Goodreads asked G. Russell Overton:

If you could travel to any fictional book world, where would you go and what would you do there?

G. Russell Overton My academic training is in history, so my gut inclination would be to answer this question with a historical place and time. I would be motivated to ask a burning historical question that cannot be easily answered with primary sources. For instance I might want to travel back to 1916 and ask the Tsar why in the world he put his emotionally unstable wife in charge of the government. That, of course, would be a factual place and time and not the question posed here. Factual places are usually placed in works of fiction, so I could satisfy my historical curiosity in a roundabout way.

However, if such fantasy travel could ever be realized, I have to imagine it would be a one way trip. That is, once there I could never return home. I am terrified of modern doctors and hospitals, so I can’t imagine living in a world where the state of medical practice is even more barbaric than it is now. That puts most historical places off limits. If healthcare were my only criterion, I would have to choose a Star Trek kind of place where medicine is practiced with tricorders. I might go a step further and choose a magical, Harry Potter world where a wand or potion solves most problems, though the prospect of turning into a cockroach because my outspoken mouth angered someone is not enticing.

A utopian world, like Edward Bellamy’s twenty-first century might be appealing. However, many of the components of Bellamy’s world surprisingly resemble our twenty-first century, so maybe it wasn’t all that utopian. I might, alternatively, look at Baum’s Oz, but those darned flying monkeys creep me out big time. The concept of a fantasy world is taking me in the right direction.

I’ll stay away from anything Tolkien. The only place in a Lord of the Rings world that is even somewhat appealing is the shire, and I am too tall for that. The rest of it is just too dark for a long stay.

Perhaps I should consider a children’s book. Talking animals intrigue me. I could empathize with a bear getting stuck in a tree. Though I should probably avoid talking cats that speak in verse; the thought of green eggs leaves me rather, err, green. I’m not a cat person anyway. I certainly would avoid a place where the animals revolt and drive out the humans.

Late at night when I am outside watching the stars I often notice a spider weaving her web. I find myself wanting to talk with her, ask why she chose that spot between a post and brace to spin. I could find myself happy in a place where the prose is flawless, commas are proper, and participles never dangle. I think I would have to choose the barnyard world of E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web.

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