Just for a fun Friday Five, I thought I’d pick five places that particular books made me want to visit. By next week, if this is the “new” Friday meme, we’ll know that my plans to take over the www (writer web world) are finally beginning to come to fruition! Bwaahhaaaahhaaa!
1. Deep Valley, MN (aka Mankato, MN) – Home of Betsy Ray, the star of the BETSY-TACY series. You knew I’d start with Betsy & Tacy, didn’t you? I don’t want to just visit Deep Valley, I want to live there! In 1905! Since I can’t live there in 1905 and attend Deep Valley High School (truth be told, I’ve always been a bit worried about this fantasy because everyone can dance and sing in the B-T books…I would be the clunky cousin from out of town with hair even straighter than Betsy’s), I can at least visit Mankato, the town Deep Valley is based on, and see the author’s house, as well as Tacy’s house, and many other landmarks. It’s still on my list of places to go someday.
2. York, England – the setting of John Rowe Townsend’s CLOUDY/BRIGHT. I read this book while I was living in England and I actually managed a day trip to York. It is a really beautiful town, starring the York Minster, and the famous Betty’s Café Tea Room, where I spent almost as much time eating scones and drinking tea as I did admiring the stained glass of the Minster.
3. Woodstock, NY – as described by Paula Danzigger in her book THE DIVORCE EXPRESS and the sequel. Or maybe that was the sequel. Either way, it sounded like exactly the hippie town for me. Ironically, while I’ve never been there, I think I’ve moved to the Canadian equivalent.
4. Switzerland – Well, of course, there’s Heidi, but then there’s also Sharon Creech’s wonderful book BLOOMABILITY which not only made me want to move to Switzerland, but also go to boarding school (despite the fact that I was long past school age when I read it!).
5. Harrod’s Food Hall- visited many times by Angelica Cookson Potts in the YA trilogy by Cherry Whytock. Okay…okay… this is not a town, but it’s a place! But the Food Hall in the basement sounded so fantastic, that last time I was in London, I had to go there several times. It did not disappoint!
What books have made you want to visit places? Have you gone yet?
Oh Betty’s Tea rooms I love it there, I grew up about half an hour from York. Harrod’s food hall is so great, love it there too. Especially the oyster bar.
I wanted to go to Marrakesh after reading Hideous Kinky (we did, it’s amazing) and I really wish I could go to Lyra’s world from Northern Lights 🙂