Top Dream Bookish Cosplays - Top Tuesday

This week's Top Tuesday topic is from The Broke and The Bookish's blog:  "Halloween themed freebie -- your choice (ie. 10 best ghost stories, 10 things that scare you in books, 10 literary Halloween costumes, 10 vampire novels, 10 books that WILL scare you, 10 non-scary books for Halloween, 10 scariest covers, etc.)"  I don't really celebrate Halloween, but since I do costuming, I thought I'd share my list of top book characters I want to cosplay someday!  In no particular order ...



1. Kale Allerion in DragonQuest by TheArtistLibrarian on DeviantArt
Kale Allerion (The DragonKeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul)

--Kale was one of my favorite heroines as a teen. Her cloak (Moonbeam cape) which provides camouflage and unlimited inter-dimensional storage (as long as it fits through the pocket's opening) is a constant in the series.  I don't have a lot of fanart that I'm proud of, but at the time, I was pleased with my visualization of Kale's leecent uniform and cape from DragonQuest. I'd love to take my fanart to the next level and actually make her costume someday ...

The Artist Librarian: Top Ten Tuesday theme is book characters to cosplay. --Who would you choose?
2. Aravis' armor/disguise
 Aravis (The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis)
--Shasta is actually my favorite character in this book, but Aravis is a close second! Easily the one of the strongest, most confident of Lewis' heroines, I'd love to see how a film adaptation would translate Pauline Baynes' iconic illustrations ... I'm holding off on cosplaying Aravis with the hope that I'll see a film costume version in the future!

Jill Pole (The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis)
The Artist Librarian: Top Ten Tuesday theme is book characters to cosplay. --Who would you choose?
3. One of my favorite Narnia gowns ever!
--My other favorite heroine from the Chronicles of Narnia. One of my favorite illustrations of Pauline Baynes' is Jill in her Narnian garb fleeing danger (no spoilers here).  While I'd like to wait and see how an upcoming film adaptation would depict this gown, this is one bookish cosplay that I would consider creating based on the book illustrations alone! Also, this gown is the same one which Jill keeps after she returns back to England and wears to a school dance (which I would totally do myself). Silly Eustace, burning his Narnian garb. :-P

The Artist Librarian: Top Ten Tuesday theme is book characters to cosplay. --Who would you choose?
 Jaina Solo, Tenel Ka Djo, and Mara Jade (Star Wars: Legends) 
--So what if Star Wars: The Force Awakens has swept these characters all into oblivion?  They'll forever be my favorite female Jedi from the Star Wars novels.  Jaina and Mara Jade's outfits are still eligible to apply for membership to the Star Wars costuming groups, Rebel Legion and The 501st, so I'll definitely be cosplaying those characters someday.  Tenel Ka's appearance on the Legacy of the Force: Tempest novel is one of my most favorite Star Wars covers ever.

The Artist Librarian: Top Ten Tuesday theme is book characters to cosplay. --Who would you choose?
5. One of the only official images of Cinder
 Linh Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer)
--Marissa Meyer's sci-fi inspired fairy tale adaptations are some of my favorite YA reads. Cinder, is one of my fave characters from the series and according to the author's blog, Cinder appears to be half-Asian, half-Caucasian, which means that I'll actually ethnically look like the character I'm cosplaying for once!  =P  I don't have a specific outfit in mind for now --maybe once Winter is released, I'll be able to make up my mind on what I'd want to do.  Regardless, figuring out how to translate the "cyborg" body parts into this cosplay will be the big challenge. 

The Artist Librarian: Top Ten Tuesday theme is book characters to cosplay. --Who would you choose?
6. Homespun & simple

Merry Ellison (Dauntless by Dina Sleiman)
--If you've seen some of my cosplays, you might note the disproportionate number of female archer characters I've depicted such as Susan Pevensie, Princess Merida, or Katniss Everdeen.  I've really enjoyed the Valiant Hearts series (stay tuned for my review of book 2, Chivalrous, later this week!) and Dauntless is my favorite cover from the trilogy.




The Artist Librarian: Top Ten Tuesday theme is book characters to cosplay. --Who would you choose?
7. Achan & Vrell grace #3's cover
Vrell Sparrow (Blood of Kings Trilogy by Jill Williamson)
--I don't totally care for her book cover depiction, however, there are some of the most lovely gown descriptions in this series (no spoilers).  I love this series and though Vrell slightly annoyed me in half of the final novel, eventually I was able to forgive her and I would totally cosplay her. =)






The Artist Librarian: Top Ten Tuesday theme is book characters to cosplay. --Who would you choose?
8. All the green!
Aiyanna (Secrets Kept by J.L. Mbewe)
--Along with a weakness for archers, a lot of my costumes are my favorite color (green).  Aiyanna's green gown from the cover is an obvious choice, but the whole book has amazing costume descriptions and also creatures (such as the Kaleki, a merpeople) which would make a make up design artist proud to tackle!






The Artist Librarian: Top Ten Tuesday theme is book characters to cosplay. --Who would you choose?
9. That purple.  Gah, it looks amazing!
 A Daring Sacrifice by Jody Hedlund--We don't even know the name of the protagonist here yet, but I was struck by the vivid colors, the gorgeous gown and the composition of this book cover.  Also, more archers!  Absolutely judging the book by its cover over here.  =P

The Artist Librarian: Top Ten Tuesday theme is book characters to cosplay. --Who would you choose?
11. Sasha's ready for action!
The Artist Librarian: Top Ten Tuesday theme is book characters to cosplay. --Who would you choose?
10. Official art of Mikasa from the anime
Mikasa Ackerman and Sasha Blouse (Attack on Titan manga by Hajime Isayama)
--Mikasa Ackerman is my favorite Attack on Titan character (in fact, I'm sort of working on gathering materials for her costume now).  For "AoT" I'd most likely use the anime version of their uniforms and ODM/3DMG gear, but the exception is Sasha Blouse.  Volume 13 of the manga has Sasha utilizing her archery skills while in a civilian disguise.  While I love the double swords the military members usually wield, I <3 archers and Sasha keeps becoming more and more epic as the manga continues.  Can't wait to see her breakthrough moment depicted when they continue the anime (no spoilers).  *wink*

What would YOUR dream book character cosplay be?  Let me know in the comments and feel free to share your Top Ten Tuesday link as well!
2. Pauline Bayne's illustration of Aravis from The Horse and His Boy.
3. Pauline Bayne's illustration of Jill Pole from The Silver Chair.
4. Jaina Solo as illustrated in Star Wars: The New Essential Guide of Characters. Book cover of Legacy of the Force: Tempest.  Book cover of Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice.
5. Goni Montes' illustration of Linh Cinder from Glitches by Marissa Meyer.
6. Book cover of Dauntless by Dina Sleiman.
7. Book cover of From Darkness Won by Jill Williamson.
8. Book cover of Secrets Kept.
9. Book cover of A Daring Sacrifice.
10. Mikasa Ackerman official anime promotional photo. 
11. Hajime Isayama's illustration of Sasha Blouse in Attack on Titan, Vol. 13.

8 comments

  1. J. L. MbeweOctober 27, 2015 at 3:06 AM

    I am honored that you'd want to cosplay Ayianna! Thank you! I would totally want to cosplay her too. The green dress, which I have seen available on Etsy, but haven't seen an actual pattern yet. Time to sew verses time to write....(I have two large tubs of fabric calling my name. Ha!) But I'm definitely in love with her Bonzpur outfit. I really wanted to cosplay her for Realm Makers, but didn't have the time to put together an outfit. But some day I will!

    I love your drawing of Kale. That is awesome. I enjoyed that series as well! A Daring Sacrifice does look amazing. I might have to read it just for the cover alone. (And I have a soft spot for archers too.) Cinder is on my to-read list, but just not sure about the whole cyborg thing. I might have to read it just to see how the author handles it.

    I'm not sure who my favorite character to cosplay would be...I did my first at Realm Makers: Hermoine Granger. I would love to do one from the Tales of Goldstone Wood like Sairu from Golden Daughter. I love dressing up, my hubby not so much. And we don't really do Halloween either, so the opportunity to dress up is limited. We shall see!

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    1. The Artist LibrarianOctober 28, 2015 at 1:10 AM

      ^_^ I'm a fabric collector, so I may have more than two containers, but I share your sentiment! I can't wait until winter break ... =P

      I almost didn't add my Kale fanart, until I remembered the series only featured dragons on their book covers. ;-)

      I read Jody Hedlund's first YA book, "An Uncertain Choice" earlier this year. I was kind of surprised that she kind of toned down her writing for the YA market (it was more of a sweet romance than her more passionate historicals). I still enjoyed it but "A Daring Sacrifice's" book cover is definitely making me more excited to read it next year.

      I kind of view Cinder's cyborg features like a prosthetic or life-saving technology ... It's not like the Borg from Star Trek or anything. I highly recommend giving it a shot --it's one of my favorite fairytale adaptation series! =)

      Ooh, a Tales of Goldstone Wood cosplay would be awesome! When I was growing up, our family didn't really participate in Halloween alternatives or harvest fests either ... I'm still trying to decide if that's part of the reason why I like costuming now. Like, maybe if it was something I always did once a year, I'd have got it all out of my system by now? I kind of doubt it, since I like the sewing aspect of it ...

      With fan culture and things like pop culture conventions and cosplay becoming more commonplace and mainstream, I think there will be more opportunities to dress up or cosplay in the future, even if you don't celebrate Halloween (which makes me feel much less guilty for any of my potential future children). =)

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  2. Lauren StoolfireOctober 27, 2015 at 7:38 AM

    Any character from the Lunar Chronicles!

    Check out my TTT and my Halloween Giveaway.

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    1. The Artist LibrarianOctober 28, 2015 at 1:15 AM

      Thanks for stopping by, Lauren! Always nice to "meet" a fellow librarian in the bloggerverse!

      Iko would also be fun to cosplay ... hmm... =)

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  3. MeezCarrieOctober 27, 2015 at 10:35 AM

    Merry would be so much fun to be for Halloween! Wouldn't it be great to have a little girl to dress up like Wren too? :) My TTT

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    1. The Artist LibrarianOctober 28, 2015 at 1:18 AM

      With her pumpkin orange and sage green tunics, I think Merry's definitely dressed for the season! That's such a great idea! I wish my baby sister was actually a toddler to pull that off, LOL. While we're at it, it's too bad I'm not friends with a guy that has white blond hair ... =)

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  4. Allison M.October 28, 2015 at 5:07 AM

    I'd love to dress up as Alina from Shadow and Bone, or Agnieszka from Naomi Novik's Uprooted. Linh Cinder would be fun too! I love your list.

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  5. The Artist LibrarianOctober 29, 2015 at 9:35 AM

    Thanks for stopping by, Allison! Ooh, nice choices --I actually have those titles on my TBR list. I think Cinder would be a good combination of fun and challenging, for sure!

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Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts! Comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

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