Hello fellow bookworms! I don’t know about you, but a massive part of what makes a book enjoyable for me is the setting. Whether its a school, a fictional land, set in the real world or a blend of the two. If the setting doesnt seem believable, or is a bit boring, I can find myself becoming less and less invested in the book and characters.

This weeks Top Ten Tuesday is all about settings we would like to see more of, and although I don’t quite have 10, there are 5 here that I absolutely love reading about. Let me know some of your favourite settings for books, and if you agree with any of mine.

Top Ten Tuesday is run by Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl and you should definitely go give her blog some love.

Schools

Some of my all time favourite books have been set at, or include a good literary school. The most famous of which obviously has to be Harry Potter. I don’t think there is a child out there who, after finishing the books, didn’t eagerly await their Hogwarts acceptance letter (I’m still waiting for mine!) There was something infinitely magical about the moving staircases, the Great Hall ceiling that reflected the weather outside and all the fun lessons that were taught. I can honestly say that even at nearly 30, if I received my acceptance letter I would be gone tomorrow. A few more books that are partly set at a school are ; Nevernight & The Poppy War.

Libraries

Ill admit to only really reading one book that was set in a Library : Sorcery of Thorns, but I absolutely devoured it, and the setting made it all the more special. The Libraries in this book contained Grimoires, books that contain dangerous magic, some of which have their own personalities. I found this such an interesting premise, and would love to read more books set in Libraries. Let me know if you have any recommendations.

Fictional lands

There is something special about being introduced to a completely new world. Whether it is loosely based around a real life place such as Miraji from Rebel of the Sands, Ketterdam from Six of Crows and Godsgrave from Nevernight; or something completely fresh such as Priory of the Orange Tree, Air Awakens & The Witchlands series. I find myself pouring through these novels, trying to find out information about the magnificent worlds that the authors have created. Most of these are favourite reads of mine, and a big reason for that is the chance to loose myself in the Empires and Universes created by these wonderful minds.

Fictional & real world

I do enjoy a good book that seamlessly blends the factual with the fictional. The two main series I can think of that seem to do this effortlessly is Daughter of Smoke and Bone and A Curse So Dark and Lonely. Both books have settings in the real world and fictional worlds that the authors create. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the two merge together, and seeing the differences in technology, and in industrial terms. I would love to read more books that have footings in both of these, so if you have any recommendations please let me know.

Space

Sci-Fi is a pretty new genre to me, but I have absolutely loved reading books set in space. Whether they are focused on our Solar System such as The Martian. Or in Universes made up by the Authors – Aurora Rising, Skyward and The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. There is something mysterious about space and our knowledge of it is minimal at best, so I love meeting alien races and learning about other planets and cultures through books. And who knows, there might indeed be life out there!

So! Those are my Top 5 book settings. If you have any recommendations based on these, please let me know. I’m always looking at adding more books to my ever increasing TBR.