Powerful rebel

Scottish Book Trust has compiled a reading list for 'The Great Rebel' and reminds us of the fact that,

Many (if not most) of literature's best characters are rebels. From Jane Eyre to James and the Giant Peach, stories of people railing against the status quo both quietly and loudly have kept readers gripped for centuries. Sometimes they're struggling to change the world, and sometimes they're just trying to be recognised for who they are, but their strength and resolve in the face of overwhelming odds make us want to keep reading their stories again and again. (Jim Taylor)

The National Student wonders whether it's time to retire James Bond.

In a world of exceptional women, such as Michelle Obama, Malala Yousafzia, Oprah Winfrey, et al., why are we still relying on males, such as James Bond, to promote national security and state matters?  Why can’t women be the heroes? At long last, especially with the ‘Me too’ movement, it seems that woman are proving just what a force they are to be reckoned with. I’m calling for a new generation of MI5 super-agents. I’m calling for more powerful women figures in literature, harking back, perhaps, to those strong females exemplified by Jane Eyre, Elizabeth Bennett and Anne Shirley. Because in today’s real world we have so many role models to look upon with respect and admiration, lets read about them too. (Grace Adele Dutch)

Now Novel offers several tips for creating engaging narrators.

3. Let first person narrators confide in your reader
There are many examples of first person narrative where the first person narrator confides in the reader. For example, Jane Eyre’s ‘Reader, I married him’ in Charlotte Brontë’s famous classic.
You don’t need to break the fourth wall like Brontë and address the reader as a reader. The effect may be subtler.

The Washington Post has a column on the hockey team The Capital winning the Stanley Cup.

So here we are. Validated might be the wrong word. But it’s close. Because the 12 wins this spring did something other than put the Caps on the verge of history. They ended the arguments, ensuring that the past decade wasn’t pointless. We weren’t wasting our time on pretenders all those January nights, when we could have been reading “Elmer Gantry” or “Another Country” or “Jane Eyre,” or whatever great works of fiction we will probably never read. (Dan Steinberg)

Erm... alright then.

Telesur (Venezuela) has selected 8 quotes by Anne Brontë in Spanish, although the accompanying images are not always accurate. Rodney M Bliss posts about rereading Wuthering Heights and finding his grandmother's margin notes and teaching notes inside his copy.