Lit List: Fictional Worlds

A couple weeks ago I started writing posts that I’ve come to think of as my Sunday Musings. I wanted to add more to this space than simply posting book reviews, so I decided to talk about random book stuff. Why I read YA. Why I started this blog in the first place. What it’s like to work in a bookstore. (That one started to skew slightly towards ranting, so it’s cooling down in the drafts until I can come back to it with a more level head.)

Aaaaaand that’s where I got stuck. 3 ideas, and I’m spent. How could I keep up with my posts if I have nothing to write about? Hmm.. other blogs I follow post Top 10 lists. I could do that. I love lists! But 10 items? If you haven’t noticed already, I’m long-winded. There’s no way we’re all making it through a Top 10 list. Or even a Top 5. Top 3 might even be pushing it. So I’m just calling mine a Lit List. It might have 10 things, or maybe only 1. Depends on how I feel that day. So what do you say we kick this thing off!

This week’s Lit List– Fictional worlds I’d like to live in!

Obviously, my choice is the magical world of Harry Potter. Who wouldn’t want to live there? There’s magic. And dragons. And unicorns! (Any place with dragons and unicorns is top on my list.) I could create things, transfigure things, charm things. It would be amazing. I wouldn’t actually have to clean my house like I spent all day doing– I could just magic it clean! A spell to wash the dishes. Charm the mop. The laundry folds itself! Oh the possibilities! Adulting wouldn’t be nearly as hard if I could just wave my wand and shout some words. And don’t forget the transportation options. Broomsticks, Floo Powder, portkeys. Late for work? No problem. Just apparate! No more sitting in traffic. Don’t have enough time to do all the things you want to do in a day? Grab yourself a time-turner. Tired of being a human? Learn to transfigure yourself and become an animagus. I’d be all about spending my day lounging around as a cat.

J.K. Rowling created such a rich and amazing world within the pages of Harry Potter, that it’s impossible for me to think of anywhere else I’d want to be. There are very few authors who have mastered the art of complete world building, but she’s definitely one of them. With each reread, there are more layers to peel back, more details that emerge to tie the whole world together. I love the mixture of mythology and word play and imagination that went into creating this magical tapestry, and it has become the one literary world that I keep revisiting over and over. I’m not much of a rereader, but Harry Potter is my exception.

As I sit here, writing this post, I’m surrounded by parts of this magical world. To my right sits my bookcase with all my Harry Potter books in hardcover, paperback, and the illustrated version. A sorting hat, my wand, a golden snitch, and a handful of dragons are scattered in between. A movie poster from Order of the Phoenix and an army of POP figures grace the shelf above. And directly in front of me are prints that I’ve created myself from quotes, printed on book pages from the series. All winter long I wear a scarf I handknitted in Gryffindor colors (even though I’m a Ravenclaw). I spend every day of my life immersed in this incredible world, and I know I’m not alone. If I was, there wouldn’t be entire theme parks dedicated to it. Actual castles to take classes in. Conventions about it. There wouldn’t be real life Quidditch teams. Or Harry Potter themed parties, birthdays, even weddings. I wouldn’t know several people who have this world tattooed on their bodies. There are so many of us who share the love of this fictional world. So many of us who live with it as part of our every day lives.

So without a doubt, my favorite fictional world is the magical world of Harry Potter. If you could live in any world, where would you live?