Have you ever been the leader of a revolution or a police detective on the trail of a serial killer or the boy wizard who takes down Voldemort only to realize it was all a dream? I haven’t, unfortunately. Because I’d rather become a part of the books I’ve read just a little bit than not at all.
I’m not sure I have a pick of who I’d actually want to be. Wait, that’s a lie. I’d say Harry Bosch. He’s an LAPD detective who works relentlessly in pursuit of justice. He has a saying. “Everyone counts or nobody counts.” Do you see what he means? If you’re going to investigate one murder in a certain way, then every murder should be investigated in that same manner. And I’d hope the mindset of homicide detectives is no different in the real world. Whether it’s a suburban teen or a drug dealer killed in a gang shootout. One murder should not be any more or less important to the investigating detective.
And I think his mindset is something I’d adopt as my own. It’s bad enough that homicide detectives have a job only because people are killing people. But it’d make things even worse if those killers weren’t brought to justice. It’s real-life people like Bosch who literally take killers off the street. It’s one of the many professions that get no appreciation. But I imagine no decent homicide detective does the job to be recognized or appreciated by the public. They do it because they have to.
So if I had my pick of characters I could be, I’d be Harry Bosch. Who would you be?
Johnny Reads 
Wow. That’s a hard one. It’d be tough to narrow it down to just one. So I’m going to pick three.
1. Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. She’s my favorite protagonist of all time and encompasses everything I wish I were. She’s bold, fearless, speaks her mind, is spontaneous, loves with unerring abandon, loves to read, is educated… the list goes on. Plus, she lives in the last 1800s/early 1900s. That’s a time period I’ve always wanted to see.
2. Lucy Pevensie from the Narnia Chronicles. She’s young, sweet, adventurous, loving, and always tries to save everybody and everything she encounters. She can definitely be a bit naive at times, but so can I, and it works out in the end for her. Plus, she’s a healer, and that fits in line with me in my medical training.
3. Pippi Longstocking from the Pippi Longstocking books. She is nuts. Absolutely insane. But she’s strong, hilarious, full of surprises, and never says no to an adventure. I’ve loved her since I was a kid, and have always wanted to be her.
Haha! Looking back at my list I realize I picked all middle grade/children/YA characters. Maybe that’s because I’m young at heart or yearn for those simpler times. Being a grown up just stinks. š
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Hahaha I’ll go to LA and be a relentless homicide detective and you can go to Narnia or travel back in time and be young and free. š
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That sounds perfect to me! I’ve been thinking lately how much I’d love to go back in time, just for a few days, to be a kid again. Le sigh.
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Welp. I’d only go back to read more Goosebumps. Those were the best.
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I’d be the main character in a British kids book called The Dark is Rising.
The character lives in the English countryside, in a rambling house with half a dozen siblings. It’s winter – the snow falls and falls hard. People who have known the family all their lives begin to act out of character – crows batter the windows – a mysterious Rider appears on a black horse. Our protagonist is given an unusual, belt buckle for Christmas – a circle quatered by a cross. Magic, danger, good, evil all hinged around our main character – the only one who can save the day …
Will Stanton.
Yes, when I was 12 all I wanted to be was a boy called Will! š
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Yep, I wanted to be Will Stanton too…..
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Ha! Brilliant. I’m glad it wasn’t just me! He was amazing, wasn’t he? The Dark is Rising was the stand out book from my childhood – still have a yellowed copy on the shelf now š
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Me too! I’ve got the whole series, but The Dark is Rising was the best of them. I still re-read it occasionally.
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So nice to chat to someone who knows what I’m talking about – the series hasn’t had the global reach of say, the Narnia books. Susan Cooper, along with Alan Garner, were my favourite writers as a kid and have had a huge influence on my own writing. Loved them both.
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Alan Garner…another of my favourites. The Owl Service can still make me shiver!
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Reread both the Owl Service and The Weirdstone of Brisingham recently and marvelled at how truly odd and disturbing they were. I think The Owl Service is possibly more unsettling to me now than it was when I was 13! Marian, you have fantastic taste in fiction š
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As do you, obviously! Did you see this article? (The link is on my website, but it’s not my http://marianlthorpe.com/2016/01/07/why-the-british-write-better-childrens-stories/article).
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Argh. Mistake in that link. Try http://marianlthorpe.com/2016/01/07/why-the-british-write-better-childrens-stories/
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Thanks, Marian – a great article, very interesting. Some of the aspects mentioned come through to the present, don’t they? In Hollywood kids’ films, characters have to have learned a moral lesson by the end. Perhaps this is why The Simpsons has continued to be so popular – NO ONE learns a lesson or grows as a human being (or ages!) I love that British fiction is so firmly planted in folklore – it’s what I loved so much about The Dark is Rising. And I’d love to be able to successfully incorporate some of this in my own work some day – something another Brit writer, Neil Gaiman does so well, too. Thanks again š BTW I took a peak at your site – your YA book sounds very intriguing!
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Gaiman…another one of my favourites. Probably my current favourite writer. Would you like an e-book copy of Empire’s Daughter? I can send you one…no charge.
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Ooh, mine too – finally read Neverwhere recently and loved it. I’d love a copy of Empire’s Daughter – unfortunately I don’t have an e-reader. Yes, I know, I’m very behind the times! It reads very well, though, from what I’ve seen – I do wish you the best of luck with it š
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Well, I’ll try to remember that when I finally get the paperback produced later this year š Thanks for the kind thoughts!
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Ooh, I’ll gladly buy a copy then, and pay good hard cash for it too! š
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BTW….ever tried Guy Gavriel Kay?
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No, I haven’t, though a mix of history and fantasy is certainly my thing! I’ll kepp and eye out for him, thank you for the tip š
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I would like to be Black Widow, who is a member of the Avengers. She is strong, brave and loyal to her friends. She also see people for who they really are. She knows right from wrong. She is really relatable as well.
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Hmm. Interesting pick. And you’d get to have Scarlett Johansson play you in the movies. š
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