Top Ten Tuesday: Places in Books I’d Love to Live

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I adore living in Toronto, but there are parts of all of these places that intrigue me. It would be cool to see them in person someday if it were safe and affordable to do so.

A red passport tucked into the handle of a blue wheeled suitcase If I didn’t mention a specific thing I wanted to do for the numbers on the list below, that means I’d want to talk to the locals to get their recommendations on the best restaurants, museums, parks, etc. before adding my own wish list to the agenda.

You can learn so much about other cities, countries, and cultures by listening to the people who live there and taking their advice on where to go and what to do.

If any of you ever visit Toronto once travelling for fun is possible again, I’d be happy to give you some suggestions of what to do here!

1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou’s Autobiography, #1) by Maya Angelou

Location: Stamps, Arkansas

What I’d Do There: Soak up every ray of sunshine I can. I get the winter blues each year, so this would make a big impact on my life.

 

Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, Japan2. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Location: Japan (various cities)

What I’d Do There: Among many other destinations, I’d visit Rabbit Island.

 

3. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Location: Calcutta, India

 

4. Dubliners by James Joyce

Location: Dublin, Ireland

What I’d Do There: Visit whichever castle Irish people think is the nicest one there.

 

5. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

Location: Manchuria, China

What I’d Do There: See the Great Wall of China.

 

Person going kayacking in Nigeria. 6. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Location: Nigeria

 

7. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Location: Dominican Republic (various cities)

What I’d Do There: Visit the schools and other places that a relative of mine helped to build! He has a lot of experience with this kind of stuff and used to visit every year to help with various projects.

 

8. Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

Location: Egypt (various cities)

What I’d Do There: See the pyramids, of course!

 

Ama Dablam in the Himalayan mountains 9. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

Location: Mount Kanchenjunga in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal

What I’d Do There: Quietly enjoy the majestic mountains for a day or two before asking about specific places there to visit.

 

10. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Location: Mexico

 

88 Responses to Top Ten Tuesday: Places in Books I’d Love to Live

  2. I started writing a post for this prompt, then stopped because it was giving me too much wanderlust.
    You’ve got some great choices and I’d love to go to every one of them. Especially now, I feel like I’d gladly visit the next village just for a change of scenery.

    Reply

  6. There are so many places in the world that I would love to visit. I love this list. How awesome that you have a relative that has helped to build schools in the Dominican Republic. It is a tough place for children to grow up.

    Reply

  20. Dominican Republic was on my list as well! I should have added Dublin, too. I hope we all get the opportunity to do some traveling once it is safe again. Great list!

    Reply

  21. That is awesome that you have a relative that built houses in the Dominican Republic! Our friend goes to Mexico every year to build houses for poor people there over spring break. My dh just got a job that will give him paid time off every year to volunteer somewhere… I think maybe it’d be awesome if we could go next year with him. It sounds like it would be such a great experience.

    Reply

  28. I have Ireland and Japan on my list too; And totally love your What I’d Do Theres for each one.. especially the soaking up the rays of the sun!!

    Reply

  32. Interesting places, Lydia. I get what you mean. Living in Europe is just great, you are only a couple of hours away from the most amazing places that everyone talks about. But many who are born here don’t appreciate that. We once lived close to London (about 30-45 minutes depending on the mode of transport you took) and I met people who had lived their all their lives and never been. So sad.

    Anyway, I know we always travel through our books and that’s also fantastic.

    Thanks for visiting my TTT earlier.

    Reply

    • You’re welcome.

      I’m amazed at how differently people think of travelling for a few hours for a day trip in Europe vs. North American!

      And, yes, thank goodness for travelling through books.

      Reply

  39. I can definitely vouch for Dublin – I spent a lot of time there at the start of last year for work, and it was a pleasure. Casual, friendly, fun and great public transport – and easy to get out into the countryside too. Perfect.

    Reply

  40. Oooooh I love the variety in the locations and books you’ve chosen! I’d definitely love to visit Dublin, DR and Mexico (also I love Like Water for Chocolate! It’s so rare to hear anyone talking about it, but it’s a fave)!

    Reply

    • Thank you very much.

      It’s been ages since I read Like Water for Chocolate, so the plot is getting fuzzy for me. But I do remember enjoying it quite a bit.

      It seems to be one of those books that haven’t gotten as many accolades as it should. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it, too!

      Reply

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