Saturday, July 12, 2008

Happy Anniversary!

Thank you for all the anniversary wishes! It is hard to believe Anjin and I have been married for ten years. It seems like just yesterday that I was preparing to take my wedding vows. I was lucky enough to marry my best friend, and I still am madly in love with him all these years later.

Thank you, too, for all who participated in my anniversary drawings! I was not sure what kind of response I would get when I asked participants to list their favorite literary couples. While some of the couple listed are ones I am familiar with, others were completely new to me, and, as a result, my wish list has grown just from this challenge.

I went ahead and compiled a list of all the couples mentioned, along with the number of people who nominated them. Anne and Gilbert and Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy tied for first place with 9 votes each. I especially liked that a few people listed author couples--those, too, count as literary couples, perhaps even in the truer sense.

(photograph of the top layer of Literary Feline and Anjin's wedding cake)


Author Couples

Bill Pronzini and Marcia Muller
Robert Jordan (real name John Rigby) and his wife Harriet
Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald
Paul Auster and Siri Hustvedt


Fictional Couples (receiving more than one nomination)

Jane Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy (9 votes)
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe (9 votes)
- Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen (6 votes)
- Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer

Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester (5 votes)
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth (4 votes)
- Persuasion by Jane Austen

Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo Wilder (4 votes)
- Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley (3 votes)
- Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Claire Randall and James (Jamie) Fraser (2 votes)
- Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

Clare Absire and Henry DeTamble (2 votes)
- The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun (2 votes)
- The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler (2 votes)
- Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff (2 votes)
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley (2 votes)
- Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Romeo and Juliet (2 votes)
- Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare


Fictional Couples (receiving a single nomination)


Melanie Hamilton and Ashley Wilkes
- - Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Beatrice and Benedick
- Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Tom Sawyer and Rebecca Thatcher
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Aragorn and Arwen
- Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Whitney Stone & Clayton Westmoreland
- Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught

Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney
- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Kerewin Holmes and Joe Gillayley
- The Bone People by Keri Hulme

Thomas (Tommy) Beresford and Prudence (Tuppence) Cowley
- Tommy and Tuppence series by Agatha Christie

Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy
- Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

Eve Dallas and Roarke
- In Death series by J.D. Robb

Dr. Yuri Zhivago and Lara Guishar
- Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

Lan & Nyneave
- The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan

Perrin & Faile
- The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan

Mrs. Frisby and Justin
- The Secret of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

Elinor Dashwood and Edward Ferrars
- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Laura Ingalls and Mary Ingalls
- Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

James (Jim) diGriz and Angelina diGriz
- Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison

Archibald Hunter and Marjory
- The Mystery of the Sea by Bram Stoker

Greensleeves and Sherry
- Greensleeves by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Robbie Turner and Cecilia Tallis
- Atonement by Ian McEwan

Gen Watanabe and Carmen
- Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley
- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Katharine Clifton and Almasy
- The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson
- Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters

Goldy and Tom
- Goldy Bear Catering series by Diane Mott Davidson

Ash and Anjuli
- The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye

Katherine and John of Gaunt
- Katherine by Anya Seton

Honour (Beauty) Huston and the Beast
- Beauty by Robin McKinley

Jane Calhoun and Wilson Lewis
- The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks

Abagail and John Adams
- John Adams by David McCullough


Enough of the mushy stuff! Let's get to the winners of the drawings! Again, thank you to all who took the time to participate. I wish I had prizes to give out to each of you.

The ARE Winners:

The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman is going to Monica of Monniblog!

Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus is going to Bunny B.!

Waiting to Surface by Emily Listfield is going to Carrie K. of Mommy Brain!

Sex Wars by Marge Piercy is going to Lisa of Books. Lists. Life!

The Last Blue Mile by Kim Ponders is going to Tracy of Bookroomview's Weblog!

Leftovers by Laura Wiess is going to Wendy of Caribousmom!


Everyone who answered the contest question was entered into the Book of Your Choice Drawing (with the exception of a couple of people who asked not to be). I enlisted my husband's help in the random drawing--might as well make it a couple's event!

Book of Your Choice Winner:

Elizabeth from An Adventure in Reading!

Four people went so far as to take me up on my offer to post their responses on their blogs. I would like to extend an extra thank you to Elizabeth, Chris, Suey, and Kailana and send them a little something special for their effort.

Please do visit their blogs if you have not already!


Thank you for celebrating with me!

27 comments:

  1. Congrats! Hope you had a wonderful day together. Sorry I missed the contest!

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  2. Congratulations again :) You had a great response to this give-away too!!

    And I am so happy I won a book...thank you! (I think you have my addres;) but let me know if you need me to email it to you!)

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  3. I missed it - happy belated anniversary! Love the wedding cake!

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  4. Happy Anniversary Wendy and Anjin! And what a great idea for a contest. I wish I'd seen it sooner!

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  5. Happy Anniversary to you both!

    Richard and I will be celebrating our tenth year in January. Perhaps I should continue the tradition? LOL. =)

    I hope you enjoy your special time with your hubby!

    Love,
    Jill =)

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  6. What a wonderful surprise today! Thank you so much.

    And I wish you and Anjin many more happy years together.

    nnjmom at yahoo dot com

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  7. Oh yeah! Made my day:)
    Thanks so much!
    bookroomreviews@hotmail.com

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  8. Happy Anniversary! Thanks for the mention!

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  9. Jen - Thank you! We've had a nice day overall. We're putting off any real celebrating until our trip this September.

    Wendy - Thank you! And congratulations to you on your win!

    Nikki - I wish I could send something to everyone.

    Lynne - Thank you! I wish the green stood out more in the cake. It really did have more color to it. :-) And it was sooo good!

    Nymeth - Thank you!

    Jill - Thanks! An early congratulations to you and Richard! I thought I'd do something special for the occasion. :-)

    Carrie K. - Thank you! Congratulations to you on your win! I hope to get the book in the mail to you on Monday.

    Tracy - Congratulations! I am glad I made your day. :-) I'm going to be running by the post office on Monday and will get your pick in the mail then.

    Chris - Thank you! I will be sending a little something your way so watch your mailbox. :-)

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  10. Congratulations! The wedding cake was very cute! And that's a great list of couples! :)

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  11. First I want to say Happy Anniversary! What a lovely and cute wedding cake :)

    Aww, I'm sorry I missed the contest -- but congrats to all winners.

    I have to say I agree with Jamie and Claire for "The Outlander series" written by Diana Gabaldon. I also agree with Anne and Gilbert for "Annie of the Green Gable". Love them very much!

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  12. Nat - Thank you! Our cake was chocolate with raspberry filling. It was really yummy.

    Julia - Thanks! I'm sorry you missed out too. Next time!

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  13. Congratulations on 10 years. I'm sorry I missed your event too. I would have voted for
    Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen

    Love that series...lots of fun.
    Wisteria

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  14. Thank you, Wisteria! I was surprised at how many people voted for Bella and Edward, but then, I suppose I shouldn't have been considering how much they are on people's minds these days. I still haven't read the books yet, but I do want to.

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  15. Thanks Wendy! and congrats to all the winners. She's so generous on her anniversary.

    Yay for Anne and Gilbert!

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  16. Happy Anniversary, Wendy! It's great reading all the list.

    Congrats to all the winners! :)

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  17. Happy Anniversary! If my BFF ever saw your wedding cake topper, she would steal it.

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  18. Happy Anniversary Wendy!!! Hope you had an awesome day!!
    xxx

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  19. Elizabeth - Since I wasn't supposed to give my husband anything this year (our upcoming Hawaii trip is our present to each other), I figured this was a way to get the gift giving bug out of my system. :-) Congratulations on winning!

    Melody - Thank you! It was a fun list--and long. LOL

    Carrie K - Thank you! Hubby and I didn't want to do a traditional human couple wedding topper and since we were getting married at the Disneyland Hotel, it seemed fitting. :-)

    Bunny - Thank you! I hope you have a great day too. Congratulations on the book you won.

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  20. Congrats to the winners and again a happy anniversary to you Wendy!

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  21. Once again, happy anniversary to you! :D

    And... congrats to all the winners! I like the couple Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley AND Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy. Very nice. :D

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  22. Iliana - Thank you!

    Alice - Thanks! It's a great list, isn't it? And long! Haha

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  23. Wow!! I can't believe I won! Thanks :) And again -- happy anniversary :)

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  24. Monica - Thank you. Congratulations on your win!

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  25. Congratulations! And what a fabulous cake!

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