Book Bout - Reading about Journeys

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

So many stories, so many books, focus on travelling. Why is it, do you think, that we find books about journeys and travels so inviting and wonderful? Is it because we read about places we want to go to, or wish we could have gone to, or for some other reason?

Reply below with why you think we find reading about journeys so inviting. (If you don't find them inviting, write about that!) You will get 5 team points and 10 beans when you complete this task. Be sure that you have at least 80 words in your write-up and remember that it needs to be done by August 23rd.

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

I think that our love of adventure mostly stems from the want or wish to visit places that we cannot, either because they are too far away or simply do not exist. For some, me included, I think it also represents a place in which we can escape when the troubles of the real world are weighing too much on us. Especially when the world in the books is so unlike our own and features magic, fantasy, fantastical races and gives us potential to be what we cannot be in the real world.

[Prof. Kendra Givens]

I have to agree with Maxim on this one - I think adventure books provide the escapism from reality that so many of us need from time to time. I'm sure some adventure books have gotten people through very negative times in their lives. If the books come in a series, there is always something to look forward to in continued adventure. I enjoy walking in someone else's shoes and experiencing things I would not otherwise experience. I don't always find myself with a desire to visit these places, but just the glimpse of them makes me feel like I'm along for the adventure and makes me smile.

[Louis Walles]

As a child, I was from a very poor family, whom I later lost. I didn't have any friends and literally no ability to leave the orphanage and travel around the world. Books which were about travelling always intrigued me because they gave me the ability to learn more about different cultures and different countries, but also imagine that I'm actually visiting them. For a 10-year-old boy that was so magical, and I was very upset when I finished the book and had to go back to the sad reality. I remember that the first book I read was the first book from the Narnia series. I was checking my wardrobe every night to see whether there is Narnia or any other mystical land where I can go. Now, I still read books which are about journeys or different universes. Mostly because I always wonder what if, and it's good to be prepared if something similar would happen (for example The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner). I agree with Maxim 100%. I mean you can't go to real Hogwarts or see real Hunger Games (although I heard they want to do something similar in Russia ). Books give you that ability to forget about our boring world and use creativity and imagination to live anywhere you want to live in the world, which I think it's pretty cool.

[Isa Vestal]

I agree with everything that’s been posted so far. Adventure definitely gives us a chance to expand our creative minds and place ourselves, along with the characters, in different, imaginative, wonderous lands and, like Louis said, adventure books certainly do provide a certain amount of escapism from the bleak, boring monotony that life can be. When someone is having a bad day or feeling down, watching movies or reading an adventure story immerses then in this fantasy world that can help them be distracted from their own. I think also that because adventure characters always display a certain amount of courage, intelligence, cunning, and kindness (coincidentally also the basic characteristics of the four Hogwarts houses), we like to look up to them as role models and that leads us to ask ourselves “what would/ could I do if I was in that situation?” which, I think, cannot be done as easily in non-adventure books.

[Iverian Gnash]

People tend to be transported to other universes through books and epic journeys. They help people to envision themselves in another environment totally without the laws of reality. When we can't travel ourselves, reading about travels in mysterious places tends to give us something else to think about and allows us to imagine ourselves there instead. I agree that it also widens our creativity and we can imagine more spectacular places than we are surrounded by. Especially when it comes to adventure stories, they tend to give us inspiration to try new things and go out on a limb a bit more than we otherwise would. We see the adventure as something to look up to and try to achieve ourselves.

[Carrie Warts]

Traveling books are inviting to take your mind of the real life for a few minutes - or hours - a day and place you in a place you never dreamed of.
In some cases these books reassure your wish to visit maybe a different country - when the journey happens in a real country or scenario - or makes you wish this imaginary place were real and hope you could even visit in an alternate world.
They are also intriguing, makes you wonder - when the scenarios are fantastic - how did the author came up with that place, those ideas must have come from somewhere the author knew or saw somewhere. It makes you wanna know the origin, the muse of places - that happens to me ALL the time.

[Gail Allen]

I enjoy travelling stories because they let you travel and experience something vicariously. It is different from a book that is simply set somewhere that is not your native area, because the book where the character(s) travel as well will let you see the places they see with fresh eyes. If this were the home of the character, they would describe it differently, but when they too are travelling and experiencing that newness, it allows us as readers to also experience that.
I also think that there is something to the story about travelling that almost inevitably makes the character grow as a person and it's a good way of helping along character growth; it takes the character out of their comfort zone and forces them to change because the environment they're in changes. And a lot of the reason why a book is good - in my opinion - is that the characters in the book change and grow. So books that have that almost built into them as a matter of course, often end up being good books.
It's also the reason I like books without the travelling aspect, but where the character recently arrived in the place the story is set, about as much as I like books where travelling is a major point.

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

Sometimes I wonder about what it would be like to live in a place and time where the only stories I might have had were the ones told by members of whatever community I may be a part of (not to say there wouldn't be advantages to this). There's such a power in learning from the adventures of others, whether real or imagined, and we gain so much from escaping into these worlds.

I'm blessed to be in a position where with the deluge of books, movies, music and other media content at my disposal, there's an entire living library of information and journeys I can experience, albeit secondhand. Even without much reflection, our ability to empathise with the content that's coming into our reality allows us to sponge up so much of those lessons. The joys as well as the trials and tribulations of others give us a window to look out of, often inspiring us toward or away from paths we may not have otherwise even considered we wanted to travel to or avoid.

As has been mentioned already, it's nice to see characters grow and evolve, and to witness how layered they can be as they move forward on their quest. Even when the person in question may have quite a different personality or uniquely varied struggles than ours, to follow someone else's path for a while can have such profound impactfulness on our own. I'm so grateful at having the option to dive headfirst into these waters and go for a swim when I want!

[Harry Walles]

I agree with every single one of you. However, I have to say, I am not a huge fan of books which include adventure. I usually like to find myself in situations to which I can relate. This doesn't change in books I read, so I usually avoid books which have too much fiction in it. However, sometimes I think it depends on the book rather than the theme. Some adventure books are quite fascinating and allow me to understand why so many people actually enjoy them. In my opinion, the reason behind is because majority of people don't have money and or time to actually travel and see fascinating things.I personally always wanted to visit India but due to my lifestyle, I can't do it. Therefore reading books which feature India or books (such as guides or photoalbums) with this culture, help me to imagine myself in there.

[Emerald Wolvenhowl]

Perhaps reading about travel or adventure can be enjoyable to us because we can have an adventure with a character and yet we do so in the safety of our home, library etc. We can experience some of the excitement, tension and uncertainty etc but without us being under real threat, danger or fear.

Also, reading about travel gives me an insight into places I have never been to. I don't really read non-ficton travel books but I enjoy reading fictional books in which the characters travel. Even though it's fiction, the description of places can be quite accurate and conjure up images of what an area looks like, evokes atmosphere and it can reveal something about culture too. I noticed this when reading novels by Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolopho and The Italian, which are of the Gothic genre ( readers 16 years old and upwards might enjoy them). Her descriptions are so good that they just put me there and I feel like I know the places even though I have never been there before.
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