Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.
The rules are simple:
Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post. Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists. Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.
This week’s topic is Settings I’d Like to See More Of (Or At All). I love reading books set in places I’ve travelled to (or intend to travel to). Equally, there are books I’ve read set in places I’ve never visited, including some I’m never likely to. My list consists of a combination of the two.
Links from the book titles will take you to my review.
Places I’ve Visited
The Caribbean – Cruises have given me the opportunity to visit a number of lovely Caribbean islands and allowed me to fall in love with my personal favourite: Barbados. Find a list of books set in Barbados here, including Sugar in the Blood by Andrea Stuart. Or try Sugar Money by Jane Harris, set in Martinique and Grenada.
The Greek Islands – Experience the island of Crete in the 1960s (and during World War 2) in The Secret Life of Alfred Nightingale by Rebecca Stonehill or become immersed in ancient superstition on a fictional Greek island in The Dancing Floor by John Buchan
Barcelona – Take a trip back to the past and explore entirely different parts of the city than you’ll see as a tourist in historical mystery The Secret of Vesalius by Jordi Llobregat.
Venice – If ever there were a place ideal as a setting for a book it’s this city of canals and narrow alleyways. Explore contemporary Venice in Venetian Blood by Christine Evelyn Volker or step back in time in City of Masks by S. D. Sykes.
Cornwall – Back the UK and joining the long list of books set in Cornwall is The Cliff House by Amanda Jennings (available in paperback on 25th July 2019).
Places I’ve Never Visited
Iceland – But I’ve been there in a literary sense through reading books such as The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea and Smile of the Wolf by Tim Leach.
New York – I’m not sure the violent, gang-ridden New York depicted in Paddy Hirsch’s The Devil’s Half-Mile and Hudson’s Kill is the best advertisement for the city but it’s OK because that was a long time ago…
Tokyo – I’ve loved the contrast between old and new Japan so convincingly depicted in Michael Pronko’s Detective Hiroshi series: The Last Train and The Moving Blade.
Pakistan – Two books set, at least partly, in the historic city of Lahore: The Inside City by Anita Mir and Razia by Abda Khan.
Space – The final frontier, right? In the week we’ve been marking the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, it seems only right to include a couple of books with an out of this world setting: The Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar and The Things We Learn When We’re Dead by Charlie Laidlaw.
What Cathy Read Next... 
I’ve a weakness for novels set on Cape Cod but New York and Berlin win for city fiction.
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Great picks ❤
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I want more books set on islands as well. Space is always welcome but I want more on planet ones. Most of the ones I have read take place in space or on a spaceship or station.
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The Greek Islands definitely would be interesting.
This is our Top Ten Tuesday.
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Love the idea of a book set in Antartica!
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Would you visit space if you could?
My TTT.
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No way, I get travel sick on long car journeys let alone being blasted into space 😀
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I love New York set books too. Great list with some brilliant choices 🙂
My TTT: https://alittlehazebookblog.wordpress.com/2019/07/23/top-ten-tuesday-settings-id-like-to-see-more-of/
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You always find an interesting way to do these. Thanks!
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Haha, I just skip the weeks I have no idea about 😀
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Well, I’m posting my Countdown Questions on Tuesdays these days instead of doing these. But I’m looking at most of the posts by people participating.
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Barcelona is a good one – it’s such a beautiful city! And Tokyo is a cool setting too! Great list! 😊
My TTT: https://lifewithallthebooks.com/2019/07/23/top-ten-tuesday-settings-id-like-to-see-more-of-or-at-all/
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If you want to try a book set in Saxon Britain, here’s one I reviewed recently https://whatcathyreadnext.wordpress.com/2019/03/18/blog-tour-book-review-the-saxon-wolves-by-penny-ingham/
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Thank you! It looks really good – I’ve added it to my TBR! 😊
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Going to check out Venetian Blood!!!
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I love virtual travel through books – none of that awful business of passport controls and security and having to do the laundry when you get back. Barcelona is a favourite city of mine too. The only country you don’t have that would absolutely have to be on my own version of the top 10, is South Africa. Stunning scenery and coastline. Wonderful people.
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I’d love to see all of these places in books, especially New York and Tokyo! Have you read Warcross? It’s a futuristic sci-fi book that takes place in Tokyo!
Here’s mine 🧡💙: https://laurenbodiford123.wordpress.com/2019/07/23/settings-that-id-like-to-see-more-of-ttt/
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Dreamy venues, Cathy! Great choices.
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I just visited NYC for the first time a month or so ago. It was interesting to see all its famous places, but the place was just too big and noisy and crowded for me. You can keep it! I seem to “visit” the city a lot in person. I don’t need to go again.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
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Cathy I love books set in remote areas – especially islands (Shetlands, etc.) Also, living in Canada I prefer settings in the United Kingdom as I am more than a bit of an Anglophile.
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