History in all forms. From reading (and watching
) lurid tales about kings and their machinations to exploring how everyday people used to survive. Over the past months I feel like I've been on hundreds of journeys absorbing information and stories on Chinese Emperors, Tudor mistresses, European dynasties, crime and punishment, even Victorian underwear
I also love going back to trace a person's ancestry - I could trace a family friend's wife all the way back, via a simple net search, to John of Gaunt (you are lucky if you belong to the peerage, it's much harder if you do not!) and love finding a record of an old family member. I can see why Hobbits love genealogy.
Plus the unashamed pleasures of reading historical novels must also go to The Shire.