My first thought when I saw The Broke and The Bookish’s topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was “I don’t favour particular settings when picking a book!” (read between the lines here – “I’m so open-minded that I’ll read about any topic!”). But then I had a little think about it. *ahem* I am actually more likely to pick up a book if it has any of the following –
1. A New York city setting – it may not be terribly original but I really, really love New York.
2. New England (and more specifically, Maine) – don’t tell my husband but one of the reasons that I planned our New England honeymoon was John Irving. Say no more.
3. Universities and colleges – am I looking back on my university days with rose-coloured glasses? Perhaps. I like all the crap that goes with a stereo-typical college campus – crew, lacrosse and quadrangle encounters.
4. Boarding school – I’ve never really moved on from the fabulousness that is Enid Blyton’s Naughtiest Girl series.
5. 1920s – I’m sure with The Great Gatsby about to hit screens, there will be NO shortage of Art Deco glamour but it has been a passion of mine for nearly twenty years (and I have a garage full of furniture to show for it!).
6. 1980s – the decade of my youth. I love it all from the shoulder pads and the Choose Life tees to mixed tapes, Culture Club and Cyndi Lauper.
7. Melbourne – who doesn’t like to read a story set in their hometown?
That’s not ten but it’s enough.
For those of you that also like these settings, here’s a little quiz for you. The following is a list of books that I think are good examples of novels set in the places listed above. Do you know what goes with what? (and bonus points for those that match more than one setting e.g. the boarding school in Maine – of course I’m buying that book!).
a. The Cider House Rules by John Irving
b. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
c. The Privileges by Jonathan Dee
d. The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
e. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
f. The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermont
g. Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis