Top Ten Tuesday: Things Books Have Made Me Want To Do or Learn About After Reading Them

Hey Guys! Today’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the folks at the Broke and the Bookish, revolves around things books have inspired me to learn more about! So without further ado, here are some of the things that books have inspired me to do:

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Lock-picking

I was actually inspired by Maria V Snyder’s Study series (which I keep on raving endlessly about) to learn how to pick a lock. I actually look up videos on youtube on how to pick a lock with a bobby pin (it didn’t work because none of mine fit into the keyhole). I did some research and apparently it’s illegal to own lock picking tools in Australia, which is something interesting. Either way, it dashed all my dreams of becoming a professional lock picker.

Sword fighting

I love fantasy books, so it probably comes as no surprise that sword fighting/fencing is high up on my list. I have done fencing before, and I can safely say that I’m pretty bad at it.

Go Travelling

I love travelling, and books have inspired me to go to places all around the world. There are particular places I’ve added to my bucket list as a result of reading books that are set in those places, just so I can go there and fangirl and marvel at the brilliance of the places. Yes, Hogwarts is included of course.

Horse riding

When I was younger, around 8 0r 9, I was really obsessed with a series about horses that turned into secret unicorns after reciting a poem. This series was My Secret Unicorn by Linda Chapman. I actually got to go horse riding when I was about 10, and it was a really fun experience! I haven’t been since, but I really want to go again sometime soon.

Writing

I’ve been inspired to do more writing of my own as a result of reading. I actually did NaNoWriMo one year, and let’s just say that story isn’t seeing the light of day any time soon. I’ve realised that unfortunately, while I love good stories, I’m not great at writing them at all, so I’ll just stick to writing blog posts (and also essays for school).

Archery

Ah, yes. Probably one of the most popular things I’ve been inspired to do, after reading The Hunger Games.

Baking

Okay, not so much baking desserts or any baked goods, but I read somewhere once that if you have warm milk with honey and a dash of cinnamon it’s really good! I can confirm this theory, as I have had it on occasions, and it’s also really easy to make.

Drawing

I was inspired to attempt to draw fanart from some of my favourite series. This is indirectly thanks to Percy Jackson, and more inspired by tumblr, and also various dog sim games I used to play. I’m can kind of draw – although I much prefer designing graphics like the ones on my blog over drawing, because I run out ideas pretty quickly.

Researching Historical Events

I love history and historical events, so every time I read something set in a time I’m not particularly familiar with, I’ll just go and wikipedia the hell out of that topic. However, most of the historical fiction I read nowadays is either set in the Victorian era or WWII. I’m looking to expand my horizons a bit, so let me know if you have any suggestions!

Archaeology

After reading The 39 Clues series, as well as several interesting history lesson on Ancient Egypt and Rome, I had a desire to become an archaeologist. I actually had an archaeological lesson back when I was 13 at school, which made me realise how much patience you need for archaeology, as you can’t just pull an object out of the ground once you uncover it because you’ll mess up the whole process.

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So that’s my list! What are some of things books have inspired you to do? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!