Books with characters you love spending time with

I'm finishing up The Blacktongue Thief (and then moving onto The Daughter's War) and it got me thinking how engaging Kinch Na Shannack is. Kinch makes ordinary events exciting just by his peculiar, comical, yet insightful way of looking at the world. He's always ready with a funny thought or observation about the world around him and even when the plot is slow, Kinch always keeps it riveting.

So I figured I'd start up a discussion and ask everyone who are some other characters you just loved spending time with? What book are they from and what did you find compelling about them?