Day 6 – Traveling Lands Real and Imagined

 I’ve been thinking about other types of travel tales that take us to places beyond our wildest dreams. While perusing my shelves and think of this rather different take on reading in place and traveling while sitting in my armchair, I decided that this next set of books falls into the categories of fiction and historical fiction. 

The first is Northwest Passage by Kenneth Roberts https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1274754.Northwest_Passage. It’s  a classic tale of exploration and adventure that takes the reader from rather known New England across the expanse of North America in search of a waterway from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. You travel through the mountains, plains, and more mountains in search of that elusive “road.” Along the way, the explorers meet indigenous peoples, see the flora and fauna, and describe what they see. Thankfully, armchair traveling means no dirt, hunger, or privation, all of which the members of the expedition experienced.

 

 

The Hobbit or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien takes travelers through the imaginary world of Middle Earth https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42672.The_Hobbit. Replete with maps, illustrations, and extensive descriptions, armchair travelers hike through the mountainous countryside and the deep ravines, through the elven forests and along waterways. While the map may be spare, the words are not. Dive into the journey of the quiet, home-loving hobbit Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, the Dwarves and Elfs, and meet the curious creatures along the way. What an amazing journey from the Shire to the caves of the dragon Smaug the Magnificent, and back again.

 

Next in this list of odd, tangential armchair traveling trips while reading in place, is the Chronicles of Narnia, most particularly The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, Geoffrey Bles is the cover artist of this wonderful book, first published in 1950 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28491033-the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe . You can read more about this book https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion,_the_Witch_and_the_Wardrobe and the author https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis on Wikipedia. Having read this many times, I realize you travel from wartime England, through the Wardrobe and into Narnia. If you read the other books in the series, you get to travel the great seas, the desert, and the forests with Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, and of course Aslan.

 

I decided to add one more wonderful work of fiction that takes the reader on a journey, including Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass originally published in 1865 with illustrations by John Tenniel https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17828612-alice-s-adventures-in-wonderland-and-through-the-looking-glass . Alice’s journey takes here from England to an imaginary place, filled with a host of magical creatures. Armchair travelers get to hitch a ride on Alice’s journey. You can read more about this famous book on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland

 

We’re almost done with this series of armchair traveling while reading in place. The final day (Day 7) we’ll travel beyond the boundaries of Earth into the vast unknown. Stay tuned.