Hey all! I’ve decided to start a little “mini blog series” of sorts! Once a month, I’m going to post my Top 10: (fill in the blank) of something related to books or writing once a month! This month, it is my top 10 places from books that I wish I could visit. These are places from books where the world building was so well done, it made me wish that I could see the rest of the world not shown in the story. So, if I could travel into books, where would I go?
*I have done my very best to keep all of this spoiler free. Also, these are in no particular order*
1. Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia series, C. S. Lewis)
Why Narnia? Because it’s Narnia.
If anyone can read The Chronicles of Narnia without wanting to find a wardrobe/train platform/painting/etc. that will take them to Narnia, I will be amazed.
I want to walk through the forest and see the lamppost. I want to meet fawns, nymphs, centaurs, and dwarves. I want to see Cair Paravel. I want to sail on the Dawn Treader. I want to go everywhere in Narnia!
2. Henry, Kansas (100 Cupboards series, N. D. Wilson)
Once I arrive in Henry, Kansas, I’m going to go the house of Frank and Dotty Willis. I’m going to go upstairs and marvel at the wall of cupboards. And then I’m going to go through the cupboards of course.
I’m definitely going to go to Badon Hill and Hylfing. And there are defiantly cupboards that I will not be touching.
3. Middle Earth (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, J. R. R. Tolkien)
I want to visit Middle Earth for reasons similar to visiting Narnia. There is just so much to these worlds. And to be able to explore it all would be amazing. My top two places to visit in Middle Earth would be the Shire and Rivendell.
4. Tir (The Weaver Trilogy, Lindsay A. Franklin)
While in Tir, I would make sure that I visited Corsyth. Because, I want to meet a weaver while in Tir, and Corsyth would obviously be a good place to find one (depending on what time I am there). And I want to see the castle in Urian. After all, castles are epic in the first place, and the description of Urian Castle is pretty cool. Plus, while I am in Tir, I could maybe hop over and visit the neighboring countries, which would be super cool. Meridione sounds super cool. And the food apparently is amazing.
5. The Second Reflection (The Unblemished Trilogy, Sara Ella)
This is one place I need to visit soon, before I turn eighteen. After all, I’ll still have a chance to drink water from a Threshold and see if I manifest! I have no idea what I would hope to manifest as though. Also, this is just another place that I would want to explore (while hoping that I manifest).
6. The Land of Expectations (The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster)
I want to go to the Land of Expectations because there is a certain cleverness to all of the places there. While in the Land of Expectations, I’ll have to make sure that I am on my toes. I’ll be careful to not eat too much subtraction soup or jump to conclusions. After all, it’s a long swim back.
7. Ivanhoe (Out of Time series, Nadine Brandes)
I actually can’t decide if I really want to go to Ivanhoe. Because the world as a whole isn’t exactly in the greatest place in the Out of Time series.
But, I think that going to Ivanhoe would still be cool. I’m certain I don’t have the balance required for a tightrope, but I can always crawl. And seeing Wilbur Sherrod’s suits would be awesome. I wonder if I could somehow try one on. And the entire experience of Ivanhoe would be neat. The city is pretty cool.
8. London
Confession: I have been to London in real life. But, I haven’t been to the magical London that is in numerous novels, such as Fawkes by Nadine Brandes or Dust by Kara Swanson.
I already love ordinary London. But magical London is just so much more. . . magical. So, I want to visit the various versions of London that are brimming with magic. Because who doesn’t love magic?
9. Life Is Sweet Candy Factory (The Candymakers, Wendy Mass)
Who wouldn’t want to go visit a candy factory? Seriously, this place would be so fun to visit. And I would eat way too much candy. But it would be so fun. I would make sure that I hit the library and the Some More S’mores Room and the Tropical Room while I’m there. And did I mention eat candy?
10. A Sci-Fi Setting
All right, I know this one seems like a cop-out. But just wait.
I’ve found that I don’t read very much sci-fi, so whenever I do, the world building feels really fresh and engaging. When I think about the last couple sci-fi novels I’ve read, I’ve really enjoyed the world building and would be content to explore the setting more if I could because it’s something I just don’t read too often.
So, I know that the general title of a sci-fi setting is a little broad, but that is because there isn’t a specific sci-fi world that I want to visit, and I think I’d be okay going to any of the sci-fi settings I’ve read.
Well friends, there’s my Top Ten Places to Go. What places in books do you wish you could visit? What is some of your favorite world building?
Hailey Huntington 