Skip to main content

TTT: Places Books Made Me Want to Visit


This week's TTT topic: Places Books Made Me Want to Visit (Real or Fictional)

Eddis and Attolia from The Queen's Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner
I'm not saying I want to hang out in the court of the King and Queen of Attolia because that would be scary. But I would love to see the mountains and the dystopia. Also I like olives and wine quite a lot so YUM! And I wouldn't mind seeing the greatest monarch couple ever from a distance. A very very far distance.

All the Restaurants, Patisseries, and Chocolatiers in Laura Florand's Amour et Chocolate Series
If you haven't read these books, you can not quite comprehend the level of want in this. Florand's description of desserts is absolutely sinful and will have you weeping for the lack of artisan pastry and chocolate in regular town America. A trip to France to visit all these wonderful places would be the best trip ever. (The shop I want to visit the most? It's a tie between La Maison de Sorcieres in The Chocolate Kiss and Dom's shop in The Chocolate Touch.)

Shrewsbury College at Oxford University form Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
Sayers made up Shrewsbury, but it has much grounding in reality. A lot of crazy things go down there in Gaudy Night, but I love how it is a place where smart women do, think, and talk about smart things with each other (mostly getting along).

Dare Island from Virgina Kantra's Dare Island Series
Dare Island is a made up island in North Carolina's Pamlico Sound. I LOVE the Outer Banks and Kantra does a wonderful job of describing life there. And I want to live there now. Or at least be one of the tourists mentioned (though not as obnoxious as many mentioned are).

Chrestomanci Castle from Chrestomanci Chronicles by Diana Wynne Jones
I love everything about all the inhabitants of Chrestomanci Castle. The best time to visit would be sometime after the events of The Pinhoe Egg for getting to know the optimal number of awesome people. It would, or course, need to be during a time when Christopher was actually there.

Gardam Street from The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall
This neighborhood is the neighborhood I always wanted to live in growing up. It's actually quite similar to the ones I did grow up in on the military bases I lived on, but the families in those changed too often. I like the stability and community of Gardam Street.

Discworld from Terry Pratchett
I admit, I have barely begin to scratch the surface of this world. I just really want to hang out with Tiffany Aching and the Nac Mac Feegle.

Wellmet from The Magic Thief Series by Sarah Prineas
True, things are often exploding there, but I want to hang out with the leaders of this place because they are awesome. Also, one would never get bored while there.

Urwald from Jinx trilogy by Sage Blackwood
Another dangerous place to be, particularly at the point we currently are in this trilogy. But I'm certain Jinx is going to do something about that and then it will be truly awesome and not just scary awesome.

And of course, no list of places to visit in books would be complete without:













Comments

Unknown said…
"I wouldn't mind seeing the greatest monarch couple ever from a distance. A very very far distance."

Hahahaha! See, I totally understand that, and Irene would scare me down to my toes in the best possible way, but I'd also want to pull Gen into a bear hug (which he would NOT appreciate AT ALL), so.
Brandy said…
No, he would not appreciate that in the least. And you should be afraid of doing that. Because Irene wouldn't let you live long after that. ;)
Anonymous said…
Yes to the first two! I have those on my list too. And Hogwarts, of course.

Popular posts from this blog

Favorite Kissing Scenes

When thinking of a favorite things post I could do for February I decided it would have to be kissing. I've already done couples and I was feeling in the mood to do something fluffy and Valentine's related. So kisses it is. I read more MG than YA, and the YA I read tends to not focus on romance so this was actually harder than I expected it to be though a few jumped into my head right away. (And one of my choices does actually come from a MG book. One is adult. Gasp!) The actual scene from the book is quoted followed by my thoughts. The king lifted a hand to her cheek and kissed her. It was not a kiss between strangers, not even a kiss between a bride and a groom. It was a kiss between a man and his wife, and when it was over, the king closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the hollow of the queen's shoulder, like a man seeking respite, like a man reaching home at the end of the day . - The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner Turner doesn't write the

TTT: Most Recent Additions to My TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly themed blog hop created by  The Broke and the Bookish  and now hosted at  That Artsy Reader Girl . This Week's Topic: Most Recent Additions to My TBR List From Most Recent to Least: What books have recently caught your eye?

This Side of Home

What attracted me to This Side of Home by Renee Watson was the cover. The story hooked my interest. The characters made me fall in love. Maya has lived her entire life in the same neighborhood in Portland hanging out with the same group of friends: her twin sister Nikki, their best friend Essence, and Ronnie, Malachi, and Devin-three boys her father mentors. They have plans for the future that involve each other: prom, college, life. But things in their neighborhood are changing. People are moving in and starting new businesses. Property values are going up as a result. In addition to change, this is also causing trouble. Essence has to move out of her  house when the owner decides he can make more money selling it than renting it. The racial demographics of the school, which has been mostly African American, is shifting. This presents new challenges and choices for Maya and her friends. It brings new people into their lives at the same time. Maya has to figure out how-and if-she wa

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak  by Robert Beatty is a thrilling tale of mystery and adventure set at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC in 1899. Having lived in Asheville and visited the house several times, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read this. (Also it's MG fantasy, always a bonus for me.) Serafina lives in secret in the basement of the Vanderbilt's spacious vacation home. She has lived there most of her life. Her father worked on the house as it was being built and is the mechanic who runs the massive generator and keeps the electricity going. Serafina is the chief rat catcher, slipping through the halls of her massive home secretly and quietly. She is light on her feet, sees well in the dark, and is quick enough to catch the vermin and keep them out. Serafina knows she if different and strange. Her father insists she stay hidden. But all that changes when one night Serafina witnesses a horrible crime. A little girl, a guest in the house, is fleein

Shorter Musings MG Fantasy

Here are some shorter musings on recent MG fantasy reads. Anya and the Dragon   by Sofiya Pasternack This book is fun. It is a book full of adventure, an obvious bad guy, some more complicated morally gray area characters, and a strong, brave heroine. It is also a book about friendships, community, and fighting for what is right. All things that usually work for me really well. While I enjoyed this, I did feel it was a little overlong and there were certain plot points at the end I didn't love. However, there were things I thought were done really well, such as Anya's Jewish faith and the idea that power needs to be challenged. In the end it was a middle of the road read for me, but it is one I will certainly be recommending to dragon and fantasy adventure lovers I know! R is for Rebel   by J. Anderson Coats This is tough because I usually really like Coats's books. I had such a hard time with this one though on so many levels. It's difficult to get into because t