Friday, February 12, 2010

Valentine's Day...Eve :)

Thanks for following, Amber!

Well, V-Day is closing in on us! Haha, that sounded ominous >:D I don't usually get that into the holiday besides getting candy from my parents and making cards for my grandparents. However, I thought it might be nice to do some festive things on the blog for a couple of days leading up to the big day.

I should have started this sooner. *mentally kicks self* I love countdowns. I can't believe I missed this. Now I have all these cool Valentine's Day Countdown ideas! D: Fail on my part for being out of it.

*tragic sigh, plays violins*

'Kay, so anyway, in honor of the holiday of love, I've decided to post my top ten favorite examples of love in books!

1. "Angel in the Square" - Misha and Katya
The relationship between Misha and Katya is one of my all time favorite portrayals of love. Misha and Katya are cousins, but raised as brother and sister during the Russian revolution. Misha teases and is often scornful toward Katya, and she in turn irritates him and mocks his ways of thinking. You would never know how strong their love for each other is until the revolution parts them. The distance between them only reveals to themselves as well as the reader just how much they cherish each other. Their relationship is so deep and beautiful that I fall in love with them both every time I read the book.

2. "Eragon" - Eragon and Sapphira
Eragon's and Sapphira's love is so fun and unconditional. I just love it. They have no choice but to be in each other's heads 24/7, and they still love each other for who they are. Their relationship is intimate and comfortable and a great example of true friendship. They share thoughts and experiences, and help each other through the tough times.

3. "Lord of the Rings" - Sam and Frodo
I will admit it: I have been known to cry during the LotR movies simply because Sam and Frodo's relationship is so wonderful. I think Sam represents exactly what a true friend should be. He sticks by Frodo even when it's the most difficult and painful thing he could possibly do. Even when Frodo is plain unfair to him and sends him away, Sam looks past that and remains a loyal and true friend.

4. "Betsy-Tacy series" - Betsy and Joe
I love Betsy and Joe, and I love them together :) They make a great and complex couple. They have very similar personalities at some points, but balance each other well at others. Although they don't always get along, they do always end up working things out. Starting out as acquaintances, moving on to friends, and finally realizing their love for each other, Betsy and Joe's story is a wonderful journey to follow.

5. "A Spark of Strenght" - Ember and Coal
Ah, yes. Unrequited, but still strong love. Ember and Coal have an interesting relationship because it is never addressed as a real relationship. Ember silently (well, mostly silently XD) loves Coal, but he never looks at her as anything more than the sparktress (girl) who's always been around. He likes her as a sister, but never in any outward way. Ember and Coal's relationship is a bit hard to handle sometimes because of the silent ups and downs, but still a very intriguing situation.

6. "On to Oregon" - John and his siblings
Such a favorite story :) I fell in love with this book the first time I read it. Anyway, due to unfortunate circumstances, John Sager is forced to lead his six younger siblings across the prairie to get to their father's dream land. John has a hard time expressing his love to his siblings, but the reader easily picks up on the deep feelings of affection and protection that rage inside him.

7. "The Two Princesses of Bamarre" - Addie and Meryl
Princess Addie and Princess Meryl have a really good relationship as sisters and best friends. While complete opposites, they love each other with their whole hearts and would do anything for each other. The loyalty and friendship in their relationship is really great.

8. "The Lily series" - Lily and Art
Especially in the last books in the series, I love the relationship between Lily and her older brother, Art. He's there for her and helps her and gives her advice, but in a very realistic way. I don't like books that portray sibling relationships as really two-dimensional and perfect. Lily and Art have a wonderful love/"hate" thing going on that makes me want to read the books over and over again. He really comes through for her, and she can go to him with her tough problems. A great example of love there.

9. "The Giver" - Jonas and the Giver
I think the mentoring relationship that Jonas has with the Giver is really fascinating. They both benefit from each other, and it's really nice to see Jonas soaking in the wisdom from such a wonderful mentor.

10. "Bible" - God and us :)
The best example of love of all! God loves us more than we can ever realize. He would do anything for you. He would die for you. Oh, wait, he already did! ;) God's love for us is the perfect love. It's all my favorite elements combined!

The protective, fun love of Misha and Katya;
the all-knowing love of Eragon and Sapphira;
the unfailingly loyal love of Sam and Frodo;
the strong, silent love of Ember and Coal;
the sweet, fierce love of John and his siblings;
the friendly love of Addie and Meryl;
the practical, realistic love of Lily and Art;
the wise, mentoring love of Jonas and the Giver.

God loves us in every way possible, and more than we can imagine!

This Valentine's Day, don't just honor the love of two lovers. True love comes in many different forms; let's cherish them all :)

~Kendra

14 comments:

Jake M. said...

Cool post! My favorite example of love in books was number 3 with Frodo and Sam. Sam is amazing. So trustworthy, so dependable, and just utterly and completely loyal! Frodo treated him so badly and still, he stuck with him- especially at the end when he started carrying Frodo up Mount Doom.

Jake

Jake

owo xD said...

Yeah, God does love us a lot, doesn't He? I love how you drew all ten of those examples together, it really created an interesting picture.

Eragon and Saphira, I love those two. Frodo and Sam are good, too, but Eragon and Saphira are the best. lol

emily said...

Great post! I agree, God does love us a lot:]

Front Porch Grace said...

Your kidding? I used to LOVE the Betsy-Tacy books when I was little! XD
And I used to love the Lilly books too. And of course, Art was my favorite character. (I cried when he got really really sick and almost died. XD)

And of course, Sam and Frodo!

Tunafish said...

Sam is so amazing! The scenes in the movie that he's in are so touching especially the last scene where he just smiles. Almost moves me to tears, it's very close. I've always hated Valentines day cuse it was mostly a chance for the kids at my school to go crazy but put under new light its actually something meaningful =) In honor of Valentines Day, I was trying to write a poem or something about someone's love for a girl but then as it goes on, you kinda see that it's really GOD's love, whether from GOD directly or just shining through the guy I'm not sure. Probably either way. Good point though, that we need to honor all love, not just the cliche love. Jesus loves you! =) in every way.

The Irregular Girl said...

Did you know that today is also Chinese New Year? I'm Asian, so I thinks it's great!

Izori said...

My favorite example was Frodo and Sam, but I also really liked Eragon and Saphira (even though I don't read the books anymore, but whatever).

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Unknown said...

Love is not measurable - it grows when need is greatest.
I enjoyed reading when love has spoken deeply to you.
You are quite the poet.
Elaine

Kendra Logan said...

Jake: Thank you! Yeah, Sam is awesome. That scene at Mt. Doom gets me every time :)

Chris: Thanks! I'm glad you thought that was cool.

Eragon and Sapphira are awesome :)

Milli: Thanks!

Gracie: No way! Awesome!!

Tunafish: Agreed about Sam!

Yeah, I never really got into V-Day either, until I started considering all the different types of love...We should celebrate them all today!

The Irregular Girl: That's awesome! I didn't know that! So cool.

Avalon: Thanks! Same to you!

Izori: Cool! They seem to be everyone's favorite!

Elaine: Wow, thanks! Great compliment! And yes, love is such a deep and beautiful emotion!

~Kendra

Bethany said...

Oh my goodness....warm fuzzies...happy Valentine's! :) I loved the Betsy and Joe romance too :) awwww

<3 <3

Natalie said...

*sings* Keeeennnndraaaaaaa

i gave you an award. because you're awesome.

http://theyounglife-n.blogspot.com/2010/02/simply-beautiful.html

Emma said...

Great post!! I loved the Frodo and Sam example. Sam Gamgee is my hero! I love him to death.

I also express my congratulations that you refrained from including "Edward and Bella" or "Emmett and Rosalie" in your examples. Boo Twilight!

~Emma~

Achieve1dream said...

Great post!

kanishk said...

badly and still, he stuck with him- especially at the end when he started carrying Frodo up Mount Doom.

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