The Dictionary of Imaginary Places

Hi guys,
 I hope you're all having a great week. Today I found myself looking through a great book I have called "The Dictionary of Imaginary Places"by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi. I stumbled across it last year at Half-Price Books and I knew I had to have it. It's exactly what the title says, a dictionary of imaginary places. Now some of the places seem a little far-fetched but you have to admit that the human mind is pretty amazing to come up with whole worlds. Some of these sound so great that I wish I could live in them. I'd like to share my favorites with you while highlighting the best places in each world. So here's my list of favorites, hope you enjoy it!

Middle-Earth: this is world in which J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy are set.
-Lorien: an ancient wooded land which the River Silverlode runs through, once the most beautiful of Elven Realms, Galadhrim elves (tree people) lived there in mallorn trees
-Rivendell: a community of merry elves with large banqueting rooms and beautiful gardens, built high above the River Bruinen
-The Shire: home of the Hobbits, they live underground in Hobbit holes and hold lots of parties and social events, beautiful agriculture and good weather

Narnia: this is the world in which C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia are set.
-World's End Island: east of Narnia, has different constellations and the sun appears much larger, a table on the island is stocked with delicious food at all times, clear water which provides good nourishment, no wind or waves
-Bism (Really Deep World): below the surface of the Earth, friendly gnomes live there, precious stones grow like flowers
-Aslan's Country: has mountains of extraordinary height, never snows, filled with grass and forests, the water quenches all thirsts, extremely beautiful birds who sing lovely music

Camelot: the location (thought to be in Southern England) in which many King Arthur novels are set, the most well-known being Le Morte Darthur (The Death of Arthur) by Sir Thomas Malory and The Once and Future King by T.H. White.
-Avalon: a rock island surrounded by a beautiful lake, no wind, snow or rain, there are meadows with orchards, a race of women who know all the magic in the world live here
-Kinkenadon: a castle and city on the coast of Wales, where King Arthur held many feasts
-Bedegraine (Bedgrayne): a forest in central England, I'm sure there are some awful things in this forest but imagine all the beautiful things you would also see

Hogwarts: this is not technically a whole world but it's the school that Harry Potter attends in J.K. Rowlings' Harry Potter series.
-Hogsmeade: where students and staff from Hogwarts can go for fun, has shops and pubs
-Forbidden Forest: technically forbidden to students of Hogwarts but somehow Harry ends up there all the time, despite all the dangerous things there are also centaurs and unicorns
-Diagon Alley: where all wizards and witches go to get their magical supplies like: wands, books, robes, brooms, etc.

Honorable Mentions: there are so many imaginary worlds I would love to go that I could only choose a few. Here are some others.
-Never-Never Land: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
-Wonderland: Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
-Oz: The Wizard of Oz series by L. Frank Baum
-Atlantis: Mythical island
-Westeros: A Song of Ice and Fire Series (Game of Thrones) by George R.R. Martin

Now I'm off to go live in one of these world's (not really, but I wish). Expect an exciting new post tomorrow.

               Sincerely,
                               Erin a.k.a. Bookworm