The actual topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by the lovely ladies of The Broke and the Bookish Blog) is “Top Ten Things on My Bookish Bucketlist”, but I opted to choose a past topic instead: “Top Ten Worlds I’d Never Want To Live In”. This was actually a rather difficult post for me to write, because all of these worlds listed here are dark, gorey, and hopeless. But to cheer myself up I added a little surprise at the end ;)
Top Ten Literary Worlds I’d Never Want to Live In
Panem (from The Hunger Games trilogy):
For anyone who has read the books or seen the movies, this is a pretty obvious choice. In the futuristic dystopian world of Panem, children ages 11-18 are entered into a lottery each year, a lottery that chooses 12 boys and 12 girls who will be forced to fight to the death in a harsh arena. Only one child survives.
Besides the annual “Hunger Games”, there are also strict rules that the citizens have to live by day-to-day. Each district has its own “Peacekeepers” to terrorize and taunt the citizens into submission. When I first read these novels I was constantly on the edge; there was no “down time”. I was always feeling anxious and scared for everyone (so much so that I had a nightmare wherein Peeta and Katniss were being physically threatened by a pack of 20 Careers. This is how I knew I needed to read something happier…like Jane Austen. Now there’s a literary world I’d love to inhabit!). I love that the author, Suzanne Collins, was able to make me feel this way, but I love even more that I do not have to feel this way in real life! No Panem for me!
The Deserted Island (from The Lord of the Flies):
What a fascinating book, but what a messed up world. If this pig on a stick image doesn’t bother you, maybe you should imagine it talking to you while flies swarm disgustingly around its dead head. Yeah, this novel gave me the creeps in many ways, but the pig head could arguably be the least disturbing part for me. The group of savage boys was much scarier, especially after they started killing off the younger ones.
Technically, this deserted island isn’t some fantasy world, but a means by which to draw out the savagery that inhabits all of us. Scary thought, isn’t it?
The Mental Hospital (from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
Unlike most of the other novels listed in this post, I did not enjoy reading (or watching) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It doesn’t help that it features Jack Nicholson (great actor, but there’s a reason he usually plays creepy roles), but I read the book first and I didn’t enjoy it either. I usually stay away from novels and movies involving mental heath issues as they don’t tend to sit well with me.
The scariest character in this “world” is the tyrannical Nurse Ratched (I mean, with that name you can’t be expecting someone like Princess Buttercup). Instead of trying to cure her patients’ illness, she uses them to maintain her power. She even tries to convince the non-insane protagonist that he is insane. I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s obvious that it’s not a happy one (or else this novel wouldn’t be on my list).
Wonderland (from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
This magical world is most likely someplace that a lot of bookworms would love to visit. Not me. I recently read this novel for the first time, and I was greatly disappointed. I’ve always enjoyed the films, even though they are very bizarre, but the book drove me insane. Obviously Wonderland is a confusing place, but I was literally getting headaches from trying to follow along with Alice’s adventures. I don’t even want to imagine what that place would be like if it actually existed.
The Jungle (from The Most Dangerous Game)
I guess this is technically a gothic short story? I’m not sure, but I did like reading it, despite the fact that the story follows a man who is unknowingly invited to another man’s private island so that he can be hunted. Not the happiest of tales, but–spoilers–it ends well. Still not the type of place I’d ever want to live in.
Airstrip One (from Nineteen Eighty-Four)
This is one of the first dystopian novels I ever read (I believe the very first one was The Giver), and this genre has definitely become one of my favorites despite the fact that I would never want to live in any of the dystopian worlds, like the setting of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Here free-thinking, individualism, and a sense of personality are forbidden as we are dominated by Big Brother. Obviously there are real places in this world that mirror this fictitious place, but I’ll let the conspiracy theorists argue about the extent to which it exists.
Any place featured in Shakespeare’s tragedies (mainly the supernatural world of Macbeth)
Hamlet is not only my favorite Shakespearean work, it is also my favorite play, but between the ghosts and the insanity, it’s hard to find anything positive about the Prince of Denmark’s world. And Macbeth’s world is even worse. If it’s not the witches that tempt him with visions of power and success, it’s his wife, Lady Macbeth, who is essentially responsible for most of the deaths in the play.
And then there’s Romeo & Juliet, also known as the saddest story ever. I love Shakespearean tragedies (except Macbeth…I’d be fine never reading it again), but I’d never want to live in one, even as a minor character who is fortunate enough to stay alive.
Earth under alien attack (from The War of the Worlds)
I’ve actually never read this novel (it is on my TBD list for this year, though!), but I’ve seen the Tom Cruise movie and that was enough to know I’d never want to experience a bloodthirsty alien attack. I highly doubt I’d survive something like that, and even if I did it still wouldn’t be enjoyable.
Kingsbridge (from The Pillars of the Earth)
I haven’t read this novel, but I did watch the miniseries and it was enough to convince me that I would not enjoy the book. Medieval England was not a happy place for anyone, not even for those in power, and certainly not for women. Despite the fact that I don’t enjoy this type of literature and that I’m extremely grateful that I don’t live in a medieval society, I actually do like one thing related to The Pillars of the Earth: it board game based on the sequel, World Without End. It is probably my favorite strategy game, ironically because you actually feel like you’re playing for your life. I know, I’m such a contradiction.
Westeros (from A Song of Ice and Fire series)
Normally these lists aren’t actually in order, but in this case I can say that, without hesitation, I would rather live anywhere than Westeros. I tried reading this series after the Game of Thrones series became hugely popular, but I seriously regret every buying the books. So many graphic images and unforgettable horrors, especially involving women. I can’t fathom why anyone, if they could visit any fictitious world, would pick Westeros. And with that being said…
To cheer myself up, because it wasn’t pleasant coming up with this list, I am ending this post by sharing the one literary world I’d love to visit above all others:
Avonlea, Prince Edward Island (from the Anne of Green Gables series)
*sigh* Sometimes, I think I’d like to live in Edwardian eastern Canada permanently, and pretend to be imaginative Anne Shirley and take long walks down dirt roads and have picnics outside with my best friends every single weekend. The only competition with Anne Shirley’s world would be a Jane Austen world, but Anne, as a woman, has so many more opportunities at living an independent life and I think it would be too hard to have to rely on marriage in order to survive. Wow, I didn’t think this post would become so feminist before I wrote it ;)
So what are some fictional worlds you would never want to live in? Or, if you’re like me and would rather think about happy thoughts, if you could live in one book world, which one would it be?
Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing (2012)
I meant to have this post up weeks ago since my birthday was in early March, but better late than never!
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell – “Hi, I’m the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . ” (from the official 
Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill – I usually tend to stay away from Young Adult romances that aren’t of the sci-fi/dystopian genre because I tend to find them flat and shallow, but when I saw the lively and gorgeous cover of Meant to Be, I didn’t hesitate to throw my prejudices aside and give it a shot (I mean, look at how colorful and inviting this cover art is! PLEASE judge this book by its cover). This story is a coming of age tale about Julia, a bookish and athletic goodie-good whose high school field trip to London seems completely ruined when she is paired up with Jason, the attention-hogging class clown who seems only interested in partying and pushing every one of Julia’s nerves. But after Julia begins receiving romantic texts from an unknown number, she accepts Jason’s offer to help her win over her mystery guy in exchange for agreeing to break some rules along the way. Despite Jason’s irritating behavior, Julia finds herself both puzzled and challenged by his carpe-diem outlook on life and begins wondering if her own expectations in life are really meant to be.
The Last Best Kiss by Claire LaZebnik – This book was a welcomed breaker of my expectations. As already stated, I do not typically read Young Adult romances unless they come highly recommended (or if they have a captivating cover, like Meant to Be). LaZebnik’s other novel, Epic Fail sparked my interest when I heard it was an enjoyably modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice (my second favorite novel of all time), and maybe my expectations were too high because I was not too satisfied overall (to be honest, I was really into it but the last 1/3 was overly cheesy and clichéd). But still, I was determined to have modern Austen adaptations redeemed, and then I discovered The Last Best Kiss, a retelling of Persuasion (my third favorite novel). I read the book in less than a day and immediately wrote up a 
macarons & paperbacks 