Book Trippin’

The theme for March’s Monthly Motif Challenge is Take a Trip – so let’s do it! Here are some of the places – real and imagined – that we’ve loved visiting via books.

Take a Trip to a Secret Magical Place like Nigeria with Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor. BUT you’re going to the secret “magical” Nigeria which is so worth reading about – totally unforgettable.

OR go to London with Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman. Actually, you’re going to London Below which is another secret magical “alternate London”. Not just anyone can go there, so trust me, you’ll want to read this book slowly and savor the descriptions.

Why don’t we take a trip to a fictional place like Wonderland? What if this version of Wonderland was creepy and scary. Not at all whimsical like the version we read as kids. The Splintered series, A.G. Howard will take you there but you might wish to turn back before you even find the Queen of Hearts.

If you like places filled with strange and wondrous things, you may want to join Quentin and his friends in The Magicians, Lev Grossman in their journey to the magical world of Fillory. Just be careful what you wish for. It may not be all that it seems.

A little pilgrimage of sorts might do you well. If you’re in need of some soul searching like Harold Fry was, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce will take you on a sad but emotionally satisfying journey to the heart of everything that really matters.

Personally I’d like to escape to the country where it’s quiet and everything moves slowly. A bit of fresh air is just what I need, plus time away from the rat race. Emma has inherited an isolated sheep station in Australia from her late grandmother in Wildflower Hill, Kimberly Freeman. She’ll get a true test in courage and strength out in the country.

Or perhaps you’d like to travel from Australia to England and back again with just the flip of a page? You can do that with The Forgotten Garden, Kate Morton as you help unravel the mysteries of two women intertwined through history.

Or maybe you’ll choose to travel into the future and escape to outer space. You can join Kady in The Illuminae Files, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff in a run for your life. You’ll make it to safety and hopefully a new life if you’re cunning enough to beat a machine who acts almost human.

So tell me, where have you been to with books lately? Did read any of the books mentioned above?