October 12, 2021
Ten Favorite Book Settings
I’m linking up today with That Artsy Reader Girl for TTT: Ten Favorite Book Settings …
…and I’m also linking up with the 2021 Discussion Challenge for October.
***This post contains Amazon affiliate links
Do you have a favorite book setting?
Do you love a strong sense of place?
My VERY FAVORITE setting is ANYWHERE a MEMORABLE story takes place!
In the following memorable and unforgettable stories, I can immediately and vividly recall the setting (the time and place) of the story. The setting becomes as important as the story.
Setting: A Bookshop
Many of my favorite stories take place in bookshops! A recent favorite is The Last Bookshop in London.
Setting: An Unusual Location
The Woman With the Blue Star takes place in the sewer system of Warsaw, Poland.
Setting: A Beach
Castle of Water takes place on a beach as two plane crash survivors attempt to survive and desperately hope for rescue.
Setting: Atmospheric or Strong Sense of Place
The swamp setting in Where the Crawdads Sing comes to mind when I think of atmospheric settings. Also, unforgettably atmospheric is the dust bowl setting in Out of the Dust.
Setting: Long, Long Ago
The time and place when Shakespeare and his family lived are vividly described in Hamnet.
Setting: Small Village or Small Town
I love the small town community in The Printed Letter Bookshop (also a bookshop setting)
and Gander, Newfoundland is an amazing small community in The Day the World Came to Town (NF)
Setting: the Site of a Disaster
The Nature of Fragile Things (earthquake)
Surviving Savannah (shipwreck)
A Fall of Marigolds (New York City)
The Only Plane in the Sky (NF; New York City)
Setting: Local (or somewhere I’ve been)
Other settings that are so fun are settings that I know well in real life. Two examples are The Beautiful Strangers (Coronado, the Hotel Del Coronado) and Dakota: A Spiritual Geography (prairies of South Dakota).
Setting: Rural
I love a rural setting and one that’s especially memorable is the rural mountains of Kentucky found in The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek.
Setting: A Diverse Setting
One more setting I enjoy is one that is culturally different from my own. Some examples include The Firekeeper’s Daughter (Ojibwe reservation), The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters (India), Clap When You Land (Dominican Republic), Born a Crime (South Africa), The Girl With the Louding Voice (Nigeria), The Girl With Seven Names (North Korea/China/South Korea), The Island of Sea Women (Korean Island of Jeju), Amal Unbound (Pakistan), The Hate U Give (streets of L.A.), and The Peal That Broke Its Shell (Afghanistan).
QOTD:
What is your favorite setting?
Please share your favorite setting in comments!
Happy Reading Book Buddies!
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes
“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text
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The sewer system of any city would count as a highly unusual setting. Your other choices are more to my taste (or should that be my sense of smell)
Great settings, I love them all.
My TTT took me around the world to thirteen countries.
Thanks Marianne! I’m eager to read your post!
I loved Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. It takes place in India and it is so well written I found I could even smell the spices of India.
I love vivid setting descriptions! Thanks for sharing!
It was a fun topic this week Carol!
“Long, Long Ago” is my go-to time period in both fiction and non-fiction. 🙂
So much to learn!
It’s very cool to read books about places you’ve actually been to!
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-favourite-book-settings/
That extra connection makes the story more special! I’m eager to read your post!
I love reading books set locally or an area I know well. And since I live in a major tourist city, I get a lot of that.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
So much fun to read books set in your city! I’m eager to read your post!
I love books set in quirky small towns!
Lori
https://fiftytwo.blog/2021/10/11/ttt-favorite-book-settings/
Delightful reading! I’m eager to read your post!
I love any setting that transports me. I love books set in real places that I can visit or have visited as they feel so real. I also love books set in places where I am never likely to go. One reason I love Jane Harper’s thrillers is because of her descriptions of the Australian settings.
Yes, Jane Harper writes amazing settings that make me feel like I’ve been there! Thanks for commenting!
Great post! Settings…larger cities (urban fantasy), space worlds (Sci-fi), fae worlds, kingdoms (fantasy), older times periods (historical fiction/fantasy), and haunted houses.
Fascinating settings!
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set in Kentucky, thanks for the recommendation. Happy reading! My TTT https://readwithstefani.com/ten-more-books-about-books/
You’re welcome! Thanks for leaving your link!
Love so many of the books you listed with diverse settings. The ones I’ve read were amazing, and there are so many others that I want to read!
Thanks! The list s endless! 🙌😍
A great list! I enjoy reading books that are set in bookstores and libraries. I also like reading books set in places I am familiar with. This year I’ve read two that at least mention locations I am familiar with (Yellow Wife and Indians on Vacation).
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/autumn-vibes-books-whos-cover-has-autumn-feels/
Bookstores, libraries, and familiar locations for the win! 😍🙌
I also love a bookshop (and used The Last Bookshop In London as my example too!).
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2021/10/12/top-ten-tuesday-337/
Yay! 🙌 I loved that book! I’m glad to hear we share the love!
We do!
I love reading books that transport me to places I have never been and may never go. But it is also fun to read about places that are familiar. I also love bookshop settings and cozy, small town settings. I tend to prefer settings in our world over other worlds, but I do love Narnia.
Although there are a few notable exceptions, I do prefer realistic fiction! All the Narnia love! 😍🙌
My favorite is long ago, typically medieval times or before electricity at least because I find it so interesting to see what people did to survive!
Yes, long ago is always fascinating!
Ha i tried to read firekewpers daughter and couldnt get past the fact that the FBI tried to recruit a teenager 😂
I believe it was only as an informant. But still it was a difficult situation for her! I wonder what their official policy is about using older teenagers as informants?! This is a debut author so perhaps the research was a bit sketchy?!
Great list Carol. I love that they are more general in nature, but with your examples you make it more specific. I agree with all of these except maybe Long, Long Ago. I like it, but it is not a favourite.
Thanks Carla! I think great writing might make any setting a fav one!
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