Books are cherished by everyone, artist or not. They mesmerize us and take us into another realm where we don’t have to worry about our own problems, nor decide what to cook for dinner. But among all these books that we read, there is that one book on our shelf that we read again and again. The characters bewitch us and the setting excites us. Once we pick up that book, it’s hard to put it down. And have we not, at some point, thought about a possibility where we could go inside the book, visit the all too familiar places, and meet our beloved characters?

This week, on our Instagram (@artstoheartsproject), we asked a similar question from our artist community: If you could live in any book (novel) for a while, which one would you pick and why?

As I read the comments on this post, I’m reminded of the famous book Inkheart. Inkheart is set in a universe where some people are given a gift where they can simply read things out of a book. But in exchange, someone from the real world would end up being swapped with that book character. What if that was our reality? A world where we could casually hang out with our favorite characters, or go for a stroll in our favorite magical places. For now, let’s look at our artists’ response and see which books they would choose.

A world of fantasy

Most of the responses we got were about fantasy books, and that’s totally understandable. I personally would agree with @sara.mokhavat and choose Harry Potter in a heartbeat. A world where I can go to Hogwarts and have feasts in the Great Hall? Sign me up! Not to mention that creating art would become so much easier, as artists would be able to do a lot of the tasks with just the flick of a wand.

But it was not just Harry Potter that dominated the world of fantasy. Every book lover is aware of Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.

While I would also love to live in the shire for a day, I admit that I would prefer the timeline to be ‘after’ the ring was destroyed, as I’m in no mood to battle orcs and goblins. Some of the other books that were mentioned included The Secret Garden, The Never Ending Story, The Night Circus, and The Golden Circus; all books that have fantasy elements in them. In any case, it’s safe to say that many of the artists in our community are drawn to a world full of magic and enchantment.

A world filled with romance

Who doesn’t like romance, especially the sweet old ‘enemies to lovers’ trope. These are the books we usually call our ‘guilty pleasure’. We all know where it’s going to go, but we still devour it and root for the two characters. As @grovehollowseries points out, a great example of such a book that comes to mind is Touch her and Die.

The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope is a passionately romantic love story that is as breathtaking as The Time Traveler’s Wife. Who wouldn’t like to have a sweet life such as that!

A world that honors community and family

Many of the other artists chose books that represented the value of community and family. Not surprisingly, some of these books are also the ones we used to read as children.

What we wouldn’t give to become a kid again and be excited about the smallest things like talking animals or a chocolate factory. Although, the idea of a chocolate factory still intrigues me, and I would very much like to go to that chocolate heaven and fulfill my childhood dreams!

A world that gives courage

As a child, I would re-watch the movie adaptation of ‘The Ballad of Mulan’ every day, until I knew all the dialogues by heart. Mulan inspired me and taught me that being a woman was not a weakness, but a strength. One of our followers, @giorgia.pastore.art, has a similar idea, where she would want to go in that book and fight beside Mulan to learn what it means to choose yourself while also helping others.

A simpler world

Some of us just want to go back to simpler times. One of the artists’ says that she would like to visit the universe of Anne, from Anne of Green Gables. The book is set in Prince Edward Island, which is a peaceful and tranquil place to be in. When we consider the fact that the book was set in late 19^th century, suddenly it sounds too appealing. As @sylviaeder.art has mentioned, and 7 people have agreed to it too, that it would be magnificent to visit that place with no digital devices; a time where we can breathe in the fresh air and just be in the moment.

For every artist, creativity looks different, and so does their art. Whether their artistic choices have anything to do with the books they have chosen, we’ll leave it up to them to decide. One thing we know for sure is that books offer a gateway to things that we can only imagine and dream of, and art is no different. As artists, we create something that only exists in our mind, and we bring it to life with nothing but our skills. Each one of the books mentioned in this article has something unique to offer. From fantasy to romance, we all have our own fantasies. So for all the artists out there, never stop dreaming!