our lives; I know I have. Characters who defy the fictional odds and lose rather than win in books are so REAL.

Claudia Kishi of The Baby-sitters Club fame has so much original STYLE, which is so inspiring. She is truly her own person and comfortable in her own skin. CONFIDENCE also fits well here.

ALOOFNESS is another trait I like for characters, whether male or female, to possess. Perhaps I am partial to reading about this particular aspect of a character’s personality because I can relate, as I was very aloof while growing up, probably due to intense shyness and anxiety.

I grew up participating in nearly every sport imaginable and still dabble a bit in athletic competition. Therefore, I enjoy ATHLETICISM in a character. The books that first come to mind are Abbi Glines’ Field Party series as well as the Hundred Oaks series by Miranda Kenneally. I’m currently enjoying Glines’ Until Friday Night and loved Kenneally’s Catching Jordan.

Characters who are BOOKWORMS are also fun to read about; I can quite obviously relate to them! I love books about books, regardless of genre! I also adore when authors include real books within their stories.

MAGIC is always fun to read about, in any form – alchemy, special powers, wands, coolness. I really enjoy the magical aspects of Feyre in A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. I also love fairy tales and most of the retellings I’ve read – they, quite naturally, involve magic in some form.

I’m SOUTHERN and I really enjoy reading about fictional southern characters, who are genuinely well-written, developed, and not made to seem like hicks. We may speak with a different dialect and accent than do those in other parts of the country, but we’re not ignorant. I simply appreciate true depictions of the South.

Happy Tuesday, Maggie