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Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Books I've Read Set Outside the US

This week's Top Ten Tuesday Topic from The Broke and The Bookish is Ten Books I've Read that are Set Outside the US.  I'm also taking the UK out of the mix because I go there a LOT fictionally and it'd get kind of boring if every book I listed took place in London!  This made it a bit more of a challenge as I tend to not get too far outside my comfort zone geographically.

1. France -  The Light of Paris by Eleanor Brown - This might be cheating because 50% of the book takes place in Tennessee which is basically half an hour away from me BUT the other 50% is wonderfully gloriously Paris and not just Paris but Paris in 1924!

2. Canada - Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery  - Well all of L.M. Montgomery's books take place in Canada but the Anne books have placed Prince Edward Island in a special place in my heart.  My husband and I were talking about the top 5 places we want to visit and PEI is pretty high on my list!

3.  The Channel Islands - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows - This might be another cheat since it's technically a British Crown dependency but I got such a feel of Guernsey itself with this book and Guernsey is cut off from anywhere else during the Nazi occupation that I'm going to count it.

4.  Egypt - Iris and Ruby by Rosie Thomas - This is another dual timeline book but both take place in Egypt though most of the characters are British.  I enjoyed the modern day timeline but Egypt during World War II was fascinating and not something I knew really anything about.

5.  Greece - Stars of Fortune by Nora Roberts - I loved visiting Corfu in this book.  I could just feel the sun and smell the salt.  Roberts' is wonderfully descriptive.  While I did enjoy the story overall I think one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much was because of the setting.

6.  Ireland - Secrets of the Lighthouse by Santa Montefiore -  Ireland should have been billed as a character in this richly drawn book of a young woman trying to reconnect with herself and a family she never really knew.  And there's a ghost!

7.  Jamaica - Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming - In the 2nd half of the 2nd James Bond book he spends half the time in Jamaica trying to finally hunt down the source of smuggled gold coins.  There's lots of talk of the water, the superstitions, and the sea life.

8.  Italy - Wings of the Falcon by Barbara Michaels - I'm not going to lie - the bulk of my Italian history knowledge came from this book AND this was also the reason I wrote a research paper on Etruscan burial art and funerary practices in college.  This is such gothic-y fun that I've reread it probably a dozen times and would love to reread it again soon!

9.  Iraq - They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie - Christie actually wrote a number of books set in the Middle East but most take place on archaeological digs.  This one is much more of a international intrigue with one of her girls with no families but a great deal of common sense main characters.  So much fun!

10.  Australia - Tumbledown Manor by Helen Brown - To be honest I didn't love this book but I did love the Australian setting with all the wildlife you can expect to run into if you're living off the beaten path.  I just couldn't get over how the kangaroos were viewed as basically big pests whereas in the US we get so excited about them

Where has your reading taken you this year?

25 comments:

  1. You have such great settings!! I am putting The Light of Paris on hold at the library because I am such a sucker for books set in Paris. I had The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society on my list too. Great picks!

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  2. Nice list! I love Egypt and especially during WWII, such a fascinating place. I'd like to read more books set in Ireland too. And I've always wanted to go to Greece but haven't read many books set there- that would be a great location too. The Light of Paris does look nice.

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  3. I've requested Light of Paris, but it hasn't arrived yet. So glad you liked it.

    http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2016/07/ten-great-books-set-in-paris.html

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  4. Oh whoa! You've traveled around the world here! Very nice and some I've read and some I need to list. I've 'borrowed' your magic words for this week's Top Ten Tuesday. Here's my link: http://marelithalkink.blogspot.co.za/2016/07/ten-books-set-in-south-africa.html

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  5. You reminded me I wanted to read Secrets of the Lighthouse. I've heard good things about this author. Thanks for a fun list!

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  6. Anne of Green Gables!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How could I have forgotten about that gem. I kept thinking that I know I've read books set in Canada but I couldn't think of which ones.

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  7. Anne of Green Gables. <3 They Came to Baghdad sounds like a lot of fun.

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  8. I love Anne of Green Gables and I live a few hours away so it is quite close to my heart :) I also included Guernsey in my list!! Great picks.

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  9. Wow. What a fun and varied list. I haven't heard of many of these books and really must start a new list of recommended multicultural books. Thank you.
    My TTT

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  10. I love the books you've read that were set in France, Ireland, and The Channel Islands. Armchair travel is one of my favorite things about reading.

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  11. I haven't read any of these, but The Light of Paris does sound good. :)

    Check out my TTT.

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  12. Ooh, I don't think I've ever read a book that takes place in Egypt. Will have to check out Iris and Ruby!

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  13. Yay, Anne. She captures PEI so well, Montgomery does. :)

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  14. I've never heard of that Agatha Christie book before, but it sounds very interesting. Will have to give it a go! x

    ~ Aimal @ Bookshelves & Paperbacks

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  15. I think I read a lot of books set in the UK, too, know that I am thinking of it. I didn't realize Tumbledown Manor was set in Australia. I want to read it even more now. :)

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  16. I considered Anne and Agatha Christie for my list as well! I believe Christie's husband was an archaeologist, so she'd spent time in Egypt on digs and whatnot. I just a few hours ago started Jasper Jones knowing very little about it, and when the narrator mentioned following a "kangaroo track" I had to check the author info and yes, it's set in Australia!

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  17. You did good with this list. I love traveling to places I have never been in a book :)

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  18. What a great set of books, here:)). I do know Guernsey, having honeymooned there and visited it since - and the book delightfully captures the feel of the place.

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  19. I love your list! You only picked one from each country. I'm familiar with Anne of Green Gables (I read last month), Nora Roberts's book, and I saw Iris and Ruby a few weeks ago somewhere.

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  20. You've picked wonderful places to visit/read about! I read the book situated in Guernsey and wanted to go there - my parents were there many years ago and loved it.

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  21. A good group of books, Katherine! I didn't even think of Agatha Christie. She has so many books set in other countries. And now I think of Laurie King, too. Oh well.

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  22. PEI is also on my list to visit too! And I'm always a sucker for Paris. I read a YA fantasy that had a Russian feel. Definitely wouldn't mind checking out Russia! Lovely list!

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  23. Love that you picked all different countries!

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  24. Oh, a nice variety of settings and some books that are new to me. Like Jan, I didn't think of Agatha Christie but she really did move around, didn't she? Good list. :)

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  25. Oo you've been all over the place this year. Very fun! I've had a ton in England from historicals and one in Afghanistan I believe. I'd have to go through the shelves.

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