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9 Book Characters You Would Want to Take a Road Trip With
Some of the most unforgettable fictional characters are fine right where they are—in fiction. After all, being fun to read about and being fun to hang out with are two very different things. (Do you want to spend the day with Gollum? Do you really?)
But then there are those characters who already feel like friends, like kindred spirits. With them, we'd endure the ultimate test in any friendship: a vacation. We asked on Facebook and Twitter: What book character would you want to go on a road trip with? Check out some of the top responses below!
HERMIONE
from the Harry Potter series
by J.K. Rowling
"She travels light, packs the essentials, and would research the heck out of a place before going there." -Stephanie
SHERLOCK HOLMES
from the Sherlock Holmes books
by Arthur Conan Doyle
"Look, man, whether you're going with the book Sherlock, Robert Downey Jr., or Benedict Cumberbatch, I'm going to be there." -Anaya
FORD PREFECT
from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books
by Douglas Adams
"I know this great restaurant at the end of the universe…." -JB
HARRY BOSCH
from the Harry Bosch series
by Michael Connelly
"He knows stuff, has great taste in music, I would be protected, and he doesn't talk too much." -Sherri
NANCY DREW
from the Nancy Drew books
by Carolyn Keene
"We'd have great adventures solving crimes, eating all the time, playing sports, and riding in Nancy's dreamy convertible!" -Diane
JO MARCH
from Title
by Louisa May Alcott
"It would be a bookish, museum-filled, intense tour with her—and we're very much alike." -Emma
KVOTHE
from The Kingkiller Chronicle
by Patrick Rothfuss
"Because he'll have some insane stories to tell." -Muhammad
JAMIE FRASER
from the Outlander series
by Diana Gabaldon
"Life is sure to be interesting as that man attracts trouble." -Tracey
THE LUGGAGE
from the Discworld series
by Terry Pratchett
"Oh shoot. How could I forget the Luggage? Of course that's the right answer." -Maria
Check out more recent blogs:
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But then there are those characters who already feel like friends, like kindred spirits. With them, we'd endure the ultimate test in any friendship: a vacation. We asked on Facebook and Twitter: What book character would you want to go on a road trip with? Check out some of the top responses below!
from the Harry Potter series
by J.K. Rowling
"She travels light, packs the essentials, and would research the heck out of a place before going there." -Stephanie
from the Sherlock Holmes books
by Arthur Conan Doyle
"Look, man, whether you're going with the book Sherlock, Robert Downey Jr., or Benedict Cumberbatch, I'm going to be there." -Anaya
from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books
by Douglas Adams
"I know this great restaurant at the end of the universe…." -JB
from the Harry Bosch series
by Michael Connelly
"He knows stuff, has great taste in music, I would be protected, and he doesn't talk too much." -Sherri
from the Nancy Drew books
by Carolyn Keene
"We'd have great adventures solving crimes, eating all the time, playing sports, and riding in Nancy's dreamy convertible!" -Diane
from Title
by Louisa May Alcott
"It would be a bookish, museum-filled, intense tour with her—and we're very much alike." -Emma
from The Kingkiller Chronicle
by Patrick Rothfuss
"Because he'll have some insane stories to tell." -Muhammad
from the Outlander series
by Diana Gabaldon
"Life is sure to be interesting as that man attracts trouble." -Tracey
from the Discworld series
by Terry Pratchett
"Oh shoot. How could I forget the Luggage? Of course that's the right answer." -Maria
Check out more recent blogs:
An Inside Look at 40 Years of Rock n' Roll
How Goodreads Members First Fell in Love with Reading
Exclusive: A Sneak Peek at the 10th Anniversary Edition of The Name of the Wind
Comments Showing 1-50 of 108 (108 new)
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Kristina
(new)
Sep 29, 2017 06:19AM
The Luggage for me :))
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Kvothe, hhaah I would love to meet him in real life. Roadtrip would be even better
This is a fun list but may I add another: Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next. Who wouldn't want to be Lost in a Good Book, dive in The Well of Lost Plots (Thursday Next, #3) and be First Among Sequels?
Stephanie Plum!!! Although we would probably end up in jail!!
Hermione yassssssss!!!!!!! DEFINITELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also Mary Poppins would be good. She also has only one bag and knows the best places to visit to ride on carousel horses and have tea on a ceiling. And the lady from Bedknobs and Broomsticks (played by Angela Lansbury but can't recall her name).
Sherlock Holmes, Hermione and Nancy Drew for me.
How could you not take Sam from The Lord of the Rings?!?!? He is the epitome of the traveling companion, and will push you on, even when you want to give up. He would be my #1 choice.
Watched the movies but never got around to the books, lol. My reading list is packed.
Tara wrote: "How could you not take Sam from The Lord of the Rings?!?!? He is the epitome of the traveling companion, and will push you on, even when you want to give up. He would be my #1 choice."Absolutely agree! I love the debate that Sam should be hailed as the hero of Lord of the Rings!!
Jacob Reckless from Cornelia Funke's The Petrified Flesh. We could travel the world behind the mirror with Fox, go on treasure hunts for enchanted items, uncovered buried secrets, see the sights, and fight some Goyls. With Jacob's wits, courage, and recklessness, it would be one heck of a road trip:)
"Half suitcase, half homicidal maniac." Definitely The Luggage.
Pamela wrote: "This is a fun list but may I add another: Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next. Who wouldn't want to be Lost in a Good Book, dive in [book:The Well of Lost Plots (Thursday Nex..."Thursday would be my first choice aswell!
Jo wrote: ""Half suitcase, half homicidal maniac." Definitely The Luggage."Haha! Yeah absolutely!
Also Ford Perfect ain't half bad.
Why Sherlock Holmes? Why travel with someone who would in turn sit there, brooding, taking drugs, experimenting, obsessively playing violin or being out, looking for clues?Yes, you won't know where the road might take you, but I, personally, would get very aggressive when treated like Sherlock Holmes treats everybody.
I'd rather take John Watson with me.
But no, who I'd really like to travel with is Rubeus Hagrid. Let's hike and look what we find.
Christine Feehan's Zacaraias De La Cruz, and Giovanni Ferraro, Kerrelyn Spark's Angus MacKay, Lynsay Sands's Lucian, Martine, Vincent & Victor...for starters...
The Luggage would be perfect. But I'd like to travel with Rand al'Thor, even though it would probably not work that well
Hoid/Wit from The Stormlight ArchivesGlokta from the First Law Trilogy
Sazed from Mistborn
Captain Vimes from Discworld
Matt from Wheel of Time
Gus McCrae from Lonesome Dove. Fun-loving adventurer that would either protect your or get you killed.
true i got alot of MOVIE characters in mind tho
"After all, being fun to read about and being fun to hang out with are two very different things"This can not be the basis for the questions people were asked.
Sherlock Holmes from the stories? Fun to hang out with?
No. This was people picking either RDJ or Cumberbatch, not Sherlock Holmes.
I don' think I can choose. Way too many! I'll take them all! How about that lol.
"Ford Prefect: 'I know this great restaurant at the end of the universe….' "LOL
I'd choose Cadvan from The Naming by Alison Croggon and Mr. Tumnus from The Chronicles of Narina. We'd have a "magical" time. (I know, bad pun) : )
Desi wrote: "Stephanie Plum!!! Although we would probably end up in jail!!"Or blown up
How is Samwise Gamgee not on this list?! The best travel companion ever.I'd also love to road-trip with Enzo, from Garth Stein's "The Art of Racing in the Rain"... because dogs are sometimes better than humans :P
I can't see Sherlock Holmes being a great road trip companion unless we are talking about Elementary's Sherlock all the other's seem like awful roommates can you imagine being trapped in a car for hours?Hermione is always prepared so I can see us always knowing where we are and always having snacks. Pop in a good audio book in the stereo and we'd be set.
Conan the Barbarian- He's the ultimate man's man, not only would you go on some legendary adventures but you some legendary partying too.
Honestly, as much as I love her, I'm not sure how much fun Hermione would be on a road trip. She definitely doesn't pack light, (remember the amount of books she packed in the 7th book?) and as awesome as we may find it to have the car weighed down with books, it would probably get old the 50th time you have to dig supplies out from underneath the piles. Really, I'd rather a road trip with all three, since Harry, Ron and Hermione balance each other out so well.
Julia wrote: "Tara wrote: "How could you not take Sam from The Lord of the Rings?!?!? He is the epitome of the traveling companion, and will push you on, even when you want to give up. He would be my #..."I think that Tolkien viewed him as the hero of the story, if an understated one. All of the high heroics aside, the task couldn't have been done without him. Period. And let's not forget his role in the Scouring of the Shire (not in the movies, but an integral part of the book). Sam Gamgee FTW!!
Fiona wrote: "Honestly, as much as I love her, I'm not sure how much fun Hermione would be on a road trip. She definitely doesn't pack light, (remember the amount of books she packed in the 7th book?) and as awe..."But she also had a magic bag so it was light and she always pulled out exactly what she wanted
Oh, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase... just imagine! Being chased across the country by monsters. My perfect road trip!
Katy wrote: "Gus McCrae from Lonesome Dove. Fun-loving adventurer that would either protect your or get you killed."Good one! He's fun.
Also throwing in Hercule Poirot who would be a handy detective on your side traveling with those murderers.
Tara wrote: "Julia wrote: "Tara wrote: "How could you not take Sam from The Lord of the Rings?!?!? He is the epitome of the traveling companion, and will push you on, even when you want to give up. He..."I don't know about Tolkien imagining him as the hero. That whole relationship was very much between master (Frodo) and servant (Sam) and so I personally read it as Tolkien portraying Frodo as the hero who -obviously- has to have his servant fawn over him because he -deserves- to be served due to his awesomeness... we read Sam as the hero today because we no longer have that whole class system in place...
But, yes, I totally agree Sam would be a great person to have with you on a trip. Staying with LOTR I would also definitely want to be with either Legolas or Eowyn because they're just awesome and competent and not whiny or entitled.
I also second the vote for Hagrid! Or Charlie Weasley!
Imagine being road trip buddies with Michael Vey and the rest of the Electroclan? There would be the danger of being captured by the Elgen everywhere you go and having to save the world from a madman named Hatch, who would fed his enemies to electrified rats alive. On the bright side, the Electroclan has electric powers of their own (handy for keeping your phone charged).
I would want Robin Goodfellow from the Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman to be with me. Oh boy would that be interesting ;)
Noor wrote: "Tara wrote: "Julia wrote: "Tara wrote: "How could you not take Sam from The Lord of the Rings?!?!? He is the epitome of the traveling companion, and will push you on, even when you want t..."Tolkien did say in his letters that he thought of Sam as the hero. While the class structure was certainly in play, it never really felt like Frodo treated Sam like someone beneath him. I also don't know that I would say that Sam fawned over Frodo. He was loyal, almost to a fault, but that's not really saying the same thing. At the end of the day though, you need both of them to complete the quest, and that's what is important.
I also think Gandalf would be pretty handy on a road trip.
