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Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

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Weekly Topics 2025 > 11. A book set in a fictional location

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message 1: by Emily, Conterminous Mod (new)

Emily Bourque (emilyardoin) | 10909 comments Mod
Narnia. Oz. Hogwarts. Mordor.

This week, we are traveling to a fictional location in our reading. That could be a book set in a fantasy world, or it can be a contemporary novel set in a made up town. As long as you can't actually visit the location, the choice is yours!

GR Shelf: /shelf/show/...
Reddit: Super Creative and Original Worlds:
Wikipedia: List of Fictional Universes in Literature:

ATY Listopia: /list/show/2...

What are you reading for this prompt, and how does it fit?


message 2: by Dixie (new)

Dixie (dixietenny) | 778 comments I have a couple of science fiction options for this: The Spear Cuts Through Water and The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia.


message 3: by dalex (new)

dalex (912dalex) | 2646 comments I read quite a lot of sci-fi and fantasy (moreso in recent years, especially) so this is basically a "read a book" prompt for me.


message 4: by Pam (new)

Pam (bluegrasspam) | 3765 comments I will probably read sci-fi or fantasy: The Snail on the Slope by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, one of the Lord of the Rings books or the 2nd half of Fairy Tale by Stephen King, which I never finished.


message 6: by Denise (new)

Denise | 489 comments I was saying in "author you haven't read in a while" I would read some Elizabeth Strout. This gives me further reason to return to fictional Crosby, Maine


message 7: by NancyJ (new)

NancyJ (nancyjjj) | 3204 comments Denise wrote: "I was saying in "author you haven't read in a while" I would read some Elizabeth Strout. This gives me further reason to return to fictional Crosby, Maine"

Good idea! I want to reread Olive Again before I read her new book.


message 8: by GailW (new)

GailW (abbygg) | 616 comments I have a few choices for this one even though my first thought was Three Pines, Canada with Louise Penny. I also read a "cozy" series set in Wormsley Parva, England called the Beryl and Edwina series.


message 9: by Donna (new)

Donna (drspoon) | 52 comments Gail W wrote: "I have a few choices for this one even though my first thought was Three Pines, Canada with Louise Penny. I also read a "cozy" series set in Wormsley Parva, England called the Beryl and Edwina series."

I’m doing a Three Pines book for this one.


message 10: by Denise (new)

Denise | 489 comments NancyJ wrote: "Denise wrote: "I was saying in "author you haven't read in a while" I would read some Elizabeth Strout. This gives me further reason to return to fictional Crosby, Maine"

Good idea! I want to rere..."


Same! I read it when it first came out so it's been awhile, time to revisit.

I also own Amy and Isabelle who show up in one of the stories in Olive, Again so I want to read that


message 11: by Kathy (new)

Kathy E | 3237 comments One of these:
All My Puny Sorrows - Miriam Toews (East Village)
The Little World of Don Camillo - Giovannino Guareschi (a town on the Po)
Thrush Green - Miss Read

or a book by Thomas Hardy set in his fictional Wessex.


message 12: by Dixie (new)

Dixie (dixietenny) | 778 comments Kathy wrote: "One of these:
All My Puny Sorrows - Miriam Toews (East Village)
The Little World of Don Camillo - Giovannino Guareschi (a town on the Po)
[book:Thrush Gr..."


I love the Thrush Green books!


message 13: by Kathy (new)

Kathy E | 3237 comments Dixie wrote: "Kathy wrote: "One of these:
All My Puny Sorrows - Miriam Toews (East Village)
The Little World of Don Camillo - Giovannino Guareschi (a town on the Po)
[... I love the Thursh Green books!


I find them so comforting.


message 14: by Marie (new)

Marie | 1047 comments I'll be making my annual visit to Kelley Armstrong's Rockton, hidden away in the wilds of Canada, with A Stranger in Town.


message 15: by Marie (UK) (new)

Marie (UK) (mazza1) | 479 comments I read The Last Murder at the End of the World

I was not impressed


message 16: by Severina (new)

Severina | 374 comments I read a cozy mystery called Kitty Confidential by Molly Fitz that takes place in "Blueberry Bay." It was not very good.


message 17: by Sherri (new)

Sherri Harris | 1458 comments I read The Grey Wolf. It's set in the fictional town of Three Pines. I love this series.


message 18: by � Pat (new)

♞ Pat Gent | 400 comments I just finished Somewhere Beyond the Sea. I've been waiting for this prompt to roll up because I've been looking forward to reading this book!

I loved it.


message 19: by Michelle E (new)

Michelle E | 105 comments Denise wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Denise wrote: "I was saying in "author you haven't read in a while" I would read some Elizabeth Strout. This gives me further reason to return to fictional Crosby, Maine"

Good idea!..."


I've read everything that Elizabeth Strout has written and Amy and Isabelle is my absolute favorite. What struck me in that book is how well she portrayed the characters in Crosby, ME. It made me feel I was in that small town.


message 20: by Rora (new)

Rora I read Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. (various fantasy locations)


message 21: by Robin H-R (last edited Feb 21, 2025 10:16AM) (new)

Robin H-R Holmes Richardson (acetax) | 794 comments I read:
Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman

REJECT: A book with a major character who doesn't have a job

Finished: 02/20/2025
Rating: 4 stars

From ŷ: "Like a colder, Reagan-era version of The Last Picture Show fused with Friday Night Lights, Chuck Klosterman's Downtown Owl is the unpretentious, darkly comedic story of how it feels to exist in a community where rural mythology and violent reality are pretty much the same thing."

My mother grew up on a farm near Jamestown, and my grandfather was living in Medina at the time of the Gordan Kahl incident. Both are mentioned numerous times in the book.


message 22: by Misty (last edited Feb 21, 2025 09:43PM) (new)

Misty | 1371 comments For this prompt, I read Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi. It is a fantasy book set in a fictional world. It is the second book of the trilogy, and while it was not as good as the first book, it was still really good. I plan on reading book 3 before too long.


message 23: by Anastasia (new)

Anastasia (anastasiaharris) | 1729 comments The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia
The Bruising of Qilwa
3�
This is set on a fictional island. It is based on persia


message 24: by Phil (new)

Phil | 104 comments I read Insomnia by Stephen King as it is set in one of his favourite fictional locations of Derry, Maine (Read Feb 27th; 4*)


message 25: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Hemphill | 11 comments In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Shout out to Women’s History Month!


message 26: by J (new)

J Austill | 1068 comments This is a very easy prompt for Sci-fi and Fantasy readers. I used to push along with my read of The Expanse series.

I chose Cibola Burn since it is set in one (fictional) location, as most of these books are wandering around the whole galaxy,


message 27: by Tracy (new)

Tracy | 2620 comments I read Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree � set in the fictional town of Thune.

I *think* this is my first cozy fantasy. I enjoyed it, but it is not my normal 'go-to' sort of book. Based on an incredibly low sample size (1 of each), I think I'd rather read cozy fantasy over cozy mystery, but I'm willing to try both again. My copy of Legends and Lattes included a short story prequel (showing how Viv came to know about coffee). I didn't enjoy this part as much as there was a lot of chasing/fight scenes, which is something that bores me in books and movies. But in this case, I understand why this was necessary � to show the main character's history and how she came to change her life.

I can see myself trying the next in the series when I need a palate cleanser. I likely would not try the full novel prequel, however, as it is likely to contain those dreaded fight scenes.


message 28: by Anne (new)

Anne | 291 comments I will be reading The Last Guests of the Season by Sue Gee. It is a holiday house location in Portugal but it doesn't say where.


message 29: by Ѳٳ☶ (new)

Ѳٳ☶ | 21 comments Thanks for all the above selections. I'm not really a fantasy reader and I was struggling to find a title for this category.
Maybe something by Elizabeth Strout or Cold Comfort Farm


message 30: by LeahS (new)

LeahS | 1259 comments I read Olive Kitteridge, set in the fictional town of Crosby, Maine, which could easily be a real place, and Last Days Of New Paris, set in a Paris which is not a real place.

I read a few books in the Crosby universe, so I enjoyed reading the initial book about the difficult but ultimately sympathetic Olive.
The Paris novella was extremely strange, set in a Paris peopled by Surrealist art come to life and where World War II was still being fought in 1950. Despite the eerie strangeness, I liked it.


message 31: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (soulflame1) | 121 comments I read Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close, which is set mainly in the fictional family restaurant/bar, Sullivan's.


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