“Top Ten Tuesday” is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is the Top Eight Settings I Would and Would Not Like To Live In.
In what seems to be an ongoing theme lately, I struggled a little with this week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt. I know, I know – When do I not? So, I decided to put my own twist on the topic this week to make things a little easier on myself. Below you’ll find a list of the fictional settings I would most like, and most hate, to live in. Note to self: Do not allow myself to be transported into a dystopian novel. It would spell almost certain doom.
Top Four Worlds I’d Love To Live In
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
I’m a twenty-five-year-old woman still anxiously awaiting her acceptance letter to this beloved magical institution. Need I say more?
Narnia:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Much like Hogwarts, Narnia is a world filled with magic and enchantment, where fauns, witches and anthropomorphized animals abound. I used to regularly dream of being transported to this extraordinarily realm as a child, and was even known to scrounge through the odd wardrobe in the vain hope I might discover a portal that would deliver me there. Oh, don’t look at me like that. Like you haven’t done it, too!
Avonlea:
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Speaking as someone who grew up in a bustling urban environment, I’ve always been fascinated by small town settings. From the quirky locals to the quaint pastoral landscape, Avonlea in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables had everything I ever dreamt about and more. Having visited Prince Edward Island firsthand I can also personally attest to its beauty. While I suspect I might not be made for such a quiet, isolated place, the promise of my very own Gilbert Blythe might just be enough to entice me. I’ll even let him call me ‘Carrots’.
Crystal Cove:
Moonglass by Jessi Kirby
Moonglass is likely my least favourite of Jessi Kirby’s novels (Although this is a little like saying that season two of The Wire is my least favourite – They’re all brilliant!) but one area in which this novel particularly excelled was in Kirby’s rendering of the setting. At the outset of the novel the protagonist and her father return to Crystal Cove, California, the beach where her parents first met, in an attempt to cope with her loss and repair their relationship. Kirby brings Crystal Cove to life with such vivid imagery that I could almost feel the sea breeze on my face and taste the saltwater on my tongue. I wanted to search for my very own sea glass and run on the beach every morning right alongside Anna. When can I move in to my very own cottage on the beach?
Top Four Worlds I’d Hate To Live In
Airstrip One, Oceania:
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
A world dominated by global conflict in which government surveillance and mind control run rampant and individualism is perceived as a threat punishable by torture, George Orwell’s brilliant Nineteen Eighty-Four single-handedly created the now-infamous ‘Big Brother’ and whose concepts have entered the public consciousness as the future we all dread and fear most. The scariest part of all? It no longer seems all that far-fetched.
The Republic of Gilead:
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Often imitated but never quite matched, Margaret Atwood’s chilling, thought-provoking dystopian tale takes place in what is easily one of my most hated (and dreaded) of societies. A theocratic dictatorship in which women are subjugated and reduced to second-class citizens prized only for their reproductive abilities, The Republic of Gilead is like a nightmare come to life. A society in which women are forbidden even to read? Talk about a fate worse than death!
Panem:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
A searing satirization of Western society’s increasing preoccupation with reality television and the dangers of excessive governmental control, Panem is one fictional setting that anyone would be wise to steer clear of. Between the constant fear of being chosen as a tribute and one’s inability to ever rise above or change their social station, there’s a debilitating sense of hopelessness and defeat in Collin’s bleak dystopian vision. Is it any wonder why Panem and its surrounding districts are one of the last fictional places I would ever want to live?
The Spaceship ‘Godspeed’:
Across The Universe by Beth Revis
As endlessly fascinated as I was by Beth Revis’ ingenious, and often terrifying, setting, the spaceship ‘Godspeed’ is one of the very last places I would wish to live. The immensity of outer space has always intimidated me at the best of times, and I can only imagine how scary and suffocating it must be to be trapped on spaceship with no means of escape or change of scenery, particularly when events begin to take a turn for the dangerous, as they eventually do.
Now it’s your turn! Which fictional settings would you love or hate to live in, and why? Please let me know in the comments – I’d love to hear from you!
17 Responses
THG is very popular, i wonder why LOL
Great list!
Check out our TTT of this week.
Leydy @ OUaT & Redcarpetendings
leydylaura recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Characters I’d NEVER Want To Trade Places With
Hahaha I was having the same problem! So many worlds I WANT to live in.. I kept focusing on those instead of the prompt. I found the perfect image for it too 😉 shared in our post. For your HATE worlds I’ve only read of: Panem- I would die in seconds and Godspeed …- I’m a hermit ya.. but SPACE with no option for land and freedom? No thank you! I have heard about the world in Handmaids tale and ya.. I’d run away SO FAST.
Michelle @ The Passionate Bookworms recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Worlds we’d Never want to live in.
I had the same problem at first, then I started thinking about the recent Dystopian craze and realized that I honestly wouldn’t survive a second in any of those worlds! I love your list, and completely agree that I would definitely want to live in Hogwarts or Narnia!
Alaina @ ReflectionsofaBibliophilicBarista recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday (Jan. 28)
I love how you twisted this topic around! Avonlea! YES PLEASE. Especially if I can get my own Gil and Green Gables, I would just die happy there.
If you go to Avonlea and find Gilbert, I’m coming with you and also, we may have a battle. Or we could clone him and each take one. That could work.
I haven’t read The Handmaid’s Tale yet but it’s on my list for the 101 Fantasy project! Sounds ominous!
Terri @ Starlight Book Reviews recently posted…Top 10 Tuesday: Bookish Worlds I’m Glad Aren’t Real
I’m fascinated by books with space travel and I actually love reading about it and I did really love Across the Universe (still need to read the final book, though!). But living in it myself? No way! Like you say, it would feel very suffocating and like being trapped. I don’t think I can handle the idea of not being able to get out. It’s like being in airplane, except you’re in it for a long, long time.
And yes, Panem. Not only for the Hunger Games and scared of being chosen as a tribute, but also because of the horrible living situations in the districts. I wouldn’t even want to live in the Capitol, because I wouldn’t want to be around people who enjoy seeing children fight to the death.
Kim @ The Nomadic Book Hoarder recently posted…Ten Reasons Why I Don’t Want To Live in Harry Potter’s World
Of course, I totally agree with Hogwarts, Narnia, and Avonlea. I feel like every Hunger Games fan has to have Panem on their list. I did really like your contribution of The Republic of Gilead, which I have to agree with wholeheartedly… I think the idea of living there makes me cringe more than the thought of Panem!
Kaitlyn @ Bookish Comforts recently posted…{Reread} Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
I love this twist on the original topic. Which I also struggled with. I also agree with you – I would not last more than an hour in any dystopian setting I’ve ever read about. I do not have the constitution for running around killing squirrels or fighting zombies. I mean, for one thing, it just sounds really, really exhausting. But your worlds to live in? Perfect. I grew up in a small town in Canada, but I can tell you that Avonlea is special and nothing like the small town life I knew. I loved Anne as a kid and I still want to go and see the red roads! And don’t even get me started on Hogwarts. I’ll see ya there.
M @ Backlist Books recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Worlds I’d Never Want To Live In
Anne of Green Gables is my favorite! I’d like to live in the world of Avonlea as well–I visited Prince Edward Island for the first time for an L.M. Montgomery conference and didn’t want to leave. Having your very own Gilbert would be wonderful!
Fantastic list!
Kate @ Spirit of Children’s Literature recently posted…Think with Your Heart–Review: Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee
YESSSSSS to Hogwarts. I’m not sure about Narnia, I think it would freak me out.
Airstrip One would be absolutely awful, as would The Republic of Gilead. I can’t believe I left those out of my list.
Great choices! I would love to live in Hogwarts or Narnia but hate to live in Panem or The Republic of Gilead. I didn’t think of Godspeed, but now that I think about it it would be really claustrophobic and scary.
Oh my gosh, I would love to live in Avonlea!!! I wouldn’t have thought of it for this topic, but now that I read you’re post, I can’t imagine not listing it. And seriously – HOGWARTS! Yes, please!
Quinn @ Quinn’s Book Nook recently posted…Top Ten Characters I’d NEVER Want To Trade Places With
Last semester my friends and I performed an adaptation play of 1984 by Orwell – and I honestly think the Oceania kind of world is already happening, but in a very subtle way, you know? With the media trying to control everything and lots of other countries’ government putting a halt on the citizen’s individualism; it’s terrifying to think about.
By the way, I agree with you about the Avonlea world, too! Who doesn’t want a Gilbert for their ownself, yeah? And the dresses, oh the dresses of that era would be so much fun! 😀
Tirta @ I Prefer Reading recently posted…Can I or can’t I ― 2014 Reading Challenges that I’m taking part in!
I haven’t got around to read Anne of Green Gables. It certainly seems like a read I’d enjoy reading. I like small town places. I wouldn’t want to live in Panem either, although I could use with one 5 minutes visit to meet Peeta, hehe.
Farhana Reads recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Worlds I’d Never Want To Live In
AVONLEA <3
That is all.
You win.
BEST WORLD EVER.
Hannah @ So Obsessed With recently posted…No Man’s Land
Ooh yes I’d love to live at Hogwarts/the Wizarding World or Narnia. Crystal Cove was very well described but if it brought forth such difficult memories of a deceased loved one for me as it did for Anna, then I’m not sure I’d want to go there.
Gilead, Panem, and Godspeed are all great picks. I wouldn’t want to live there either, or in most dystopian worlds.
Amanda @ Late Nights with Good Books recently posted…Top Ten Types of Worlds I’d Never Want To Live In
I am in COMPLETE agreement with your first three choices for the places you would want to live in. I loved Narnia and Avonlea growing up, and would still want to go and live there. BUT, of all the places you’ve mentioned, Hogwarts is still the place I’d want to experience for myself the most! (Seriously, where is my letter? That owl is SO LOST.)
Alexa S. recently posted…XOXO Gossip Girl