Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week there is a new topic, and you compile ten books that fit the theme. You can find more information here.
This week’s topic is ‘Places in Books I’d Love to Live’. You may have noticed, if you’re a regular reader of our blog, that there are two of us who run it, but that most of the posts are by me – Ariana. This is because my co-blogger and sister Gemma is currently in the middle of her undergrad degree, and so has little time for reading outside her course, but she and I have enjoyed brainstorming these Top Ten Tuesdays together, so when possible, we’ll feature answers from both of us. This week it’s 50/50, and there are almost too many options!
Gemma
- The Burrow from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series – home of the Weasley family, it is a house made up of numerous floors all precariously balanced on top of one another. The caveat for living here is that she would like to attend Hogwarts too.
- The Library from Erin Morgenster’s The Starless Sea – this was on both of our lists, because who wouldn’t want to live in a secret giant library full of stories, secret rooms, a giant ballroom, and a great underground sea?
- The Lake District as described by Lucinda Riley in The Shadow Sister – the Lake District is beautiful enough as it is, but in this book it’s described in such a wonderful way.
- Camp Half-Blood from Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series – downsides are that you may be attacked by monsters, or have to play a deadly Capture the Flag occasionally, but who can beat always perfect weather, strawberry fields, and plates that manifest what you want to eat at meal times?
- Pemberley from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice – I mean, look at that. Stately gardens, a room full of statues, and -most importantly- Mr. Darcy.
Ariana
- The Shire from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings – my first love, and the place I go to when I need comfort. I’d definitely want to travel all over Middle Earth, but I like the idea of having a cozy hobbit hole somewhere in the green Shire to return to after my adventuring.
- The fictional Sicilian town of Vigata in Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano series – one of my favourite series, and I would love to stroll along its beach, eat at all the seafood places Montalbano spends most of his time in, and just generally enjoy the Italian life.
- Diggory’s house in C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe – I thought of just saying Narnia, but outside of Cair Paravel, there aren’t many places for humans to live, so then I thought of that magnificent house with the wardrobe; I think I’d like to stay there, and be able to pop into Narnia whenever I feel like it (I know it doesn’t work that way, shh!)
- The Court of the Fisher King in Stephen R. Lawhead’s Taliesin – another of my favourite series, it’s a really beautiful retelling of the Arthurian legend, and the Court of the Fisher King is such a peaceful and magical location.
- Blackwater in A.G. Slatter’s All the Murmuring Bones – this one is a mix, because there are some pretty terrible things that happen here during the course of this story, but the overall location and its description are really appealing. A little commune with a nice house, orchards, and a big lake. Sounds ideal.
The Book Nook 