For me, it would be Chris Stevens from Northern Exposure. The DJ, with a degree from the Church of Universal Life and the philosophical outlook. I’d take the whole thing; the trailer, the cold, the motorcycle, the metal sculpture, the radio show. Especially the radio show.
I’d give up my whole life right now for a low-paying job in the middle of nowhere, if the local cultural scene was sophisticated enough to support that kind of radio.
Is there a character out there whose life you envy? Someone who, even though you might not want to be them, you’d step into their life in a heartbeat?
Well in his case I think he had a captive audience. I don’t think there were many radio stations in the area so he was pretty much the only game in town.
Hmmm…there’s so many choices. Conan the Barbarian. He’s got the killer body, he kicks ass, and the chicks dig him.
I’ve got to say I would become Severian from the Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe any day.
He’s a torturer and he gets to wear a badass black cloak.
He has an eidetic memory.
His sword. It’s amazing.
Beautiful women adore him, and he enjoys their company liberally.
He becomes the Autarch.
Oh, and he is a fabulous writer with an astoundingly deep mental life.
I read this pretty terrible book awhile ago, called The One Who Walked Alone by Novalyne Price, about her relationship with Robert Howard, the pulp fiction writer. It was pretty badly written, and boring, but I was so jealous of Ms. Price–that relationship was so awesome. I know she’s not fictional, 'cause the book is a memoir, but I still want to be her.
I also wanted to be Justine in Anne Tyler’s Searching for Caleb. Yes, she married her cousin, but she loved him, and he loved her. Plus, she was a fortune teller, and she was so non-fictional. She seemed like an annoying, brilliant, normal, clever, naive, jaded, and everything else that goes along with being a real person person.
No responsibilities (except making sure you were stocked up on “Wookie Chow”) and a cool spaceship. I’ll take a pass on that carbamite (sp?) thing, though.
I always thought it would be awesome to be “That Girl” as portrayed by Marlo Thomas, or Mary Richards from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. Cool apartment, independent but not wanting for male company, and a snazzy, exciting job.
Before I discovered guys, I wanted to be Sister Bertrille from “The Flying Nun”. I mean, who wouldn’t want to fly, even if it did mean having a curfew? (And I always thought she accessorized really well with those rosary beads.)
i want to be Ayla, from the earth’s children series. not much reason for that, except i like messing with fire and i’d love a cave lion for a friend… and Jondalar sounds like a dream boyfriend
Just now reading the Lord of the Rings thread I remember how much I envied Merry and Pippin. All the other characters had the weight of the world on their shoulders, but these two were just out for the adventure and having the time of their lives.
They took Ent-drinks which made them the most studly hobbits ever; Merry got to kill the King of the Nazgul, and when it was all over and they went back to the Shire they had great war-stories and all the hobbit-girls swooned over them.
Intellectually, Doc from Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday. The life he leads always has me envious when I read those books.
Machismo-wise, it would have to be Dirk Pitt from the Clive Cussler novels. I’d be able to fly, drive or fix anything, be an expert swimmer, climber, skier, diver, beat up anyone (regardless of the fighting skill or size of my opponent), have a trusty Italian sidekick, have a buttload of classic automobiles, more guns then you can shake a stick at, and have tons of ladies marvel at my “aqualine green eyes” (tm Clive Cussler).
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