While movies can take you to places visually it is the open pages of a book that will let your imagination run wild. The ’00s were filled with plenty of fantasy novels that not only shaped our childhoods and filled it with magic, but have now become modern classics.
We had Deltora’s Quest, Ranger’s Apprentice, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson — the list goes on and on. But today, this is written here to remind you about one you may have forgotten about.
Enter: The Ology book series, written by Dugald Steer.
Now, these aren’t any ordinary books. Instead, each one is presented as an encyclopedia of sorts that contain the “lost” journals of a fictional “author”.
The first in the series, Dragonology, was released in 2003 and included information about dragons, such as how to befriend and protect them.
Plus, since the set-up of the book was that it was a “lost” journal, it also contained little pockets where you could pull out props, materials and other magical tidbits — like samples of dragon skin and a dragon-calling spell.
There was also Egyptology, which was a personal favourite because, let’s be honest, who wasn’t obsessed with Ancient Egypt?
Like the other Ology books, this one came with a scrap of textured “mummy cloth” and a booklet that taught you how to read hieroglyphs.
And, of course, we can’t forget about Wizardology, which was supposedly written by Merlin, one of history’s most respected wizards.
As well as Mythology, which nurtured our love for all things Ancient Greece.
Even just looking at the covers, this takes one back to their childhood and spending a lunch break in the school library reading these books.
Also, the youth did not ever fully appreciated just how beautiful these books are. Like, the Egyptology cover design is gorgeous and comes with a gem.
The best things about all the Ology books is that they got us interested in history and encouraged us to embrace our imaginative side.
