Heaven on Earth: 13 of the Best Fictional Libraries

So if you’ve been following me, you are pretty aware of my love of libraries.

And I decided to do a post on my favorite fictional libraries. After all:

So here we go, my top 13 Favorite Fictional Libraries.

13) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag is a fireman in the future, and as a fireman his job is to burn books. Books are now illegal, and it is up to firemen to root out the secret libraries and destroy them. After witnessing a woman willingly burn alive with her library, it gets Guy thinking about what the books contain. It begins with one book, but ends with Guy questioning everything he has ever known.

Why the library is awesome!: So we don’t actually know what is in this library, but if a person is willing to die with it you know it has to hold some amazing things. Even if the books are only valuable to the owner.

For more on Ray Bradbury, go to Friday Night Fun

12) The Music Man

A conman salesman, “Professor” Harold Hill (Robert Preston),  visits the town of River City, Iowa; and convinces the townspeople that the only way to save their children from becoming bad eggs, is to create a boys’ band. But where to get the instruments? From Professor Harold Hill of course! Marian, the town librarian, is a piano teacher, and the only one who could expose Professor Hill as a fraud, so Professor Hill sets out to seduce her. Along the way Professor Hill changes as he starts to care for the people he plans to con.

Why the library is awesome!: One of the musical numbers is Marian the Librarian in which Professor Hill attempts to seduce Marian by singing and dancing with her around the library. A library in which the librarian and town dance around singing? You get two in one—items to read and a show.

11) The Cat Who… Series

The Cat Who…Series is about amazing reporter  Jim “Qwill” Qwilleran who solves murders with the help of his cats. Qwill was a nationally-acclaimed reporter, until he became an alcoholic and lost everything. The first book, The Cat Who Read Backwards, Qwill is trying to put his life back in order and is searching for a job as a reporter. He joins the staff of the Daily Fluxion as a feature writer. After his landlord, the art critic, is killed, Qwill starts investigating with little clues pointed out by his landlord’s cat, Kao K’o Kung (Koko for short). As Qwill continues his investigations he ends up picking up another cat, Yum Yum. In The Cat Who Played Bhrams, Qwill journeys up north to the small town of Mooseville, and visits an old family friend. He ends up inheriting millions, but in order to get them, he has to remain in Moose County. This changes his life forever.

Why the library is awesome!: Qwill is an avid reader and collects as many as he can afford. When he inherits the money, he also receives a stone mansion with a giant library. It holds thousands of books from rare pieces that are worth millions to secondhand and beloved buys.

For more on The Cat Who… Series, go to The Cat Who Wrote A Blog

10) The Breakfast Club

So the movie begins one Saturday morning when five very different students have been sentenced with detention and are stuck with each other. We have Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy), “the basket case” who just came for fun; Andrew Clark (Emilio Esteevez), “the athlete”, who recieved detention for bullying a kid; John Bender (Judd Nelson), “the criminal”, sent there because of his acting up in class;  Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald), “the princess”, caught skipping school to go shopping; Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall), “the brain”, who brought a flare gun to school. At first everyone abides by their cliques, but through the course of the day they all bond together sharing their most personal secrets and working out their dysfunctions.

Why the library is awesome!: A gigantic library with multiple levels and a great sound system! Who wouldn’t want to spend their Saturdays there?

For more on The Breakfast Club, go to The Anniversary of Its Formation

9) My Fair Lady

Based on the play Pygmalion, this musical has Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) is disgusted with how the English butcher their English. As he is complaining, he runs into a cockney-accented, flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn). He makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering, that he will be able to teach Eliza how to speak so well that people will mistake her for a duchess. Eliza agrees to the bet as she wants to own a high class flower shop. However, they have their work cut out for them, as Professor Higgins methods are helpful, but extremely rude and harsh.

Why the library is awesome!: Henry Higgins may be rude and a jerk, but this professor has one of the best libraries. Why can’t all libraries be like this?

8) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

In the late 19th century, something is destroying ships as they are navigating the seas, cutting huge holes in the sides and completely ruining them. Professor Aronnax, a leading marine biologist, theories that the creature destroying the ships may come from the deepest depths of the ocean, which would give it incredible strength. He joins a crew who has set out to destroy it, taking along his assistant. The ship is destroyed; but Professor Aronnax, his assistant, and whaler Ned Land survive. They find themselves on a giant submarine, the Nautilus, joining its creator Captain Nemo on a journey under the sea.

Why the library is awesome!: This library is a masterpiece as Captain Nemo had thousands of books by the greatest minds. His collection covered science, morals, philosophy, and literature-in every language.

Professor Aronnax: “I thank you for having placed this library at my disposal. It contains treasures…and I shall profit by them.”

For more on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, go to Episode VI: Return of the Favorite Movie Lines List

7) The Mummy (1999)

In 1290 B.C. Egypt, a high priest Imhotep is caught having an affair with the Pharaoh’s woman. He is put through all the death rites, while still alive, and buried in Hamunaptra. Fast forward to 1932, a French Foreign Legion officer, Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser), finds himself in Hamunaptra, but lost in the desert. Three years later, librarian Evie (Rachel Weisz) is approached by her treasure-hunter brother Jonathan, with an artifact that he thinks will lead him to Hamunaptra. They pick up Rick O’Connell as a guide, and find the city. As they search for treasure they discover the mummy, and accidentally awaken him.

Why the library is awesome!: Even though Evie makes a mess, most of us book lovers wouldn’t mind putting the library she worked at back together as it would allow us to check out all those books. Plus it holds a map to a lost city that holds the Book of Life and the Book of the Dead.

For more on The Mummy (1999), go to Part X: The Movie List That Would NOT Die!

6) Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

In this Indiana Jones adventure, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is on the search for his dad (Sean Connery) and the Holy Grail. His father had been searching for the artifact and disappeared, causing Indy to pick up the trail. He picks up where his dad left off in Venice with Dr. Elsa Schneider, discovering a clue to the Grail. He continues from there to save his dad on the Austria-Hungary border, and discovers a betrayal stemming all the way from the Nazis

Why the library is awesome!: You have a library that has spiral staircases, stain glass windows, and secret treasure underneath. How cool is that? It does rest over the graves of dead bodies…BUT you hold a key to finding the Holy Grail! That’s a great tradeoff.

For more on Indiana Jones, go to And Away We Go

5) The Swan Princess

Derek and Odette were arranged to be married when they were babies. Every summer Odette and her father would visit Derek and his mother in order to get the two to become friends and hopefully, fall in love. The two dislike each other as they don’t like playing with each other. They reach the marriageable age, but Derek messes up with Odette as he tells her that beauty is the only thing that matters. As he runs after them to make up for his stupidity, Odette is captured by an evil wizard and her father killed. The wizard wants Odette to marry him so he can have her kingdom, but Odette says she will never marry the wizard and is turned into a swan, only to become human when the moon touches the pond. Derek searches for Odette and trains himself to be able to handle it. When Derek discovers Odette, the two have to find a way to save her and change her to human.

Why the library is awesome!: So we only see this library for one scene in the film and it rivals that of Beauty and the Beast. Multiple levels, spiral staircases, and incredibly tall ladders to reach everything.

For more on The Swan Princess, go to You Should Write a Book

4) Harry Potter Series

Harry Potter discovers that he is a wizard and goes to Hogwarts School, learning magic spells, potions, and having to fight all kinds of creatures.

Why the library is awesome!: Think of all the magical knowledge within in this place? How awesome would it be to roam these stacks and unlock that. Really explains why Hermione likes to spend so much time there.

For more on Harry Potter, go to A Bit Pottery About Jane Austen

3) Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy is a teenage girl that discovers she is a slayer. She’s equipped with certain abilities that allow her to take down all kinds of monsters-demons, vampires, etc.

Why the library is awesome!: You have a library that holds tons of books for school along with almost anything on the supernatural. Not to mention it doubles as a training area that holds all kinds of weapons. What else do you need?

For more on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, go to Simply Fantastic

2) The Sandman Chronicles

The Sandman Chronicles follows the story of the sandman, or Dream. He was captured and imprisoned, but manages to escape after years, and then has to right his dominion and the rest of the world. These series combines Christianity, mythology, Shakespeare, and more.

Why the library is awesome!: The library in Dreaming holds every book ever dreamt of, even those that were never written. How awesome would it be to roam those stacks?

For more on The Sandman Chronicles, go to Dreaming of the Sandman 

1) Beauty and the Beast

Belle loves to read and finds it hard to relate to anyone in her town. Her father goes out of town on business and gets lost, staying over at a castle he finds. He upsets the owner and is kept prisoner, that is until Belle offers herself in her father’s place.

Why the library is awesome!: Do I really need to explain how awesome this library is? I’m sure every book lover has fallen in love with it. Multiple levels, spiral staircases, and comfy chairs in front of the fireplace-it’s a dream come true.

Yep:

For more on Beauty and the Beast, go to You’re Doing It Wrong

Yep these are some of the greatest libraries ever, and I hope the one I create is even a fraction of these.

For more on libraries, go to When in Doubt

For more book filled posts, go to Taking in Strays

For more of my favorite quotes, go to Perfectly Imperfect

For more quizzes, go to Fandom Love

Unbound

If you’ve read my earlier posts on Avenged Sevenfold, you know that I absolutely love the band. I think the members are absolutely HOT! One of which is M. Shadows. You know how I’m into heavy metal. 🙂

Mac & Cheese yes, while Dungeons and Dragons are a no, (Click here to find out what style you are.)

If you read my earlier post Unbound (The Wild Ride) you’d know that this song was one that I really enjoyed as it not only was a great song, but really helped me get over my breakup with my ex. (Ironic as he was the one who introduced me to this band and lent me the CD)

29) Unbound (The Wild Ride) by Avenged Sevenfold

So yep, this is another post in the “Getting Over a Heartbreak” series. So this song comes off the 2007 album, and it’s a little different from their usual stuff; but just as amazing. It is a little more rock than metal, and even though quite a few people hate it I LOVE it. This is also the last album with the James “The Rev” Sullivan, before he died. 😦

Now I love this as a “Heartbreak” song as it really seems to go through the stages of overcoming the issues of heartbreak. You’re hurt and upset, but eventually you realize that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you will make it through. Nothing is ever going to stop you as you will remain unbound.

Yep:

Somewhere life is good, and things go as they should
it’s hard to find, but that’s alright yeah
Searching for the way, push harder everyday
It’s deep inside, that shining light yeah
But I’m scarred, by barriers placed in my path
I’m scathed

This ride that takes me through life
Leads me into darkness but emerges into light
No one can ever slow me down
I’ll stay unbound

The very Handsome Matthew Shadows! 🙂

Sometimes when we’re young, and always on the run
It gets so dark and I know that place yeah
So don’t be too concerned, you’ve got a lot to learn
Well so do I and we’ve got plenty of time yeah
Don’t fall off the track yet with so many races to go
Hold on

This ride that takes me through life
Leads me into darkness but emerges into light
No one can ever slow me down
I’ll stay unbound

Some live so wrong, with what we do is each his own
But living in fear, endless shame for countless years
I never lived in fear I knew I’d die another day
I never viewed my life as something… slipping away

Some live so wrong, with what we do is each his own
But living in fear, endless shame for countless years
I never lived in fear I knew I’d die another day
I never viewed my life as something… slipping away

There’s nothing here to take for granted
with each breath that we take
the hands of time strip youth from our bodies
And we fade
memories remain
as time goes on

There’s nothing here to take for granted
with each breath that we take
the hands of time strip youth from our bodies
And we fade
memories remain
as time goes on

After all:

To start the “Getting Over a Heartbreak” series from the beginning, go to If It Means A Lot to You

For the previous post, go to Any Way You Want It

For more on Avenged Sevenfold, go to Belle of the Ball

For more on heavy metal, go to Unbound (The Wild Ride)

For more of my favorite songs, go to Be Good to Yourself

For more on my ex-boyfriend, go to That’s What You Get

For more bible verses, go to Here I Go Again

For more on quizzes, go to I Only Answer to the Name of Oommmooooowwwwo!

For more of my favorite quotes, go to Part IX: Adventures in Movie Lines

Any Way You Want It

So guys, here we are another post on the “Getting Over a Heartbreak” series:

28) Any Way You Want It by Journey

Another Journey song, I know but I can’t help it I love them. They capture emotions so well and can really get their message across.

So this song was released in the ’80s. It was written by lead singer Steve Perry and guitarist Neal Schon. In 1979, Journey was touring with Thin Lizzy and were greatly influenced by them.

The reason I put this on the list was because after a breakup you need to focus on yourself and what you want. And as you are single you should not only can do what you want but you should do whatever you want.

Any way you want it
That’s the way you need it
Any way you want it
She loves to laugh
She loves to sing
She does everything
She loves to move
She loves to grove
She loves the lovin’ things
Ooh, all night, all night
Oh, every night
So hold tight, hold tight
Ooh, baby, hold tight
Oh, she said,

Any way you want it
That’s the way you need it
Any way you want it
She said, Any way you want it
That’s the way you need it
Any way you want it

I was alone
I never knew
What good love could do
Ooh, then we touched
Then we sang
About the lovin’ things

Ooh, all night, all night
Oh, every night
So hold tight, hold tight
Ooh baby, hold tight
Oh, she said,

Any way you want it
That’s the way you need it
Any way you want it
She said, Any way you want it
That’s the way you need it
Any way you want it

There is also the awesome Rock of Ages version:

After all, once you know what you want go after it:

And never settle for anything else:

You may be:

But the right guy will come around and love you no matter what:

To start “Getting over a Heartbreak” from the beginning, go to If It Means A Lot to You

To go to the previous post, go to Be Good to Yourself

For more on Journey, go to Don’t Stop Believin’

For more ’80s music, go to Whip It

For more on F. Scott Fitzgerald, go to For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic

For more on Rock of Ages, go to Part VIII: The Little Movie Lines List

For more on Thin Lizzy, go to The Boys Are Back in Town

For more on being yourself, go to The Lining is Silver

For more on the perfect boyfriend, go to Love of My Life

The Lining is Silver

 

And if you have been following me lately, you’d know that one thing this magic protects against is a broken heart.

Yep, if you haven’t guessed it…this is another step in the “Getting Over a Heartbreak” series.

25) The Lining is Silver by Relient K

This song comes off the album The Bird and the Bee Sides, the same CD that Up and Up came from. The title of the song comes from the idiom “that every cloud has a silver lining”. Which means that you can always find good in bad.

Now the song takes it in a new direction. It does cover that in bad you can find good, but also that the silver lining is in you. You are the good in the bad situation, it resides in who you are. You are golden, you are awesome.

I found my new black shoes
While cleaning out the bones left in my closet
They were there with the bad excuse
Bon Voyage

Bye thoughts

And I found a back up plan
I’m grateful that I didn’t have to use it
But it’s made of real good friends
Bon Voyage

Isn’t it nice to know
That the lining is silver
Isn’t it nice to know
That we’re golden

Well I found a list of flaw
That I saw in myself and other people
And I threw it away because
Bon Voyage

Isn’t it nice to know
That the lining is silver
Isn’t it nice to know
That we’re golden
Yeah we’re golden
Oh

When it all falls apart and you can’t see
The forest for the cemeteries
Isn’t it nice to know
Isn’t it nice to know

Isn’t it nice to know
That the lining is silver
Isn’t it nice to know
That we’re golden
Oh

Isn’t it nice to know
That the lining is silver
Isn’t it nice to know
That we’re golden
Yeah we’re golden oh

I found a love in me
I always somehow knew that it existed
It just needed to be set free
Bon Voyage

Isn’t it nice to know

Isn’t it nice to know

Isn’t it nice to know

Find that lining:

And never forget that you are awesome:

To start “the Getting Over a Heartbreak” series, go to If It Means A Lot to You

To go to the previous post, go to Don’t Stop Believin’

For more on Relient K, go to Up and Up

For more of my fav songs, go to Highway Star

For more on Northanger Abbey, go to It’s All Jane Austen’s Fault 

For more on friendship, go to Redone Done Right

Now You’re Gone

This how I feel about this song:

4) Now You’re Gone by Everyday Sunday

Now I used to be obsessed with Everyday Sunday so much. They changed some people so its sadly not the same anymore. 😦 But I saw them one time at a concert and after that I was hooked, espechially this Wake Up, Wake Up album. I used to listen to it over and over.

 

Of course like any girl I had a major crush on one of the band members. I had a a huge thing for Trey Pearson, I thought he was soooo cute. (He’s the second to the left) You know me I love tall, handsome, long-haired musicians (my weakness, every time).

In fact I have this great story of getting their autographs on my copy of Wake Up, Wake Up. So I went to this huge outdoor concert, (three days and a bunch of bands), to see them. I was first in line to get their autographs, and was fully prepared as having borrowed my mom’s sharpie with the promise to return it to her. So I was waiting in line and I had recieved Trey ❤ (squee!) and another band member, but I still needed the other two. So I was standing around waiting, when one of the guards/manager/whatever people told me I had to go because I was blocking the way or whatever. I was so heartbroken to have to leave, but started making my way out:

As I was walking out I ran into another member and got his autograph.

Oh yeah!

So I was still sad that I didn’t have the last signature, but then as I was walking out I ran into the last guy!  And got his autograph. But as I was walking away with my friend, I realized I had left my mom’s sharpie! And I had specifically been told to make sure I brought it back. So I ran all the way down to the autograph table, told them what happened as was given the sharpie back. It wasn’t until I got back to our tent that I realized I had my  mom’s sharpie in my pocket all along! Instead I had an awesome souvenir!!!

Unfortunately, I lost that pen sometime when we moved. 😦

So anyways, I majorly got off topic. So this song is part of the heartache song list I had made up. If you remember where we last left off on I Don’t Love You, we were at the point when one is horribly angry at the other person for dumping them.

But that doesn’t always stay. What usually happens, and I fall in this statistic, is that you slip back into sadness/regret that the person is gone and you want them back in your life.

So for me this song pretty much explains how I felt about everything. I hate having to say good-bye, its so hard for me to let things go.

As I mentioned in The End: Goodbye, Michael, Goodbye I just kept thinking about what could have been.

Summer skies two separate lives
Tell me how we let this go
I hate goodbyes, God knows I’ve tried
I’ve been staring at this phone

I just thought I’d let you know
All these things I did not show you
I’ve just got to let you know
That I still care, still care

Now you’re gone, I’m all alone
And nothing here is right
I can’t go another day
Without you in my life

God knows I’m hurting
from keeping it inside
Right now I’m praying
that healing comes in time

I wish that I could think of the words to say
to make this feeling go away
But you know that until then I’ll be waiting here for you
I just thought I’d let you know
that I still care, still care
that I still care, still care

Now you’re gone, I’m all alone
And nothing here is right
I can’t go another day
Without you in my life

God knows I’m hurting
from keeping it inside
Right now I’m praying
that healing comes in time

Comes in time, yeah, yeah, yeah

I’ve just got to let you know
I’ve just got to let you know
I’ve just got to let you know

Now you’re gone, I’m all alone
And nothing here is right
I can’t go another day
Without you in my life

God knows I’m hurting
from keeping it inside
Right now I’m praying
that healing comes in time

Remember:

To read the Heartbreak series from the beginning, go to If It Means a Lot to You

To go to the previous song in the list, go to I Don’t Love You

Otherwise:

For more of my favorite music, go to The End by Silverstein

For more of my favorite bands, go to Sadness Is…

For more on Peter Pan, go to Second Star to the Right

For more on tall, dark, and handsome guys; go to Definitely, Not Mr. Darcy

For more of my fav quotes, go to Oh Oh De Lally