Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday: Fave Book Settings

Good morning everyone! It's Tuesday, and time for my favorite meme - Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is Favorite Book Settings. Let's get to it, shall we?

1. England (Harry Potter style): So, I know a TON of people would love to live in HP's world and so would I. It has all the conveniences of the modern day, but this uber-cool hidden world of magic and wizards and elfs, etc... Plus the magical part of the world is more old-timey - no computers, no cars, etc. It's all about quills and cauldrons and apparating. TOO COOL.

2. Shadow (The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin): So in this 2nd book of the series, the setting is mostly Shadow - the city that has sprouted up underneath the World Tree in the city of Sky. It's kind of your basic old-timey world (no modern stuff), except that gods play a big part in life, and godlings live in this city. They live among the humans, using their powers and either helping or hindering human life. I just think it would be HELLA cool to live in a village where godlings are just walking around.

3. England (The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde): Like Harry Potter, it's a modern world. Except that literature is taken VERY seriously. Books are protected, people walk around debating who Shakespeare really is, characters jump in and out of books, and there's a whole police force dedicated to protecting literature - the LiteraTecs. Not the mention that there's also routine cloning, time travel, etc. But any place that glorifies books like that is awesome.

4. Seattle (Married with Zombies by Jesse Petersen): So, I'm all about a zombie apocolypse. I think I could not only handle myself well, but that it'd be kind of fun too. Killing zombies, scavenging for supplies, being able to carry around weapons without a permit, etc. And this has to be one of the best zombie books I've read. They're entertaining, and the main character (Sarah) is a great narrator. I wouldn't mind being in zombified Seattle with her and her husband David.

5. The Four Corners of Civilization (The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss): This is another one of those awesome back-in-the-day type settings, with the added magic of the arcanists. Like the magical Harry Potter world, there are a lot of different magical aspects to study in - runes, alchemy, etc... with the coolest being naming. If you know the true name of something, you can control / use it. Also, Kvothe is a kick ass character and I love experiencing this world through his eyes.

6. Scotland, 1700's to present (Outlander series): So, Outlander makes me love Scotland. And while I love it the most back in the 1700's when kilts and broadswords were all the rage, I also like modern-day-ish Scotland because... well, I really like Scottish accents. And the people seem really cool. Also, the standing stones add that tiny bit of magic / mysticism that I love.

7. Pine Cove, CA (Christopher Moore books): So a lot of Chris Moore's books take place in the quaint little town of Pine Cove, and I think I'd love living there. Stuff always seems to be happening there - demons, vampires, angels, zombies, talking bats, and so on.

8. The Seven Kingdoms (Graceling by Kristin Cashore): Another one of my favorite fantasy books, and yes it's set back-in-the-day. Apparently my favorite time period is when people still used horses and wagons and fires. Anyways, what's super special about this world that Cashore has created is the Gracelings. Gracelings are people who are "graced" with an extreme ability - whether it be fighting, swimming, lying, killing, cooking... and you can recognize a Graced person because they have two different colored eyes. Also, in the book Fire, we learn that there are also "monsters" in the Seven Kingdoms as well, although they're rarer. I absolutely cannot wait for more books in this series to come out.

9. England (Jane Austen style): OK, now overall it would suck being a woman in Jane Austen's novels. You don't have any real rights, and money / status matter way too much. But I do love the romance of this time period - the awesome cool clothes, love letters, the witty banter, etc.

10. North Carolina (via Sarah Addison Allen's novels): SAA always makes me want to move to some tiny little town in NC, where there are hints of magic almost everywhere. And it's never magic that someone can really control, but natural magic in people. I love the way she seeps magic into everyday people and life.


So that's about it! Apparently, England and any old-timey world have the monopoly on my favorite book settings.

While you're hear, don't forget to sign up for the Summer Mini-Readathon in July! It's only about a month away!

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14 comments:

  1. I have Hogwarts/HP England on my list as well cos that would kick major ass. I also now really want to check out Married with Zombies. Zombies and Seattle? Sounds wonderful.

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  2. I have Graceling on my TBR list, can't wait to get to it! Great list :)

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  3. Seattle seems to be the place for paranormal. fun list today. Kaye—the road goes ever ever on

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  4. totally would love to read in North Carolina!!

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  5. I love that NC made it onto a number of lists - mine too!

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  6. Looks like you'll be taking a trip to the UK soon?

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  7. I love England and Scotland settings. Oh and France, especially southern France.

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  8. I am also rooting for a zombie apocalypse. I'm fully prepared. We should team up!

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  9. I was totally thinking of the Seven Kingdoms, but I'm kind of scared of living there. So much swashbuckling. :D

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  10. England seems to have taken over most of my list, so it seems you're not alone! I have yet to read a Sarah Addison Allen book, but it might add North Carolina to my list too! :)

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  11. I love that you mentioned Sarah Addison Allen... I've only read one of her books so far but I really enjoyed it and loved the setting.

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  12. Ha! All the different Englands :) I would settle for just one. They all sound amazing. Great list.

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  13. When I thought about how to answer this for myself, I came up with a whole bunch of different Englands too! Agatha C., James Herriot, Jane Austen, Sherlock Holmes...

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  14. Great list! I think my brain is too mushy, because a few that I love (HP, and Kristin Cashore) Didn't even cross my mind

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