Where Would You Go?

                                                            

This was a fun read for a bookworm such as myself. Quinn describes a magical library that will allow a person in need of escape to enter the world of a book. Not, I hasten to add, to become one of the existing characters and a part of the story, rather to become a character who fits into that world.

For example, one person who loved the Sherlock Holmes stories becomes Mrs. Hudson's niece and spend a lot of time in the kitchen (and, surprisingly, in a 'friends with benefits' relationship with the sleuth himself.)

As I said, a fun read. A little more chick lit-ish than my usual reading but the premise absolutely captures me and got me to wondering which book world I'd choose to live in.

It's a lot to ponder. I spend a lot of time re-reading favorite books--like Jane Austen and P.G. Wodehouse. But much as I enjoy these worlds, I wouldn't choose either--the constraints on women in Austen's world make it a no go, and while I adore the utter silliness of Wodehouse's characters and would like to spend time at Blandings Castle, it's all too two-dimensional to imagine actually living there.

The Aubrey-Maturin books have absorbed me for many hours (I've read/listened to them half a dozen times), but the reality of woman's lot in those times, just  as with Austen, makes it unappealing for an actual escape.

What about the Narnia books? I ponder. Old and dear friends, a mostly happy world . . . could be a possibility.  I'd probably pick The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and hope to be a minor character on board the ship.

I've imagined myself in many favorite books--like Sayers' Gaudy Night, Pratchett's Wee Free Men, Benson's Lucia books, Alcott's Eight Cousins, Wright's Islandia, White's Once and Future King . . .

There's almost always a drawback--burdensome clothing, a manifestly unequal society, lack of sanitation. I'm drawn to English books set between the two world wars--but would I, as a minor character in one of these books, know what lay ahead?

I find it an interesting mental exercise. Of course, Quinn's premise was that people were attempting to escape bad personal situations. And I'm not. But if I were. I might be tempted to escape into one of my own books and spend some time with Miss Birdie and Elizabeth, hoping not to get involved in a murder. And hoping that in their world, DJT is just a washed-up reality show host.

What book worlds would you consider escaping to?