Ashley did this over on her blog yesterday and I thought it was an awesome idea. And, if you know me, I’m always looking for good post ideas that I can steal. Actually, I asked permission to do the same thing on my blog, which she so graciously gave. So thanks, Ashley!

So the idea behind this fictional bucket list is to look at my favorite books and think of things I’d like to do within the scope of those fictional worlds. I do have a bucket list of my own, which I’ve posted on the blog in the past, and it does have a few items on there that are not possible and would, therefore, be fictional. But this is different…

At first, there’s a part of me that’s having a hard time thinking of which worlds I’d like to be a part of because I read so much Stephen King and so many books that take place in dystopic futures. For example… in the world of The Hunger Games, what on earth would I want to do there? That would be a horrible place to live. Or my favorite King novel, The Stand, where a global pandemic has wiped out 99% of the world’s population? I’d never make it in that kind of post-apocalyptic scenario.

That said… let’s give this a real try…

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and others – Follow the Yellow Brick Road

L. Frank Baum created an incredible world that is both fantastic and terrifying. If you’ve read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in comparison to watching the 1939 movie that’s based on it, you’ll know that the book is way darker than the film. Dorothy’s first journey from Munchkinland to the Emerald City is filled with challenges that she and her new friends are forced to overcome. But it sure would be neat to reach that stretch of road where you first catch sight of the Emerald City. Even though it’s all a fraud anyway… The outer walls are green, sure, but once you get inside, you’re given green-tinted spectacles that are locked onto your head, giving you the illusion that everything in the city is green. That Wizard sure is a tricky guy.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians – Camp Half-Blood

Who wouldn’t want to spend their summer break hanging out with the sons and daughters of Greek gods and goddesses? Sure, that would imply that you were also a demigod. And this, in itself, would also lead to a very dangerous life ahead being attacked by all sorts of mythical beasts and monsters. But that’s what camp is for! You get to train and learn how to fight and maybe even ride a Pegasus.

Harry Potter series – Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

I know Ashley used this one in her post. But seriously, who among us read Sorcerer’s Stone and didn’t lament the fact that we never received our own admission letter from Hogwarts? I mean, I know I’m an American, so I guess Fantastic Beasts has shown us that the magic population here attends a school called Ilvermorny (is that even right?). Hogwarts is easier to say, though. And we know more about it. I’d have been a Ravenclaw, BTW.

Ready Player One – The OASIS

First of all, the book is so much better than the movie. Pretty sure that goes without saying. I know myself. And I know that if I lived in a future world where the OASIS exists, I would be one of those people who literally lives in the virtual world. I have no doubt that I would get addicted to whatever it feels like to take on a whole new personality while wearing the virtual skin of some homemade avatar. I could see my introverted self getting completely lost inside that virtual universe.

The Dead Zone – Johnny’s Psychic Handshake

I said I was going to avoid Stephen King’s novels for this, but I do think it would be cool to have Johnny Smith’s powers of clairvoyance as seen in the novel. I know that the powers are a curse for him, especially once he discovers the dangerous path that Greg Stillson is on as he runs for political office. Also, there’s the drawback that Johnny’s suffering from a brain tumor that would likely be fatal if things hadn’t turned out the way they did. Still, it would be cool to be able to help people by taking a quick glance into their futures.

So those are my choices for a fictional bucket list. What would be on yours? Let me know in the comments or, do like I did, steal this post and write one on your own blog!