05-15-2013, 01:07 PM | #46 | |
Readaholic
Posts: 5,132
Karma: 89858112
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: South Georgia
Device: Surface Pro 6 / Galaxy Tab A 8"
|
Quote:
Apache |
|
05-15-2013, 03:47 PM | #47 |
Fanatic
Posts: 513
Karma: 2644386
Join Date: Apr 2012
Device: iPhone, Kindle Touch
|
How much I enjoy books set in places I have lived or visited depends on how bad the errors are and how much the author claims to be accurate. I've sworn off reading any more Dan Brown novels after all the Washington, D.C. mistakes I found in The Lost Symbol. Fortunately I was reading a friend's copy so I hadn't wasted any money.
|
Advert | |
|
05-15-2013, 07:08 PM | #48 | |
Enthusiast
Posts: 35
Karma: 505678
Join Date: Mar 2013
Device: Nexus 7, Nook Simple Touch
|
Quote:
Who knows? Maybe my elementary school will make it in there... as per urban legend, Oswald was supposedly an alumnus. lol But in King's defense (again, not that much of a fan) there are oil fields near Fort Worth, although I would figure they would have dried up to the point of being inconsequential by the '60s. Also, not having read the book (yet) he might have meant it figuratively - many of the wealthier families of Ft. Worth (Bass, Richardson, etc) got rich during the oil boom and continued to invest their holdings further west. So it could be the "smell of money" he was describing. But getting back to the topic at hand, the closest I've come to reading a book set in a city I was well acquainted with was a relatively recent murder mystery set in the rural Minnesota town where my Grandmother lives. Apparently, it caused quite the sensation there as there were enough similarities between minor characters and residents that everyone wanted to see if they were "in the book"! |
|
05-15-2013, 07:51 PM | #49 | |
Addict
Posts: 254
Karma: 2092424
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Arlington, TX
Device: Kindle PW4, Moon+ Reader on a cheap Android tablet
|
Quote:
|
|
05-15-2013, 10:27 PM | #50 | |
Guru
Posts: 985
Karma: 4567263
Join Date: May 2009
Location: The End Of The Earth
Device: Several
|
Quote:
|
|
Advert | |
|
05-15-2013, 11:38 PM | #51 | |
Wizard
Posts: 1,432
Karma: 25151986
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Seattle, US
Device: Kindle Oasis 3, Kobo Libra 2
|
Quote:
I enjoy books with familiar settings that are obviously well known to the authors. Last year I was loving a book set in and around Death Valley NP where I worked and explored for 8 years. Then the author described her protagonists buying a Big Mac and going to Walmart in the tiny desert town of Beatty, Nevada. It was like getting bucked off a burro. You can buy water by the case, 50 varieties of local candy, a bong, or even legally frequent a brothel in Beatty, but you cannot buy a Big Mac or find a Walmart. I kept wondering why the author would infest an authentic, dusty desert town with the retail monotony of most other American towns. Made it hard to get back into the book. |
|
05-16-2013, 08:10 AM | #52 | |
Addict
Posts: 208
Karma: 1203096
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Device: Nexus 7, Blackberry PlayBook, Nexus 4, ChromeBook
|
Quote:
I also enjoy the Kathy Reichs "Bones" books which are often set in Montreal or other parts of eastern Canada I'm familiar with. |
|
05-16-2013, 10:12 AM | #53 |
Enthusiast
Posts: 35
Karma: 505678
Join Date: Mar 2013
Device: Nexus 7, Nook Simple Touch
|
Dark of the Moon by John Sandford. It did well enough that the author has continued the series (now up to 6). Although the name of the town was changed for the book, it's still pretty recognizable through events/locales that occur as the story progresses.
|
05-16-2013, 03:28 PM | #54 |
Tabby
Posts: 154
Karma: 225372
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Portland, OR, US
Device: Kobo Glo HD, Kobo Mini, Lenovo Yoga 2 10"
|
I've read two books that made mention of Portland, OR. One of them had a chapter or so set here. I was so delighted that the author had obviously either been here or done extensive research. The author nailed the climate, the surroundings, and the culture of the city. I kept showing passages to friends who were equally delighted.
The other has a minor side character that supposedly lives in Portland, OR. Unfortunately, that author has a mistaken impression that the entire US west coast is like Los Angeles. It was so jarring that I had to put down the book more than once. I find this especially disappointing because I otherwise enjoyed the books. This is an alternate reality in this series, so I keep trying to tell myself that it's not MY Portland. It's still very disturbing. |
05-16-2013, 03:41 PM | #55 | |
Fanatic
Posts: 513
Karma: 2644386
Join Date: Apr 2012
Device: iPhone, Kindle Touch
|
Quote:
I'll share the big secret, as I remember it: Spoiler:
What's that saying about a book you can't stand to finish? Something about seven deadly words? |
|
05-16-2013, 04:29 PM | #56 |
I ♥ Calibre
Posts: 2,073
Karma: 5678911
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis, Voyage, Sony PRS-350, Hudl2
|
Artistic licence is fine but glaring errors can be a little off-putting. Generally though, I do like reading books set in places I know. As already mentioned, despite authors like Stuart Macbride and Ian Rankin giving very dark portrayals of Aberdeen & Edinburgh respectively, they are still very enjoyable!
|
05-16-2013, 04:55 PM | #57 | |
Groupie
Posts: 154
Karma: 2030000
Join Date: Dec 2011
Device: Kobo Glo (pink back)
|
Quote:
|
|
05-16-2013, 05:05 PM | #58 | |
Groupie
Posts: 154
Karma: 2030000
Join Date: Dec 2011
Device: Kobo Glo (pink back)
|
Quote:
|
|
05-16-2013, 08:07 PM | #59 |
Addict
Posts: 384
Karma: 1360936
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Quahog, RI
Device: Nook, Kindle PW4, Kobo Clara
|
I've read several books set in RI and have enjoyed most of them. I remember when that show Providence was on. I used to get a kick out of the fact that the main character and her sister appeared to come from an affluent family and lived in a nice neighborhood, yet were said to have attended South Providence High School. South Providence is NOT a nice neighboorhood,lol. Not exactly a PC term, but it's for all intents and purposes a ghetto.
Family Guy is pretty accurate as far as the accents. |
05-16-2013, 08:58 PM | #60 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 27,547
Karma: 193191846
Join Date: Jan 2010
Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD
|
Quote:
Clearly we don't agree on the need for authors to be geographically/socially/visually/economically meticulous when writing fictional narratives set in "real" places. The good news is... we don't have to agree! |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Spiritual Benson, Robert Hugh: A City Set on a Hill, v.1, 24 April 2008. | Patricia | IMP Books | 0 | 04-23-2008 08:12 PM |
Spiritual Benson, Robert Hugh: A City Set on a Hill, v.1, 24 April 2008. | Patricia | Kindle Books | 0 | 04-23-2008 08:10 PM |
Spiritual Benson, Robert Hugh: A City Set on a Hill, v.1, 24 April 2008. | Patricia | BBeB/LRF Books | 0 | 04-23-2008 08:08 PM |