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 Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 4:56 pm Post subject: Hard to say really... |
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This is interestinng because my favorite characters come from 2 different series. I like Lewis Barnevelt best of all because he reminds me of myself a little when I was growing up. I wasn't pudgy, but had a lot of the insecurities that LEwis had. Thankfully I've outgrown many of them.
I also like Rose Rita....just because. She sort of reminds me of a girl I once knew.
Uncle Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmerman are favorites as well. But then my choices shift to the Johnny Dixon books. I like Prof. Childermass a lot! I wish all could have been in the same book series. However, with Uncle Jonathan and Flo Z in with Lewis, there really wouldnt have been much use in putting Prof. Childermass in the same series.
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Ford_Prefect62
Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 22
Location: Alabama (USA)
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| Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 4:59 pm Post subject: Oh bother... |
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I accidentally posted the previous post prior to logging in, so it appears as a "guest" post. And now I cannot edit it.
Pooh...  |
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Jack Bellairs
Joined: 19 Feb 2005
Posts: 3
Location: dallas, texas
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| Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 12:47 am Post subject: |
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| My favorite character by far is the professor. He is a curmudgeon yet with a kind heart. I also like Johnny Dixon because he makes me think of myself a bit when I was growing up in Michigan. I like the Michigan setting of the Dixon series because when John Bellairs writes of places in the state I know where they are...and have been to many of them! |
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Ford_Prefect62
Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 22
Location: Alabama (USA)
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| Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 12:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Jack Bellairs wrote: | | My favorite character by far is the professor. He is a curmudgeon yet with a kind heart. I also like Johnny Dixon because he makes me think of myself a bit when I was growing up in Michigan. I like the Michigan setting of the Dixon series because when John Bellairs writes of places in the state I know where they are...and have been to many of them! |
Yeah, you guys have an advantage over me. Those who have grown up in Michigan and near the places JD and LB lived and had their adventures can have a better understanding of the setting. I live in an area dominated by sweltering summer heat, magnolia and kudzu. It's very rural and so my only connection to Michigan would be what I've seen on tv, film or read about.
Still, kids are kids and Bellaires' kids experienced many of the very same trials in school that I did. His heroes are not like the heroes of Harry Potter. HP has lost his parents, and JKR does try to describe Harry's feelings and thoughts. But she hasnt been able to grasp the loneliness and insecurity that Lewis felt...or the compassion of Rose Rita (who has her own feelings of loneliness and fear to deal with).
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Jack Bellairs
Joined: 19 Feb 2005
Posts: 3
Location: dallas, texas
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2005 9:09 am Post subject: |
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| Reading the comments in the group section (which seems to be acquiring some cohesiveness thank God) takes me back to my childhood and the days I was an ardent Tigers fan! Trivia? Who was the last pitcher who won 30 games in one season? I'm going to have to re-read the books to see if John references any specific Tigers players. And yes I grew up in Michigan but have been at home in Texas now for 20 years. I traded the frigid winters for the swelting summers! |
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Ford_Prefect62
Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 22
Location: Alabama (USA)
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2005 11:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Jack Bellairs wrote: | | Reading the comments in the group section (which seems to be acquiring some cohesiveness thank God) takes me back to my childhood and the days I was an ardent Tigers fan! Trivia? Who was the last pitcher who won 30 games in one season? I'm going to have to re-read the books to see if John references any specific Tigers players. And yes I grew up in Michigan but have been at home in Texas now for 20 years. I traded the frigid winters for the swelting summers! |
I dont know the answer to the trivia question, but I think "Eyes of the Killer robot" might have some references to Tigers players from way back.
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Jack Bellairs
Joined: 19 Feb 2005
Posts: 3
Location: dallas, texas
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| Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 8:47 am Post subject: |
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| Trivia? A very tragic figure named Denny McLain. He and fellow pitcher Mickey Lolich arguably won the World Series for Detroit. Played for the Tigers. He was the last pitcher to win 30 games (1968); 2-time Cy Young winner (1968-69) with Detroit; convicted of racketeering, extortion and drug possession in 1985, served 29 months of 25-year jail term, sentence overturned when court ruled he had not received a fair trial; he has faced subsequent legal troubles. Gee, sounds more like a football star than a baseball player!! |
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Ford_Prefect62
Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 22
Location: Alabama (USA)
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 4:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Jack Bellairs wrote: | | Trivia? A very tragic figure named Denny McLain. He and fellow pitcher Mickey Lolich arguably won the World Series for Detroit. Played for the Tigers. He was the last pitcher to win 30 games (1968); 2-time Cy Young winner (1968-69) with Detroit; convicted of racketeering, extortion and drug possession in 1985, served 29 months of 25-year jail term, sentence overturned when court ruled he had not received a fair trial; he has faced subsequent legal troubles. Gee, sounds more like a football star than a baseball player!! |
Oo...I dunno. I'd say more like Basketball. I'm thinking of the NBA's recent troubles in Detroit with the Pacers. I'm surprised there wasnt some jailtime handed out after that brawl with the fans.
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Guest
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| Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 9:43 pm Post subject: Lewis |
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| This is my first post, so hello to everyone. Lewis has to be my absolute favourite. The first John Bellairs book I ever read was House with a Clock in its Walls which I bought for 10 cents at a flea market over 20 years ago! I loved the cosy but creepy atmosphere. And Lewis seemed a loveable outsider who loved all the things I did; eating, reading, getting into mischief. And he had a wonderful, eccentric group of friends. I think I might have even had a secret crush on Uncle Jonathan. Something about the untamed beard. |
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Smutzie
Joined: 01 Apr 2005
Posts: 6
Location: Liverpool
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| Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 9:47 pm Post subject: Lewis continued |
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Sorry, I still haven't quite grasped the logging in bit.  Just wanted to add a name to the previous post about Lewis. |
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lubeltri
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 12:21 am Post subject: |
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I'm not from Michigan, but I grew up in central New York state, and the Bellairs's Michigan very much reminded me of home. In fact, we even speak a branch of the Midwestern dialect!
I live in Florida now (for college). I don't know, winters in Syracuse are certainly bad, but I am having trouble taking these Florida summers. Just sweltering.
Professor Childermass has been my favorite character ever since I first encountered Bellairs at the age of 9. He's probably why I'm studying history now. |
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Ford_Prefect62
Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 22
Location: Alabama (USA)
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 8:18 am Post subject: Hello to the new members!!! |
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Thanks for dropping by and posting.
Smutzie, I sometimes have a little trouble figuring out the log in thing and have posted here as a guest by accident, but once ya get it, everything usually goes ok.
lubeltri, i live in Alabama and I can sympathise with you about the summer heat. the deep south has very mild winters but brutal summers. The beaches of Florida (and Alabama) are hot but at least you can get a decent summer breeze on most days. Lol!
Professor Childermass is a favorite character of mine as well! He reminds me of some college professors I had (way back when) and is well written. Like Miss Ells, he serves as a good source of information for the reader and can get things done that Johnny cant do himself. I like the idea of the "Fuss Closet" and have contemplated building one of my own. (I can relate to the good Professor). He's a grumpy old coot, but has a heart of gold.
Guest, I dont think I had ever thought of anyone having a crush on Uncle Jonathan,  but I like him as a character. He reminds me of everyone's favorite Uncles....entertaining the kids with magic, sympathising with Lewis when he's down and trying to give him good advice.
I always wondered why he never tried to teach magic to Lewis. I know Lewis got into trouble with his books, and so thought Jonathan might try to teach him to respect it and cast spells so he could control them. Perhaps Bellairs intended to do this but passed away before he could. I dunno.
Mrs Zimmerman seemed to take a unique interest in Rose Rita and I always suspected she would have begun teaching magic to her. Rose Rita probably would have been an apt pupil and Pruney would have been a great mentor / teacher.
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Telly
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| Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 1:16 pm Post subject: Favorite Characters |
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Mine is Fergie,I just like him.
You know,I've only read the Johnny Dixon series but how you guys keep on about Lewis has me very intrigued!
I've draw a few little character illustrations of Johnny and Fergie,so I'm wanting to read about Lew' and draw him too!  |
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JoeSchlabotnik
Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Sat May 28, 2005 12:35 am Post subject: Favorite |
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From the name of my website, it's probably pretty obvious that Professor Childermass is my favorite character. I've always had a thing for history, and the whole idea of "To Fuss is Human, to Rant, Divine" was great to me.
That and the fact that he's a die hard Red Sox fan, and while going to college up in New Hampshire I certainly encountered my share of those.
The more I think of it, the more I realize how well Bellairs crafted the majority of his protagonists. Part of it probably comes from his own insecurities (Lewis, Johnny Dixon, Anthony), but the wit and humor that all his adult protagonists possess is striking.
In fact, the only character I never really got into was the character Sarah from The Hand of the Necromancer. I don't know if that was a Strickland original, but she wasn't fleshed out very well as a character, much less so than Rose Rita or Fergie.
Oh, and Brewster the Demi-God was always one of my favorites as well. |
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Ford_Prefect62
Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 22
Location: Alabama (USA)
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| Posted: Sun May 29, 2005 9:26 pm Post subject: Re: Favorite |
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| JoeSchlabotnik wrote: | From the name of my website, it's probably pretty obvious that Professor Childermass is my favorite character. I've always had a thing for history, and the whole idea of "To Fuss is Human, to Rant, Divine" was great to me.
That and the fact that he's a die hard Red Sox fan, and while going to college up in New Hampshire I certainly encountered my share of those.
The more I think of it, the more I realize how well Bellairs crafted the majority of his protagonists. Part of it probably comes from his own insecurities (Lewis, Johnny Dixon, Anthony), but the wit and humor that all his adult protagonists possess is striking.
In fact, the only character I never really got into was the character Sarah from The Hand of the Necromancer. I don't know if that was a Strickland original, but she wasn't fleshed out very well as a character, much less so than Rose Rita or Fergie.
Oh, and Brewster the Demi-God was always one of my favorites as well. |
I liked Childermass a lot too! And I'm also a die-hard Red Sox fan. Lol!
Sarah Channing must have been a new character Bellaires had planned to use, but unfortunately he died before he could develop her character more fully.
Telly, Lewis was a lot of fun for me because he reminds me of myself when I was little. Johnny isnt quite as timid as Lewis and I think there's a little more magic in the Lewis series.
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Hammerhandle714
Joined: 05 Jun 2005
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2005 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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| I like Mrs. Zimmermann. She seems like she'd be a good friend and easy to talk to. |
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Telly
Joined: 23 May 2005
Posts: 17
Location: Alabama
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| Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 9:23 am Post subject: Woot!Hello!:D |
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Another person around here!XD
Hoorah!Glad to have you here!
Mrs.Zimmermann..?So fammiliar,but I can't remeber what book she's from!
X(
I have a terrible memory!
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Hammerhandle714
Joined: 05 Jun 2005
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 10:22 am Post subject: |
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She was in the Lewis Barnavelt trilogy, and a main character in The Letter, The Witch and the Ring. Otherwise known as "Hag Face" (my favorite of Jonathan's insults to her).
Nice to be here, I'm glad there's a Bellairs board around. |
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Telly
Joined: 23 May 2005
Posts: 17
Location: Alabama
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 11:08 am Post subject: XD |
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LOL!XD
That's why I couldn't pinpoint it,I just remeber Ford,Ithink,talking about her.I have to read that series!*off to the library hoping she shall not be scalped for late fees!*
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Telly |
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Guest
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2005 12:56 pm Post subject: Dixon Series in MA |
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| Jack Bellairs wrote: | | My favorite character by far is the professor. He is a curmudgeon yet with a kind heart. I also like Johnny Dixon because he makes me think of myself a bit when I was growing up in Michigan. I like the Michigan setting of the Dixon series because when John Bellairs writes of places in the state I know where they are...and have been to many of them! |
I just wanted to make clear that the Johnny Dixon series took place in Duston Hieghts Massachusetts, not Michigan, which can be assumed is Haverhill Ma where Bellairs lived while writing most that series. |
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