Reader Mailbag: Book World You’d Like To Inhabit
In the August 2019 newsletter, we asked readers what book world they would love to inhabit; either permanently or temporarily.
Here are the responses.
Linda: If I were to live in a book series , it would have to be the Inspector Gamache and Three Pines series , by Louise Penney. I absolutely fall in love with the descriptions of the village and the characters. She has a way of sucking you into the story, so much that you cry when it is sad, laugh when it is happy and cringe when it is horrible. They are believable. I have had some really good readings this past month. Read the 3 books in the Peter Ash series by Nick Petrie and love this character. Also read “The Good Daughter” and “Pieces of Her” by Karin Slaughter. Slaughter is another author that can really pull you into her books. These last two were excellent. When I read I am transported to the time and place of the book if it is good. I feel like I am one of the characters and am in a movie with them. If a book can transform you like that it is a wonderful journey. Thank you again for the newsletter and the recommendations. I am trying to just read random stand alones for awhile, catching up on shelved books. I have to make room for some more books-lol.
Ayesha: Leaving it VERY late (sorry, kept slipping my mind…) but I’d love to inhabit the exciting world of Mike Resnicks Weird West Tales Series (especially The Buntline Special, which got me hooked!) of adventure, Steampunk and gadgets! Only temporarily though, don’t think I could cope with it continually… Ha
Joanne: I want to live in Three Pines. Not just me, but everyone who has read Louise Penny’s series. It doesn’t matter that in a village of maybe 200? 100? inhabitants, there are at least three or four homicides a year. What does the body count matter when there is the comradeship of the people here, the book store, the bistro with the croissants and soups, the pond that freezes over in the winter for community sports. Dogs walked off leash. It all sounds so sheltered and comforting. Except for the homicides, of course.
Janet: My favorite world would be the planet Harmony, on either the island called Rainshadow or Illusion Town. I have always wanted a real dust bunny, all here book characters have them. The places are in the books of Jayne Castle AKA Jayne Anne Krentz.
Best to you. Glad to read the Kindle didn’t drown.
Sam: I would definitely go with Ready Player One. I mean, come on – how much better can it get? You can go to any virtual world of any type you want to, and earn whatever type of gear you want to take with you. Granted, it’s not all free, but it’s available. And don’t forget (left out of the film adaptation) you can even play parts in actual movies, like be Matthew Broderick in War Games for example. Runner up would probably be Dark Matter. Though I don’t personally believe in multi-verse, I’ve always been fascinated with the concept.
AP: Hi Graeme, thanks for another great newsletter. While I mostly read mysteries or thrillers, I still read the regency romances I started in junior high. These are set in a limited time in England, near the end of or after the Napoleonic wars. I still have fantasies of being a debutante in Regency London – but one of the heroines, not one of the insipid ones.
Vicki: What world would I like to inhabit?
Narnia
C.S. Lewis did a magical job with the series. There are lots of other second rans, but this always tops my list.
Loved the joke/comic/humor in the newsletter. That was my daughter and me at Powell’s in Portland last weekend. I figured out how to fit them all into my suitcase…
Marcia:
You asked what book world would I like to inhabit. My first choice would have to be The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The magical world captured me like no other book ever did. I was never a fan of fantasy but the little boy who lived in The Cupboard Under The Stairs stole my heart and literally put me in his world. And I believe, once there, I would stay!
Also, for me, an oldie AND goodie would be the world of Anton Myrer’s The Last Convertible. The Greatest Generation, their world at Harvard, their love of the Big Bands and lastly, the convertible that brought the group together. It is an era that will never be again and I would love to be part of it.
So, that’s my 2 cents for August! Have a great month, see you in September!
Tracey O: Love, love, love the picture of the month for August!! I had to print it and hang it on the fridge. That depicts my household to a “T”!!
What book world would I like to live in? Narnia, of course!
Kenicia: The book world I would love to visit is Narnia. I have been fascinated with Aslan’s land of talking beasts since I was 11 years old!
Tom M: Hello again. Oh yes, the cottage. I have stayed at numerous cottages and cabins over the decades in northern Michigan including the Upper Peninsula. Each had its own charms and quirks. I was never too picky because it’s really the atmosphere of the north that thrills me. I sometimes miss the rusticity of the north country.
I have just finished a marvelous book about wolves. It was “American Wolf, a True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West”, by Nate Blakeslee. This story takes place in the Yellowstone Park area of NW Wyoming. Also drawn into the fray are Montana and Idaho, which border the park. I have visited Yellowstone and enjoyed it immensely. Once, a huge bison was crossing the road and I got out of the car and got fairly close to him and took a few pics. Not a very smart thing to do as I later learned. But hey, I was on vacation and sometimes anything goes. I think I would love to live in or near Yellowstone in a little log cabin. After reading this book, I think it would be amazing to see how wolves interact with each other and their environments. The winters can be brutal, but all snuggled up and warm in my cabin, I would be ok.
Barring that, being aboard the Starship Enterprise might be a worthy adventure. I still read a Star Trek PB once in a while and even watch the old TV show reruns and a few of the movies.
Well, thanks for another great newsletter. Gotta a pile of books I need to delve into before the significant other comes up with other plans for me.
Stephanie: Interesting and thought provoking question. I’ve read books since I was five years old – and that’s a lot of books – and during the many story-line phases I’ve gone through, there are probably many ‘worlds’ I would love to have lived in. However, my most recent series, Mark Pryor’s Hugo Marsden books, takes place in Paris (for the most part). While I’ve never had a burning desire to even visit in Paris, I was completely enchanted with this writer’s descriptions of life in this incredibly cosmopolitan and sophisticated, yet quaint old-world city. The main character (Hugo), formerly with the FBI, now works for the US state department and the Ambassador and aside from his job, he is typically at the center of mayhem, murder and other heinous crimes.
What draws me to Paris though, is ‘walking’ the boulevards with Hugo Marsden; one can almost smell the aroma from the brasseries; or feel the breeze off the Seine and hear the cries of the booksellers who have set up books and trinkets stalls along the waterfront. Aside from Paris itself, the main character, Hugo, is interesting on so many levels; he is someone I would like to meet and get to know.
The series is not perfect; the writer follows a similar outline in every book. That said, however, he also introduces interesting characters and the situations they get themselves into. Each book talks about a world your average American knows little about, from the booksellers along the Seine to the American Library, to Paris’ famous cemetery. Pryor brings these places and its characters to life.
So, for me, I’m “off to Paris”, if only in my dreams!
April: Hi Graeme, thanks for another great newsletter. While I mostly read mysteries or thrillers, I still read the regency romances I started in junior high. These are set in a limited time in England, near the end of or after the Napoleonic wars. I still have fantasies of being a debutante in Regency London – but one of the heroines, not one of the insipid ones.
Phoenix: You’ve asked which book world I would like to inhabit, and for me it’s a close race between Narnia, Mitford, and Gabarone.
Ah, to be in Narnia, after the White Witch, of course, where the animals talk and Aslan reigns supreme. To see Him in the flesh, and be able to talk to Him! What joy! There are castles, and fresh, clean air, bubbling streams you could actually drink from, bright green landscape. Of course, things happen, but you know it’s always going to come out all right. Yes, Narnia would be just fine.
But then, there’s also Mitford, with its quirky characters. Father Tim and Cynthia would live next door to me. There would be church doings to look forward to, and sitting on the Gospel Side. Dooley would take care of my dogs, and I’d have a small farm maybe.
But before I pack my bags…there’s also Mma Ramotswe’s Gabarone in Botswana. Hot, dry, dusty, with snakes and other critters, yes, but also with people like Mma Ramotswe to investigate any little problem I might have, and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoke could work on my car. Mma Makutsi could help me pick out my shoes.
Oh. Wait. I couldn’t limit it to just these three, not with St. Frideswide’s Convent waiting in the wings. Set in the early 1400s, with Sister Frivesse solving mysteries everywhere she goes, I just might like to visit for a while. The peace and quiet life of the convent appeals to me, but I’m not all that great in the obedience department!
So, with four to choose from, which shall it be? Maybe I could just rotate between them? Say….there just might be a story of my own there…
Pam: Temporarily I’d love to visit Charlie and the Chocolate Factory–what a sweet adventure! And permanently just send me to Narnia after a Voyage of the Dawn Treader. 🙂
Katherine: That is so easy that I didn’t even have to think about it. The Aunt Dimity series. It is set in my favorite country, nobody is perfect, there is always a mystery to solve which for almost all of the books, does not include anyone getting killed. A village in a beautiful part of England, close to the larger cities, is the perfect blend of small town living. There are mouth-watering food descriptions with recipes at the end. I have yet to read one that I didn’t just want to start all over immediately finishing.
Judy: As far as where I would like to visit, it have to be the world of Inspector Gamache and Three Pines. I want to stay at the B & B and meet all the characters and eat the good food that they are always describing!
Kat: the sue grafton series with kinsey malone. she passed away before she finished the alphabet, but i would have loved to be kinseys neighbor. it was set before cell phones and computers, a much nicer time in santa barbara. permanentl
Janice: Since I am hooked on the exploits of such characters as Dave Robicheux (my favorite), Harry Bosch, Stone Barrington, Kay Scarpetta, the Woman’s Murder Club, et al., somehow I bought into Debbie Macomber’s Rose Harbor books. These books were total escapism. The characters were generally well meaning, the conflicts were totally solvable, the setting was heavenly, and each book had a fairy tale ending. Oh, if only real life were such a breeze!
Veronique: I would so like to move permanently to Three Pines, the village in Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series. So far out of the rat race… And there is of course a bookstore there. And a bakery. All I would ever need.
Chris: As a young reader, the book world I would’ve loved to have lived in was the one detailed in the Anne of Green Gables series, by L.M. Montgomery. Prince Edward Island was so beautifully described in the books that I could almost see the lush, green farmlands and smell the fragrant lilies, roses and honeysuckles. As an adult, I would be fascinated to live (temporarily) in the Outlander community, as written by Diana Gabaldon. It would be fascinating to see how people lived in the 1700s but I wouldn’t want to stay too long–too many dangers were around then, from lawless mobs to infectious diseases.
Donald: I would love to occupy the world of Valdemar with the companions and wonders to see. The only problem is I would most likely not have any special gifts and be a serf.
I’m pretty sure that I’ve already lived in quite a few, including the Dickensian, Bronte, and Potter worlds, but I’d definitely like to try out Kathryn Laskey’s The Guardians of Gahoole series. It’s an owl universe constructed similar to the Knights of the Round Table legend. It’s a Young Adult series of about 16 or 18 volumes and this old adult devoured them. The owls are all manner of specie, with human personas. There’s a vast history and the books cover everything from intimate relationships to “international” battles. You learn tons of surprising things about owls and the characters and storyline are enthralling. To my knowledge there was one animated feature made that wasn’t very successful. They tried to cram the first 4 volumes into 2 hours and viewers new to the world of Gahoole don’t really get a chance to appreciate what’s going on between the owls. Read the books!!