Monday, January 27, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Count Me Out of These Worlds!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top 10 Worlds I'd Never Want to Live in (pictures courtesy of goodreads.com unless otherwise linked)

 This was an interesting subject to do. I found many of my favorite books on the list. As in, I love to read about them but they would be seriously miserable places to actually live in. Did anyone else have the same experience with their lists?
10. Sword of Truth --I actually really loved the magic system in this series, but the major, over-arching bad guy was seriously vile. His mob of evil rapists pretty much took over the world and it just would not have been a fun place for anyone to live, but women in particular.

 9. Never Let Me Go -- Once again I must put a disclaimer: I've never actually read this book. I saw the film version. (Guess I ought to read it so I don't have to keep doing that every time I talk about this story, huh?) But this had to be the most depressing, bleak dystopian story I've ever encountered. So stinking sad! Let's never let the world get this way, yeah?
8. The Great Gatsby -- One of my favorite classic novels, but would I want to live in a world where the people are so disgustingly rich that they drink, party, and spend their lives away to cover their unhappiness? No. I prefer a world where everyone has to work for their keep, but have at least some threshold of happiness.

 7. Les Mis -- Victor Hugo wrote many of his books about the lower classes in society because he saw them and felt pity for them. Like anyone else, they fought to survive, lived, died, raised their children, had passion, but were so often trampled under the feet of the rich and lost to the pages of history. Hugo immortalized them and their tragic plights in his works. It's such compelling subject matter that this story has lasted hundreds of years and is still performed regularly. But would I want to actually live in this time period and be one of Hugo's characters? Not so much.
6. Partials -- This might be my favorite dystopian series on the market today. It's vastly under-read and underrated. But...it's set in a world where all babies born die within a few hours, and no one can figure out how to keep them alive. The last born child is a teenager, and scientists, fearing the extinction of the human race, are scrambling, trying to fix the problem. As part of that, all women after a certain age are forced to get pregnant at least once a year, the logic being that the more babies they can study, the faster they can cure the problem. But meanwhile, the women have to get pregnant, carry the baby, and then watch it die. They have to do this over and over and over again. I may not be a mom yet, but that doesn't mean I don't have some inkling about how painful that would be. Count me out.


5. The Passage -- Hmm. Horrible, blood-thirsty vampire-demon monsters who feed on the human race and who humans have no chance of counteracting? Being as how I don't fancy dying by being ripped limb from limb, I'm fine right here in the good old U.S. of A. At least I have some hold on the dangers I face and how to protect against them. This is true horror at it's best.
4. The Book Thief -- Seriously loved this book, but it made me grateful that I didn't have to live in Hitler's Germany. Especially as a child. So tragic. So difficult. Makes me very thankful for the life I live. This little girl made a habit of stealing books the Nazis were trying to burn out of the world. We have Amazon. No. Comparison. Whatsoever.
3. Under the Never Sky -- Another one of my favorite dystopians, but I wouldn't want to live there, and choose between two not-so-awesome ways of life. Don't get me wrong, Perry is awesome. (Having a hot boyfriend will make any world, dystopian or otherwise, easier to deal with) but this still isn't a world I'd particularly want to inhabit.
2. Divergent -- I remember the first time I read this book, I thought, 'Well duh! Of course Dauntless is the best one. They're the only ones who are forward-thinking and go after what they want. I'd totally choose that one.' But, for those who've read the book, as you learn more, you come to realize that aggression is not the same as being forward-thinking, and that neither justice nor peace even exist among the Dauntless. None of the four choices were good ones. They were used to pigeon-hole people and control their lives. Maybe it's my bookish side or my writer side, or just that I have an eclectic personality but, even aside from the oppression and human rights violations...how boring!
1. A Song of Fire and Ice -- One of my favorite series EVER, but would I want to live there? No. 'Life sucks and then you die' could describe pretty much every character in the story, the bloodthirsty Lannisters have their fingers in everybody's business, and the author very often kills off favorite characters (if you lived there, they'd be your best friends). So, can't wait to read book 6, but I prefer to do it from the comfort of my own home, where I can curl up with fuzzy slippers and hot chocolate.

 How about you? What worlds/characters would you want to avoid?

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14 comments :

  1. AnonymousJanuary 27, 2014 at 10:07 PM

    Great choices for this week's TTT! I agree re: #4, definitely would not want to live in Hitler's Germany. Sometimes I think about it and it's like, how do you live through those years?

    Also agreed re: Westeros and the world in the Sword of Truth--I dunno how I'd survive in Westerosi society and yes, re-reading it a second time, the world can be quite a vile place in SoT.

    My TTT

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    Replies
    1. Liesel HillJanuary 28, 2014 at 8:54 AM

      I really ought to re-read SoT. I loved that series but it's been years. Probably won't get to it any time soon, though. Very well-put about Hitler's Germany. I totally agree. Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  2. AlyJanuary 27, 2014 at 10:29 PM

    I'd hate to live in Hitler's Germany. Either you're believed in his propaganda, which is horrible, or you didn't, which was another hell, itself. What's sad is that people had to live in that world. Both good and bad people were subjected to that. I don't know if I'd mind living in Gatsby's world. I wouldn't want to be any of the characters, but I'd loved to have been one of the faceless partygoers.

    Aly @ My Heart Hearts Books
    My TTT

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    Replies
    1. Liesel HillJanuary 28, 2014 at 8:54 AM

      I suppose it'd be fun to be a faceless party-goer in Gatsby's world, just for the sake of observing and, you know, writing a book or something. :D Good point. Thanks for visiting Aly!

      Delete
  3. Leydy @ OUATJanuary 27, 2014 at 10:30 PM

    Great list! I would crumble into pieces if i ever lived in any of these.

    Check out our TTT of this week.

    Leydy @ OUaT & Redcarpetendings

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  4. Jessica @ a GREAT readJanuary 28, 2014 at 4:41 AM

    OOh nice! Haven't read most of these but I did choose Divergent too!

    Here's my Tuesday post

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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    Replies
    1. Liesel HillJanuary 28, 2014 at 8:55 AM

      Divergent would definitely be an undesirable place to live! Thanks Jessica!

      Delete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2014 at 8:18 AM

    Fantastic choices. The Book Thief also made me grateful that I didn't live in Hitler's Germany.

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    1. Liesel HillJanuary 28, 2014 at 8:56 AM

      Yeah, it definitely does that. Such a beautiful story, though. Thanks Chrissi!

      Delete
  6. AmyJanuary 28, 2014 at 9:39 AM

    I've actually never read any of those books - though I do want to read Divergent but I especially want to read Partials. I used to be interested in the Sword of Truth series, but there were several reasons (your remarks included) as to why I don't think I'll ever read them. I've got my list here:
    http://pagesofstarlight.blogspot.com/2014/01/top-ten-worlds-id-never-want-to-live-in.html

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  7. Alex J. CavanaughJanuary 28, 2014 at 9:45 AM

    That's tough. I can think of a few I'd want to live in, like Narnia, but not the other way around.

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  8. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2014 at 4:28 PM

    Good call on Les Miz! I'm sure I'd be one of the beggars in the street, without all the pretty singing from the musical. :) Never Let Me Go is one of my favorite books, but I never saw the movie! I agree, it would be a pretty awful world to live in. Great list!

    Lisa

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  9. Lexxie LinJanuary 29, 2014 at 6:32 AM

    I don't think there is any world I'd really want to live in - I love my own :) Great list, Liesel.

    Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

    ReplyDelete

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