Character Types: The Socially Awkward Cinnamon Roll

I admire characters who can spew forth witty dialogue, characters who are dashing and brave, but I’m still drawn to those who don’t know how to handle social interaction. As an introvert with a touch of social anxiety, I can totally relate. Seriously, I’d rather deal with a 2,000-pound horse, a dragon, or a bookshelf, than a 140-pound human being.

When it comes to a lot of socially awkward characters, I want to shout, “My people!” Then go stand by them awkwardly, pull out a book, and read in silence until I can work up the courage to make eye contact.

Why cinnamon roll, you might ask? For those unfamiliar with this term, such characters are precious and fun and must be protected at all cost.

Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit

Bilbo: *as four dwarves start rearranging his kitchen, his doorbell rings again* Oh no. No. There’s nobody home! Go away, and bother somebody else! There’re far too many dwarves in my dining room as it is. If this is some cluthead’s idea of a joke, I can only say, it is in VERY poor taste!
*He opens the door, and eight dwarves fall in a heap in front of him*
(The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)

Bilbo Baggins is a homebody. He likes the comforts of a good book, his armchair, and his garden. But he’s also an adventurer who relishes the excitement of the road, which he gets from the Tookish side of his family. In many ways, I can relate. Like Bilbo, I enjoy a good cup of tea with some peace and quiet, and often it takes another person, not necessarily a party of dwarves, to drag me out of the house.

Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon

Gobber: See, now this right here is what I'm talkin’ about!
Hiccup: It, it... mild calibration issue, I...
Gobber: Don’t you... no, Hiccup! If you ever want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop all... this. *gestures to all of Hiccup*
Hiccup: But you just pointed to all of me!
Gobber: Yes! That’s it! Stop being all of you!
(How to Train Your Dragon) 

Hiccup is awkward when it comes to conversations and handling himself. Yet he’s brilliant at engineering, having been an apprentice to a blacksmith. That and he’s empathetic, willing to take the time to understand dragons while everybody else just wants to kill them. He’s both relatable and admirable.

My sister and I recently re-watched the first movie, and I realized how resilient Hiccup is. How many characters could take such a slew of insults from friends and family and still want to save them? Then again, he is a Viking. They have stubbornness issues.

Auri from The Kingkiller Chronicles

“She felt the panic rising in her then. She knew. She knew how quickly things could break. You did the things you could. You tended to the world for the world’s sake. You hoped you would be safe. But still she knew. It would come crashing down and there was nothing you could do right. And yes. She knew she wasn’t right. She knew her everything canted wrong. She knew her head was all unkilter. She knew she wasn’t true inside. She knew.” 
(The Slow Regard of Silent Things)

Auri isn’t quite like the other characters in The Kingkiller Chronicles, as she lives underground and isolated from most of humanity. The protagonist of the main books, Kvothe, theorizes that she was a former student at the University and the stress drove her to madness, but her backstory isn’t definite. She’s a little eccentric but rather sweet, believing that many objects have their own personalities, thoughts, and place in the world.

Gil from Pandora Hearts

Now I’m really getting obscure! But I can’t help but mention one of my favorite characters from a graphic novel series I’ve gotten into lately. Gil likes his personal space, but he’s incredibly devoted to protecting his friends and his master, ensuring their safety and happiness. Unlike Hiccup, he knows how to carry himself, but he doesn’t know how to handle a bunch of girls fawning over him at a social event. It’s kind of adorable.

Other notable Socially Awkward Cinnamon Rolls include Newt Scamandar from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Barry Allen (The Flash) from Justice League, Caitlin from Mockingbird, Peter Parker from the Spider Man movies, and Finn from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Let’s chat! Who’s your favorite Socially Awkward Cinnamon Roll? Did I leave any of their attributes out?

***

Similar posts: Character Types: The Bookworm, Christ Figures, and The Best-Friend-Turned-Evil-Villain

Film references: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, How to Train Your Dragon, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Justice League, the Spider Man movies, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Literary references: J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicles, and Jun Mochizuki’s Pandora Hearts. 

Character Types: The Bookworm

How do you make readers happy?

Give them books. Give them more books. Give them books with characters who like to read. Throw a gift certificate to their favorite bookstore at their face. Gift them a library card. Leave them behind in a bookstore. Lock them in a library. Give them books. Leave them alone while they’re reading the last fifty pages the whole book.

I’m sensing a pattern here…

Today, I’m here to write about the bookworm as a fictional character!

For my examples, I’ll be drawing from some of the main characters in Fahrenheit 451, the Inkworld trilogy, Anne of Green Gables, and The Book Thief. Please note that the characters in these books do not include all the fictional bookworms. Here are just a couple traits common for fictional bookworms:

1)      They tend to be counter-cultural.

Before he even discovers the joy of reading (after burning so many books), Guy Montag (Fahrenheit 451) enjoys going for walks in a world that is obsessed with speed and driving. In a world where reading is illegal, once he discovers how eye-opening reading can be, he practically gives up his life for books. If that’s not dedication, I don’t know what is.

But let’s face it, bookworms, if your house was on fire, how many of your books would you try to save?

“There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.” (Fahrenheit 451)

Liesel Memminger (The Book Thief) first discovers her love for reading by stealing a book from a grave digger. And she continued to steal books, even saving one from a fire built by the Nazis to destroy books they didn’t agree with.

Okay, so you and I might have more ordinary bookworm origins. Perhaps your parents read to you when you were a child, your teacher introduced you to your favorite book, or you checked out a lot of books from the library. Either way, books can be eye-opening, and they teach readers to be more empathetic.

2)      They’re dreamers.

Mortimer “Mo” Folchart passed on his bookish appreciation to his daughter, Meggie. But Meggie doesn’t just want to read books. She wants to live in them. And she soon finds she gets more than she bargained for when she starts meeting characters her father once read out of a book.

“Her curiosity was too much for her [Meggie]. She felt almost as if she could hear the books whispering on the other side of the half-open door. They were promising her a thousand unknown stories, a thousand doors into worlds she had never seen before.” (Inkheart)

Like Meggie, Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables) can often be found with her nose in a book or dream up stories. She even gets into trouble at school for reading Ben Hur during class, and more than once, her wild imagination gets her in trouble, whether its spraining her ankle by falling off a roof or by getting stuck in a sinking boat in the middle of a pond. But it’s still enjoyable to read about someone with such an imagination!

“Oh, it’s delightful to have ambitions. I'm so glad I have such a lot. And there never seems to be any end to them—that’s the best of it. Just as soon as you attain to one ambition you see another one glittering higher up still. It does make life so interesting.” (Anne of Green Gables)

3)      They’re easy to relate with.

Meggie Folchart carries books with her when she travels. I usually take along at least five books whenever I go anywhere—one to read, a backup in case I finish the first, my journal, a notebook for story ideas, and my Bible. Meggie carries even more, at least twelve. If that’s not admirable, I don’t know what is.

“‘What on earth have you packed in here? Bricks?’ asked Mo as he carried Meggie’s book-box out of the house.“‘You’re the one who says books have to be heavy because the whole world's inside them,’ said Meggie.” (Inkheart)

On the other hand, Anne often struggles with being stereotyped whether it is for her red hair or her talkative nature. And people misspell her name.

“But if you call me Anne, please call me Anne with an ‘e’.” (Anne of Green Gables)

Dear Anne, try having my name. I’ve been called Aslan, Ashlyn, and even Ashley. How is that even remotely close to Azelyn? When you have the rare character who points out how often their name is misspelled, such as Anne, it’s easy to relate.

4)      They tend to inspire people to live better.

Except for Guy Montag. I don’t remember him being a very admirable character.

Mo, on the other hand, works as a book binder, treating his books with care and doing his best to look out for his daughter.

Likewise, Anne’s imagination may run off with her, but she taught many people in her neighborhood to love and be more accepting of the unusual. And most of all, she taught me to dream.

“Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive—it’s such an interesting world. It wouldn’t be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There’d be no scope for imagination then, would there?” (Anne of Green Gables)

Finally, Liesel looks beyond stereotypes and her culture’s expectations and shows not only a care for books but also for people.

Other book-obsessive characters include, but are not limited to, Mr Norrell, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell; Marie-Laure, All the Light We Cannot See; Cadence, We Were Liars; Cress, The Lunar Chronicles; Kvothe, The Kingkiller Chronicles; Claus, Series of Unfortunate Events; and Aibileen, The Help.

Petition to authors: We need more male bookworms. Seriously, though. Why are most of the bookworms in fiction female? That’s not fair to all the guys in the world who like to read!

As a bookworm, I enjoy reading about bookworms. Sometimes, I even find my favorite characters giving me book recommendations.

Speaking of bookworms, the print edition of Last of the Memory Keepers is out! Be sure to add it on Goodreads and get your copy on Amazon. 

Let’s chat! Who are your favorite bookworms in fiction? Did I miss any? Have you ever been left behind or locked in a library or bookstore? What’s your most memorable experience as bookworm? 

***

Similar Posts: Bring the Book, The First Fifty Pages, and Do What YOU Enjoy

Literary references: Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Cornelia Funke’s Inkworld trilogy, L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief, Lew Wallace’s Ben Hur, Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See, E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars, Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles, Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicles, Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events, Kathryn Stockett’s The Help