I was very interested by this week's topic at The Broke and The Bookish. They are asking what are the top ten settings we'd like to see more. I think I'd have an easier time answering the top ten settings I never want to see again. I've read some pretty sad, tragic, amazing, I-would-never-want-to-go-there books. Too much dystopian maybe?
In no particular order:
1. Narnia – I know it’s never going to happen, but I can wish, right?
2. Saskatchewan – Seriously. Richard Ford did a great job (in my opinion) at portraying life in rural Saskatchewan and I found it really interesting.
3. Montreal – I have always loved visiting Montreal, but I don’t know if I’ve ever read a book set there. Any recommendations?
4. The Universe of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – I know Eoin Coffer wrote a book continuing the series. I have that book, but I’m nervous about reading it since I loved Douglas Adams’ series so much.
5. Tropical Islands – Again, any recommendations? I read a lot of books set in cities and the country, but nothing on an island in recent memory.
6. An Office – Does nothing interesting ever happen in an office?
7. The North Pole – Just because. It would be different from anything I've read.
8. The Desert - See # 7.
9. Alternate Realities - I like the "What if?" question. What if some big, significant event didn't happen, how would that affect the world we live in now?
10. Hotel Rooms - Maybe this is because I just read 1408.
What settings would you like to see more? Anywhere you've never read about?
I love the idea of more stories set in offices, but it can go so wrong. Then We Came the the End: Good office setting. Ad Nomad: Bad office setting.
ReplyDeleteThen We Came To The End just went on my to-read list. I like the cover with all the Post-its.
DeleteOooh I never thought of an office! That'd be a cool setting to read. Great list :)
ReplyDeleteHere's my Top Ten!
Who knows what's being hidden in the average office, right?
DeleteYes, more Narnia books! That would be great. North Poel woudl be interesting as well, though I dislike the cold so I'm not sure how much I would enjoy a book set in a cold environment, still an interesting idea.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sad that Narnia is over....
DeleteI like the idea of extreme settings, hence North Pole, Desert, etc.
The North Pole setting would be really different and interesting. I might read a book like that, too. Great list and ideas!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I really like unique settings.
DeleteI went to school in Montreal, and I love seeing it portrayed in fiction! I recently read The Imposter Bride (Nancy Richler) and was able to picture many of the locations around the city. Plus Kathy Reich's books are half-set in Montreal - I used to walk by the intersection where her main character's apartment is located on the way to the grocery store!
ReplyDeleteThe Imposter Bride was just added to my to-read list.
DeleteI love when you can recognize real world locations from a book you've just read.
Saskatchewan is just a great word to say all around. I'd definitely love more Narnia, and the desert would be a fascinating place for a story, though desolate. North Pole seems like it would inherently have to have Santa Clause in it. I've read several non-fiction about explorers in the south pole, though that is fascinating too.
ReplyDeleteI'd go for a book set in the south pole. I like interesting locations.
DeleteI love how diverse your list is! I would love to read a book set in the North Pole as well. Thanks for visiting my blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I like reading about lots of different places, real and made up.
DeleteIt's freezing here so I could go for a good book set on a tropical island right now!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Not as cold as it is here! We're in the middle of a cold snap.
DeleteI was going to mention Then We Came to the End, but it is in the first comment. I'm blanking on other novels set entirely in offices, though there certainly are plays that are: The Front Page, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Vaclav Havel's The Memorandum.
ReplyDeleteDerek Winkler's Pitouie is mostly set on an island, as is most of the work of Edwidge Danticat (set in Haiti). I find Danticat's work extremely depressing, however.
As far as hotel novels, the most unusual I've ever read is Hotel Crystal by Olivier Rolin. Each chapter is a page or two long and describes the hotel room the narrator is staying at, along with some veiled references as to what he is up to. It's pretty experimental (not completely dissimilar from Cortazar's Hopscotch).
Glengarry Glen Ross is a great play. It's been a long time since I read it though.
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