As readers and writers, we create new worlds and engage with places built by other writers. Our imaginations inform our lives and give us gifts of wonder. I have often considered what it would be like if it were possible to enter into the world of a book, if it would be anything like I had imagined as I read it, or if that place would be entirely different. What would it be like if we found a key that allowed us to unlock a sealed door, behind which was the world of a book?
If I could visit any book, I would choose J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings. This work has been deeply important to me for most of my life, since I discovered it as a young teenager. I never cease to find the tale compelling, complex, and humanistic. Tolkien’s treatment of mythology and fantasy showed me that the creation of worlds is not an act of mere escapism but a way to shine a light on our world.
When I ask this question, I do not mean that you would necessarily engage with the characters or situations of the world, but that you would have the option of being an observer of its actualities as they are in the book. So, if you choose to answer, remember that you would not have to place yourself in any kind of danger, and you could have a visit of exploration instead.
So, given that option, I ask: what book would you like to visit?
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Reblogged this on Still Another Writer's Blog.
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Thank you for reblogging this piece!
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You are welcome! Seems like it could be an idea for a series of stories itself. In Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut had a character who had become “unglued” in time. What about characters unglued in stories and wondering into others? Dorothy leaves Oz and shows up next to Luke in Episode IV and so forth.
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That is an excellent idea!
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I’d love to say Lord of the Rings or any Jane Austen novel but I also know how much I love indoor plumbing and denim pants so I think I’ll stick to reading about those places. I would absolutely take the Heart of Gold from Hitchhiker’s Guide for a spin though.
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Ah!!! Fantastic!
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I would visit the Cabin Porn book. It’s an interesting travel book showcasing the best cabins made around the world
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That would be wonderful!
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The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon… or any of Georges Simenon’s books.. or The Body in the Library, by Agatha Christie.. or.. or 🙂
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I love The Shadow of the Wind! So many possibilities!
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All my life, well since my youth when I read the series, I’ve wanted to walk through that wardrobe into Narnia. To this day, I hold a tiny sliver of hope and you might even catch me feeling the back wall of a closet or two. 🙂
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I hope that, one day, you find that secret passage!
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Oh, my! My choice is the barn in Charlotte’s Web. My husband wants to do a PG year at Hogwarts, while I would love to accompany him as a first year student. Isn’t reading the best?
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Yes, reading is the best, and those are wonderful choices!
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I’d like to visit the universe of Iain M. Banks’s Culture novels. A multi-species humanoid society that has solved our social ills sounds wonderful just now.
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We could probably learn much there.
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Oh, there are so many! Wonderland, Narnia, Middle Earth, Ender’s game room. I wouldn’t know where to start.
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This would give you many wondrous journeys to make!
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The Lord Of The Rings for me
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We agree!
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We do!
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Reblogged this on The Owl Lady.
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Thank you!
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This is a great question and one that is difficult to answer. I think I would like to go for a walk through Winesburg, Ohio, then I would like to visit Kate and Bianca’s home in Taming of the Shrew a pit stop at Hogwarts. Then, I may also want to visit the pages of the Lorax too and I can’t forget the pages of Ovid’s Metamorphoses in order to watch the mayhem of the gods of old/
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After you were finished, think of the travel writing you could do about your journeys!
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So many possibilities. It’s hard to choose just one. My mind has already traveled inside most of my favorites. (Including Lord of the Rings) Julie of the Wolves has always been one of my favorite childhood stories, so let’s go with that one. I’d love to run with her pack.
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What an adventure that would be!
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What a fabulous post! I love fairy tales, so I would jump right into Cinderella and then Hans Christian Anderson’s Best-Loved Fairy Tales by Fall River Press, 2012 and then Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales, also published by Fall River Press as well. I guess, though, Snow White as a single story would be my second choice, and then there are the Mermaid stories…..and….
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Thank you so much, and what a wonderful journey you would have!
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Charles, just reblogged your post! So fabulous and it made my day. Thank you so very much! Karen 🙂
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You are so very welcome!
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Reblogged this on Pen and Paper and commented:
Professor Charles French, asks, “what book would you love to visit, if you could?”
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This is difficult to decide. There are a number if books I would love to visit, including most of Jane Austen’s books, the Bronte sisters, Gulliver’s Travel’s, Wizard of Oz. That’s hardly a third of it!
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Well, you have enough for several journeys!
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There are so many worlds to choose from! I would definitely be joining you in Middle-Earth, spend some time in the Shire and Rivendell. I would love to visit V.E. Schwab’s Londons in the Shades of Magic series. I’d even be down with spending time in some H.P. Lovecraft’s New England towns.
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I would have to say anything from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle…or perhaps Cannery Row by John Steinbeck.
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I would certainly love to visit 221B Baker Street!
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You would have a very interesting travel itinerary!
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One Hundred Years of Solitude
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Excellent choice!
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Thanks. Not a lot of people are aware of this stellar gem.
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You are very welcome!
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Reblogged this on palabras DelMar and commented:
This is a great post! Something to make you think… What book would you visit?
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Thank you for the reblogging!
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Moonspinners was a childhood book I loved – so I’d like to see the Greek Islands.
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That sounds lovely.
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Good one – My new book is coming out – Thought you’d enjoy seeing it. “The Bait Man” comrth.
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Thanks!
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Hmmm…. perhaps yours…. (I understand there may be good food involved!)
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Yes, several of the characters certainly enjoy their food!
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And thank you!
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i would enter American Tragedy ( the only book that I have ever rooted for the villian) It takes a brilliant writer such as the likes of Theodore Dreiser to pull that off 🙂
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Dreiser was brilliant, and you have made a very compelling choice.
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This is a book that I found captivating, I could not put it down even though it frightened me in that I felt little pity for victim and empathy for the villain. I think it is quite amazing.
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Yes, it is.
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Reblogged this on quirkywritingcorner.
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Thank you so much!
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“Animal Farm”
I would LOVE to hear the animals ‘sing’ “Beasts of England”
LOL!
No seriously, I’ll have to give this a little more thought.
I’ll be back 🙂
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I am looking forward to what you will choose.
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Lord of the Rings has been one of my favorite books since I read it at 14 so I guess I will see you there!😘
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An excellent choice!
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Decisions, decisions… Narnia? Or possibly Dune. Or (narcissistically) Ismara, the setting for my own fantasy series The Wishing Map.
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These are all very interesting choices!
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The Lord of the Rings hands down🙌🏼
When I was younger I think about Narnia and Hogwarts a lot. The kingdoms in Game of Thrones are interesting too
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These would all make wonderful visits!
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I dislike LINK-dishing, still sometimes there is only one way to find out that one does belong to the minority of people who really care about something:
http://www.abandonia.com/de/gamebooks#Middle-Earth+Quest
Feel free to delete my comments, just as you consider it proper. 😉
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Thank you.
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