Today, I’m hosting the very first mini challenge for the 2016 Love-a-Thon. We’re doing my favourite- Mix & Match! All of us here love books, but there are other things we’re passionate about too! The challenge: Mash-up a non-bookish hobby / passion / talent / fandom with your bookish life. Do it through photos, art, videos, etc. Get as creative as you’d like!
So in my questionnaire answers awhile ago, I talked about how traveling is one of my fave non-reading interests. I’m in love with travel and constantly have wanderlust. I’ve visited quite a number of cool cities/countries/places around the world and I cherish each travel experience. Way back, I posted about books and the destinations on my bucket list but this time, I’m talking about some of the places I’ve visited today and mashing them up with YA books I’ve read or have yet to read!
YA Books & Places I’ve Traveled To
Korea • Hello, I Love You
I visited Korea a little over a year ago. It was part of my bucket list destinations and I’m so happy I was finally able to cross it off. I’ll definitely go back one day though, maybe in time for Autumn so I can see the beautiful foliage. It was so cold the last when we went, my ass froze over. Ew, why am I talking about my ass. ANYWAY, I haven’t read Hello, I Love You yet but am super excited since there love interest, I believe, is a K-pop star! Very cool concept.
Hong Kong • The Walled City
A lot of Filipinos visit Hong Kong since it’s just an hour or so away via plane. It’s a clean, charming city but I distinctly remember how hard it was to communicate with non-English speaking locals. I don’t know much about The Walled City to be honest but it sounds like a cool dystopian novel.
Beijing • Cinder
I was able to sightsee in Beijing during a 24-hr layover to New York. The trip was the very definition of short and sweet, and I loved that it was just us girls then- me, my sister and Mom. As for Cinder, I’m FINALLY planning to marathon the series soon! I just can’t decide whether I want to read or listen on audio.
Middle East • The Wrath and the Dawn
I have a copy of The Wrath and the Dawn but haven’t picked it up just yet. I don’t know much but I assume it’s set in the middle east since it’s a retelling of A Thousand Nights. I’ve visited a lot of places in the Middle East- Riyadh, Kuwait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Jordan among others. I had some of the most epic road trips there too and have learned so much about diversity and culture through it.
Australia • Graffiti Moon
When I think about Australia, I think about my fave OZYA book- Graffiti Moon. It’s so lyrical and lovely and it’s set in Melbourne. I was really really really young when I visited Australia so I wasn’t doing any photography then. The only photos I have are embarrassingly taken by mother, who captured five year old me and my funny poses.
Paris • Anna and the French Kiss
Was there any doubt for this pick? J’adore Anna and the French Kiss and j’adore Paris. I’m so sad I couldn’t salvage any of my old photos from my entire Euro trip ages ago (R.I.P. hard drive) but I do have the photo above that I took (with my very first digital camera!) and put a text on for my Tumblr endeavours back in the day.
Amsterdam • Just One Year
Gayle Forman’s duology is one my faves ever and although it featured Paris too, I’ll always remember Amsterdam as Willem’s home. I don’t remember much from our trip except for when we happened by the red light district and it was mortifying since I was terribly underage then.
United Kingdom • Harry Potter
I remember still reading the series when I visited London for my aunt’s wedding and all I wanted to do was visit King’s Cross. To my dismay, it was undergoing construction at the time. Also, photos lost along with Paris and Amsterdam. SO sad.
New York • Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
A lot of people associate this city with another Levithan/Cohn book- Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares- but I always associate New York with Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist more. It just really made me feel the magic of “the city that doesn’t sleep” and I was so glad I was able to visit last year!
All photos by yours truly, find more of my photography and travels on my photo/personal blog!
Which places have you traveled to before? Which books set in different countries are some of your fave? Let me know in the comments!
Link-up + Giveaway
Link your posts for the challenge to enter to win books and other prizes!
US ONLY GIVEAWAY
prize pack consists of:
Boldly Bookish swag
Stone Field by Christy Lenzi (ARC)
Underwater (ARC)
Where You’ll Find Me (ARC)
Truthwitch poster + pin
INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY
prize pack consists of:
Am I Normal Yet? tote bag
Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne
Unlovely by Celeste Conway
The Dolls by Kiki Sullivan
Identity Crisis by Melissa Schorr
25 Responses
You’re seriously so lucky to have been to almost every place I wish I could go to! *cries* And Beijing seems so lovely. I wonder if the China in The Lunar Chronicles still feels like the real world’s China. HAHAHAHA!
I’m so super jealous of all your traveling!! <3
I’ve heard that Hello, I Love You totally misrepresents Korea! :( And the Walled City isn’t really dystopian novel I think. Because that city really existed at some point. I heard the audio for the Lunar Chronicles is awesome. :)
Traveling is one of the greatest experiences ever. If I could do so freely without monetary constraints, I would constantly be on the move. Even though I’ve had the privilege to go to places like Liverpool, Rome, Ireland, Dominican Republic, and Mexico there is still so much of the world left to explore. I’d love to have some adventures in Asia!
So many great places! I’ve been able to visit London last October and Platform 9 3/4 on my birthday, it was magical :)
I’m so jealous of all your travels! I’ve never been outside of the continental US :/
Wow, that’s awesome that you’ve gotten to travel so many places before! I wish I could say the same; the farthest I’ve traveled is to Florida, and the only other country I’ve been to is Canada (but I was three years old, so I don’t remember anything). I’ve been to New York a few times, though, and Pennsylvania. Both are beautiful places when not in the city. Well, to be fair, I never went to the city, either, but still.
As for books associated with places: Memoirs of a Geisha – Japan; The Mortal Instruments – New York; Chinese Cinderella – China; Outlander – Scotland. I mean, I’ve read painfully obvious books where their locations are set in those places, so…. xD
Gosh! You are quite the globetrotter! I would love to visit these places, especially the UK and South Korea :)
I’ve never travelled in my whole life… which is bad I know… but this is FABULOUS hobby!
I love travel too. So far, I’ve been to NY, London and Paris. Korea and Australia are on my bucket list! Did you get to attend any Kpop events?
What a great post! I love travel too :)
Gosh, I love this! I also have a big wanderlust to travel the world. I’m planning to visit a lot of places in the upcoming years. I saw Amsterdam, went to London and road through Paris. You went to AUSTRALIA, woooo. I would love to see Hong Kong :)
So jealous of you! It’s amazing how many places you’ve traveled! I’ve only been to Hong Kong & China years ago (because it’s an hour away) and of course, the US. I’ve been to multiple states in the US, though, but I definitely want to go back to New York!
*weeps for the lost photos from your Euro trip* I recently enjoyed my first trip across Europe — from Amsterdam to Budapest, with a healthy dose of Germany and Austria in between — and it was… wow, one of the biggest, most beautiful experiences I’ve ever had. Traveling stressing me out like crazy (airports = purgatory), but I’m discovering that I love getting to breathe in new places, so I’m determined to be brave about it!
Haven’t reached the U.K. yet, but it’s been on my bucket list pretty much my whole life, so you can bet I’ll get there eventually.
Can I come and visit all these places with you? Because I want to visit so many of them! (Of course, in NYC, we could totally just hang out like we did last time.) WANDERLUST HITS HARD, MAN. As for the books, I definitely can’t wait for you to read The Lunar Chronicles. It’s SO good! And The Walled City was also really great!
love this mashup post! I’m very much a wanderlust as well and want to travel everywhere! You’ve been to a lot of really cool places that I hope to visit one day :) I’ve only been to NYC, Paris and London on your list but really want to visit all the rest!! Love the match up of books to the cities :)
You’ve been to so many amazing places!!! As always, I am in love with your photography! Especially the photos of Hong Kong and Korea *sailor moon heart eyes* I’m also really looking forward to reading Hello, I Love You for the K-pop star aspect!!!
This is awesome! I wish I could travel more. I feel like I haven’t been to that many places. From your list, I’ve been to Paris and New York. There are so many other places I would like to travel to. You have been to some awesome places!
Stephanie @ My Bookish Itinerary
If/when I do visit Korea, I think I need to at least attend one of those music broadcasting shows to get the full Hello, I Love You k-pop star experience LOL (although I guess I could just re-watch idol kdramas…)
Wow, you’ve travelled to some amazing places. I’m so jealous! What a good idea to link YA books to your travels.
You’ve traveled so much, I’m so jealous of a lot of these places! That is so awesome to link your books to where you’ve traveled, helps give you an idea of the landscapes presented to you on paper (in some senses) or a feel of the culture the writer is trying to convey!
This is such a great challenge and wow, you’ve been through different awesome places. Almost all of these places are also on my Travel bucket-list. ♥
You’ve been to so many awesome countries. I’ve been fortunate to visit a lot of places here in the U.S. but I have so many places overseas I want to visit. Hopefully I can get to a few of them soon!! Also, love all of the books you have accompanying your pictures. =)
I would love to be able to travel. I’ve only been to maybe 5 different sttes and that’s pretty much my travel experiences.
Love how you’ve done this! Travelling is one of my passions too – wish I thought of this! :) I can totally understand how you feel about Paris – it’s one of my dream destinations! Though, that is partially because Anna and the French Kiss was SO awesome… xD
Anyway, fantastic response, Hazel! :)