Chatterbox: Blab About Books

I always wondered what other people's thoughts on this were, because as I rule, I can only write in third person. Whenever I write in first person, the character sounds whiny and sarcastic and totally unlikeable. Also, I like making my supporting characters as interesting or more so as the main character, and I lose their thoughts when I write in first.

A lot of old Gothic novels like Jane Eyre and Rebecca are written in first person, which makes you a little too close to the MC, especially since both of the books are very...angsty. But with other stories, like Percy Jackson, I enjoy reading in first person, especially since RR manages to keep the other characters relevant. 

Third person is kind of tricky, since you can do so much with it: a tightness to the MC, an omniscent "narrator" and those stories that go back and forth between characters in the third person but that read like first person. The fact that you can do a lot is helpful, though, like how J.K. Rowling keep Harry very front and center, though she has such a vibrant supporting cast.

What I absolutely hate, though, is like in the Hunger Games when it's written in first person, present tense. It absolutely screws up my whole perception of the world and sounds annoying to the ear. "I" is repeated too much--and there's also that point of being too close to the MC. It's one thing to make a character sympathetic and likeable, it's another to force the reader into the character without their consent.

What do you guys think about first person/third person?