If I could live in a book ...

It's Thursday, which means it's time for another book chat with Jessica at Sweet Green Tangerine. I also got my $25 Barnes & Noble gift card from her giveaway in the mail today, so the timing is quite appropriate. (Thanks, Jessica! I'll be sure to let you know what I get!) This week's question:

Initially, I was going to pick one of the Harry Potter books (duh), but the majority of link-ups on Jessica's post had already chosen the wonderful world of Hogwarts, and I wanted to provide something different. I also thought you might be sick of hearing me talk about why Harry Potter is my favorite series, my personal identification with Hermione Granger, my favorite quotes from the series, or my general obsession with the entire franchise that began in 1998. (And those aren't even all my Harry Potter posts; you can see all of them here.)

After I decided I couldn't use Harry Potter, I knew I would have to pick a historical fiction novel. One of my undergraduate degrees was in history with a European emphasis, and I'm fascinated by many different time periods and countries that I studied. However, I decided to choose a Philippa Gregory book because she is the historical fiction novelist I am most familiar with. So far, I've read The Constant Princess, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance, but I definitely have some of her other novels on my to-read list. Of those three novels, I have chosen The Other Boleyn Girl for this book chat.

Source: google.com via Kaci on Pinterest

Obviously, there are a few aspects of this novel's lifestyle I would not enjoy. For starters, I want to leave the book before Anne dies. Actually, getting out before the entire witch-hunt begins would be nice. (And don't get mad at me for "ruining" the book if you haven't read it. Anne gets beheaded; it's called history.) I also think everything would smell pretty bad, and the clothes would probably be quite uncomfortable ... but look how gorgeous they are:

Source: Uploaded by user via Emma on Pinterest

I think the main reason I'm attracted to the Tudor world of The Other Boleyn Girl is the secrecy and romance. I would never want that type of drama in my own life, but Phillipa Gregory makes it sound so interesting! Also, I would love to be multilingual, as many of the maids and ladies of the court were. Watching jousting matches and playing cards all day, with dancing and feasts every night? Sure, I could do that for a while. Overall, I could overlook the inconveniences mentioned earlier in order to experience sixteenth-century life in England, if only to satisfy my inner history geek.

Head over to Sweet Green Tangerine and see what other bloggers linked up with today.