Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created by the lovely folks at The Broke and the Bookish. They created it because they're "particularly fond of lists" and since I also enjoy lists, I've decided to participate in this fun feature.
Have you ever read a book and thought, "My god, I never ever want to live in this world or trade places with this character. The hell they have to go through!"? That's what this week's Top Ten Tuesday is all about. We had to choose ten worlds we'd never want to live in or ten characters who we would never trade places with. It was an interesting list to created and, not surprisingly, there's a lot of fantasy/dystopian type worlds and characters listed. What would you put on your list? Links lead to Goodreads.
Divergent's world is a little less crazy on the dystopian chart but the things that happen in their world are no less devastating. I also wouldn't want to be controlled by some whacked out woman and 'wake up' to find I had killed my neighbour. Ugh.
Tanya Huff wrote an awesome story and the world's pretty cool but there's some weird sort of approved incest thing that happens. I never really understood it but from what I could tell first cousins would sleep together after getting all hot and bothered during a magical outing. Really weird. But great novel. Oh, and there are some crazy and evil Dragon Lords (that might not be their correct title but it's been awhile since I read the book) that are running around the city, too.
I really like the fun, cozy mysteries by Joanne Fluke that feature Hannah Swensen. They have recipes throughout and main character Hannah owns a cookie shop. But, they are mysteries, and this is the reason I wouldn't want to be Hannah. She's always the one to find the dead bodies! That's not my idea of fun.
Ursula Todd had an extraordinary life. Er. Lives. She's the main character from the amazing novel Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. She relives her life over and over and over again. I don't think that's something I would like. I wouldn't want to know what's going to happen (like World War II) and be powerless to stop it.
Worlds
This one gets a big ol' "duh". Is there anyone who would want to live in a world where The Hunger Games exists? Suzanne Collins created a hell of a story and Panem is great to read about but I'd rather stay in today's North America, thank you very much.
I love Jane Austen's books. I love reading about 19th century England. I do not want to live there. Sure, it'd be peaceful without all the traffic and smog and so on, but I like my modern conveniences - like toothbrushes and Twitter.
Divergent's world is a little less crazy on the dystopian chart but the things that happen in their world are no less devastating. I also wouldn't want to be controlled by some whacked out woman and 'wake up' to find I had killed my neighbour. Ugh.
Tanya Huff wrote an awesome story and the world's pretty cool but there's some weird sort of approved incest thing that happens. I never really understood it but from what I could tell first cousins would sleep together after getting all hot and bothered during a magical outing. Really weird. But great novel. Oh, and there are some crazy and evil Dragon Lords (that might not be their correct title but it's been awhile since I read the book) that are running around the city, too.
Characters
Before you jump down my throat, let me explain. The world Harry Potter lives in is one that I'd give up almost anything to live in because I love it so. BUT, I don't want to be Harry Potter. The pressure that kid was under was enormous and I wouldn't want to be in his place.
Caitlin is the main character in Sarah Dessen's novel Dreamland. I wouldn't want to be her because she ends up dating a real asshole who treats her horribly and is all kinds of abusive. Rereading this book last year was really hard because I really felt like I wanted to save Caitlin. It was like reading about a little sister or cousin or niece who you weren't able to save until it was almost too late. Heartbreaking.
I wouldn't want to trade places with Emma, from Catherine McKenzie's novel Forgotten, for a couple of reasons. First, she's in Africa when a devastating earthquake hits (think the 2010 earthquake in Haiti). That's not fun. Second, because of that earthquake and the issues it creates with communications, her friends and family think she's dead. Uhhh...so not fun. Excellent book, though, by one of my favourite authors.
I really like the fun, cozy mysteries by Joanne Fluke that feature Hannah Swensen. They have recipes throughout and main character Hannah owns a cookie shop. But, they are mysteries, and this is the reason I wouldn't want to be Hannah. She's always the one to find the dead bodies! That's not my idea of fun.
I picked Dan Brown's most famous character because of the way his career would have progressed. If I chose to get an obscene amount of education and then work on my own research projects while being a professor at a prestigious American college, I'm expecting to have a pretty low key life. That's not the case for Langdon. He repeatedly gets pulled into dangerous, life threatening situations all around the world. I doubt that's what he signed up for!
I would hate to be Harry Potter too! The poor guy has to fight Voldemort while only knowing a little bit of magic and his parents were murdered. Such a hard life!
ReplyDeleteI would also hate to live in most dystopian societies! Reading about that sort of bleak outlook is more than enough for me!
Panem is at the top of my list! I would not be long for the world if I were thrust into the Games.
ReplyDeletePanem and Divergent are like two sides of the same coin. No thank you! I'm a wuss and would not make it. I wouldn't want to be HP either. That's too much pressure for a kid already dealing with emotional baggage...and school.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on Harry and Ursula! I would hate to be them, even though I loved reading about them so much! And is it weird that I kind of want to visit Divergent's Chicago? Maybe just for a week..... lol
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