The Next Best Book Club discussion

If you had to go back in time and live out the rest of your life in any period in history, which would you choose and which would you avoid at all costs?

Maybe ancient Egypt, if I could remain completely anonymous and well-off enough to feed, clothe, and educate my family. It would be difficult not to get pulled into one of the many wars, but aside from that you'd probably have the best health care until our present time, women weren't always treated badly, and education was fairly good (assuming you had access to it).

I'd probably avoid most of the Southern Hemisphere and Africa, just because of too many wonky diseases. I might have the best chance of surviving (at least politically) in Tudor England because I'd know who was going to be in power next, but it would also be a pretty disgusting place to live due to sanitation/poverty/lack of medical knowledge. I'd do anything to avoid the Spanish Flu.

Jen wrote: "Maybe ancient Egypt, if I could remain completely anonymous and well-off enough to feed, clothe, and educate my family ..."

That's interesting Jen. I'd never have thought of Ancient Egypt, but now that I do, the idea of being surrounded but all that cultural richness and inventiveness is appealing.

I'd go with the 1920s and Paris in particular, even though WW2 would be near. My main reason being that I'm obsessed with George Gershwin's "An American In Paris." I'd love to experience the energy and excitement that he captured in his composition. Other than that, there was a lot of inventiveness in the 1920s as far as cinema, art, fashion, and literature are concerned, so it would be great to be in the middle of all that.

The one period I'd have to avoid would be the Middle Ages. There's just no way I could survive with that level of inequality.

As a woman, I would resist with all my might going back in time.

Scout wrote: "As a woman, I would resist with all my might going back in time."

Well said Scout! *lol* Let's imagine a version of history where gender equality existed. What period would you go back to just for cultural experience or interest?

I've thought about going back in time, and the only way I can imagine an interesting life is if I were a man. If that were the case, I would have liked to be a contemporary of Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams. They weren't perfect by any means, but they were people I'd like to talk to.