In the time leading up to the drawing, I did have a chance to play out multiple fantasies of wealth. Life with more than $10 in my bank account! Paying off those ungodly student loans! Food! A beautiful condo with a view! And books... books... books...
As a literary lover, I came up with several awesome things I could do with my millions. If you did happen to win the jackpot, here are some ideas:
Buy Things
Of course, now that I no longer need to worry about money, I can stop waiting on hold for the most popular books from the library. I can just buy them right away! What? That's crazy. I think I look at the library website every day to see if they have the new releases in yet. Yes, I know that I have a bazillion other books to read, but I want the pretty, new things. Plus, now that I won't need to work for a living, I will have all the time in the world to read all the books in the world.
But these are small potatoes. Why think about ten dollar books when you can think about ten thousand dollar books? Now is the time to start collecting rare books. For example, I could get a special first edition copy of Winnie-the-Pooh on Japanese vellum, signed by both the author and the illustrator for $51,941.
I'm a billionaire now - let's ignore the realities of taxes - so I can also try to get my hands on the most expensive books out there. Forbes list of the most expensive books ever sold lists
the Codex Leicester of Leonardo da Vinci at $49.4 million and Comedies,
Histories, & Tragedies (1623), The First Folio by William Shakespeare at
$8.2 million. Want to sell me that Codex, Mr. Gates?
Where shall I sit while reading Shakespeare's first folio? Why in Pemberley of course! For a mere $12.5 million - less than that Codex you might note - I can purchase Wentworth Woodhouse, which may have inspired Jane Austen's version of Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice and is currently for sale. I've already started auctioning off the 300 rooms to friends. I'm generous.
For my additional homes across the world, there are several houses associated with famous authors that I could purchase. How about this lovely $35 million estate in California that once belonged to Thomas Mann and was in Scarface. Here's a list of additional literary housing options as well.
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| Wentworth Woodhouse Flickr/Allan Harris |
For my additional homes across the world, there are several houses associated with famous authors that I could purchase. How about this lovely $35 million estate in California that once belonged to Thomas Mann and was in Scarface. Here's a list of additional literary housing options as well.
Visit Things
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| Real Gabinete Português de Leitura Flickr/Mathieu Bertrand Struck |
Now
that I am comfortably settled in my Austen-style mansion filled with books, I
can start traveling. There are hundreds of literary destinations. I could take
a world library tour, for instance, including the Liyuan
Library in Beijing, China, which apparently is built with timber to blend into
the forest and sits on a lake, and the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that is just darn beautiful.
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| Liyuan Library Outside Flickr/LiXiaodong Atelier |
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Liyuan Library Inside Flickr/LiXiaodong Atelier
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Or
I could travel around to the literary museums. Did you know that there is
Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem where you can view the Dead Sea Scrolls? Bustle has put together a list of several more. From
here I also learned that The
American Writer's Museum will be opening up in Chicago next year! Yay!
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| Shrine of the Book Flickr/Christyn |
After
all this museum and library hopping, I will probably want to sit back and take
in a good play. I could then attend some of the greatest theaters in the world. There's of course the Globe
Theater in England, but also the National Noh Theatre in Tokyo
that is made out of cypress trees, the Minack Theatre that sits on a
cliff in Cornwall, and the Palais Garnier in Paris where The Phantom
of the Opera was set.
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| Palais Garnier Flickr/Jonathan |
Learn Things
In
between my jet-setting, I might actually want to take some literature classes.
Don't scoff! Learning is fun (says the teacher). With my winnings, I can pay
off all my student loans and get as many degrees as I want - from as many
schools that will accept me at least. I'd still love to get my Ph.D. Even if I
don't want to get a full degree, however, I can now afford to take a random
class here or there. I could even take one while traveling. Did you know
Harvard has an online extension school? I could take American Dreams from Scarface to Easy Rider or Masterpieces of World Literature for $2,400, though
it's unclear whether that is for the whole course or per graduate
credit. By the way, they also have a bunch of free
courses of which anyone can take advantage.
That
was a nice trip through fantasy land. Well, these might not happen at this
point, but life goals! Since I do still need to make a living, I suppose I
should get working on those syllabi then.
What
would you do with a jackpot win?
Those are quite some plans there. Mine were a little less grand. I figured retire. Write a book. Read. Travel. Buy a nice house and car. Give to charity. You really thought about this!
ReplyDeleteHaha those are great ideas as well! I often manage to give a lot of thought to silly things when I'm procrastinating from doing work.
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