Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Places Books Have Made Me Want To Visit

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Hello, everyone! Book-related places to visit seems to be a fairly popular subject. I've already done two posts on the subject: one about fictional worlds I'd like to visit, and a collab with Emma of Awkwordly Emma on real-life book locations. However, I'm very happy to do another, especially since my list keeps expanding with almost every new book or series I discover! To keep from repeating myself too much, I'll be focusing on specific places that I'd like to visit, rather than general locations or worlds.

  1. The Shire (The Lord of the Rings). I'm going to try to minimize the number of LOTR-related places I put on this list, simply because if I don't, it'll turn into my itinerary for a year-long tour of Middle Earth. However, I do very much want to visit the Shire, especially Bag End. No doubt the hobbits would wonder about the strange human girl wandering about their hills and roads, but I'd be too busy trying to see everything (and meet my favorite hobbit characters) to pay much attention to their stares. Of course, since I've no chance of seeing the real Shire, I'll happily settle for the New Zealand version. (The same can be pretty much said of any locale from the LOTR books/movies.)
  2. The Haven Library (Tales of Goldstone Wood). Some of you may recall that I've mentioned that I want to work here, not just visit. However, I'll settle for the latter if Dame Imraldera isn't looking for another assistant. With all the stories contained there, and all the interesting people who seem to pass through, it's probably my favorite location in either the Far or Near World!
  3. Cair Paravel (The Chronicles of Narnia). Picking just one Narnian location to visit is difficult, since I've loved that world so long. In the end, I decided that Cair Paravel has probably made the biggest impression on me, and so that's where I'd go. 
  4. The Shattered Plains (The Stormlight Archive). No, the Shattered Plains- particularly the warcamps, which is where I'd want to spend most of my time- are not a particularly pleasant place. However, there are certain not-so-pleasant places that I'd want to see anyway, simply because they sound interesting. The Shattered Plains are one of these, particularly since they play such a large part in the books. (Of course, the world of The Stormlight Archive in general is one I'd want to visit because it's so different from anywhere I've read about before.)
  5. Rivendell (The Lord of the Rings). Yes, I know I said I wasn't going to put too many LOTR locations on this list, but I love Rivendell too much to leave it off. It seems like such a peaceful,
    beautiful place. It would be grand, true- it's the home of elves, after all- but not the imposing kind of grand like Minas Tirith (where I'd most likely feel perpetually mouse-like, if you get my meaning). 
  6. Elendel (The Alloy of Law). Much as I love the Mistborn trilogy, I don't think I'd want to visit during or before the time it occurs. That world sounds absolutely miserable. Afterwards, however, is a different matter. I'd love to see for myself what the Mistborn would becomes after the trilogy ends, and Elendel seems like the best place to do that.
  7. Fenworth's Castle (The DragonKeeper Chronicles). It's a castle . . . in a tree . . . which mostly consists of a massive library. Aside from its location (in the midst of a swamp), I cannot see anything about this that isn't rather awesome. 
  8. The 12-Year Market (Tales of Goldstone Wood). The 12-Year Market could be considered more an event than a location, but I'm counting it anyway. Visiting a Faerie market would be quite exciting (and much safer than venturing into the Wood)! Who knows what I might find among the stalls- or who I might meet among the Faerie folk tending them? 
  9. Great-Uncle William's House (House of Many Ways). This house might seem unassuming at first, but just how big is it inside? With one door leading to any number of rooms, it's hard to say. I'd love to explore and see what I could stumble upon. I'd probably get lost fairly quickly unless I borrowed Charmain's map, but I think the adventure would be worth it.


  10. Howl's Castle (Howl's Moving Castle). This is mostly because I want to know what it looks like. Is it just a castle that inexplicably moves around? Does it float? Is it like the movie, where there are leg thingys that seem to move it? Does it look like a traditional castle, or something else? (I usually imagine it as looking fairly traditional and floating a foot or so off the ground, but I do wonder.)
Well, there's my list. I meant to include some real places as well as fictional ones, but as you can see, that didn't happen. Of course, considering the kind of books I usually read, my lack of real locations shouldn't be surprising. What about you? What book-related locations, whether real or fictional, would you like to visit? Please tell me in the comments!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

1 comment:

  1. Yeeeees! I agree with all of these! I would most love to visit Rivendell for a soothing, restful vacation and Hogwarts for a more adventurous one. And the 12 Year Market, of course, for souvenirs!

    ReplyDelete

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