Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion
2017 Read Harder Challenge
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Task #10: Read a book that is set within 100 miles of your location
Rebecca wrote: "Jen wrote: "Rebecca The Corrections is set in StL."Thanks Jen! I added it to my list."
Does it really take place in St. Louis? The goodreads page has it as St. Jude IL and I just looked in the book and it said St. Jude. I haven't read it yet but need a book in the area. Do you think St. Jude is a fictional suburb of St. Louis?
Allie wrote: "This one is the one I think will be the biggest challenge for me. I'm in SW Virginia (Blacksburg/Roanoke area) and looking for suggestions! Most of the ones I'm seeing right off the bat are set in ..."Hi Allie! I would check out books by Maggie Stiefvater. She is a YA author, does a lot of fantasy/magical realism type stuff, and several of her books are set in SW VA because that's also where she lives. Hope that helps!
April wrote: "Any suggestions for Lancaster, Pennsylvania? Philadelphia, Reading, and Harrisburg are within 100 as well."Much of The Corrections is set in Philadelphia. 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas and Fever 1793, too. (Philadelphia is my hometown! :))
And depending on your precise location, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic might be set within 100 miles! I believe Alison Bechdel's hometown and the setting for much of the book is Beech Creek, PA.
I was reading the description for The Sellout, and I was wondering how much of it takes place within the Supreme Court (mentioned in correlation to the race trial within the plot). I live in DC, and was thinking this could work.
April wrote: "Any suggestions for Lancaster, Pennsylvania? Philadelphia, Reading, and Harrisburg are within 100 as well."Badge of honor, a series by W.E.B. Griffin is about the Philly police force. Men in Blue is the first in the series.
Melissa wrote: "I was reading the description for The Sellout, and I was wondering how much of it takes place within the Supreme Court (mentioned in correlation to the race trial within the plot). I live in DC, an..."Sad to say but there are only maybe 4 or 5 pages set in the Supreme Court if I remember right. The rest of the book is very Los Angeles-specific.
Bobby wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Can anyone recommend some good books set in the Dallas/Ft Worth area? I'm a bit north of FW, so my 100-mile radius goes a bit up into Oklahoma and as far south as Waco. So far all I..."Thanks Bobby! Quakertown looks promising.
Allie wrote: "This one is the one I think will be the biggest challenge for me. I'm in SW Virginia (Blacksburg/Roanoke area) and looking for suggestions! Most of the ones I'm seeing right off the bat are set in ..."Also, this book is primarily set in Blacksburg, as that's where the author had just moved to as she was writing this book. This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live
Nicole wrote: "Looking for suggestions in Toronto, Canada or as far as Detroit,Michigan. I'm kinda smack-dab in the middle"I found this list for Detroit: https://www.goodreads.com/places/1944...
Chessa wrote: "Ugh, living in Helena, MT and don't love westerns. If anyone has suggestions I'm all ears! So far I've got Work Song and Buster Midnight's Cafe noted, but I'm not jum..."
Do you like nonfiction? Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town this map search thing shows Missoula in your radius of 100 miles. http://obeattie.github.io/gmaps-radiu...
Karin wrote: "Allie wrote: "This one is the one I think will be the biggest challenge for me. I'm in SW Virginia (Blacksburg/Roanoke area) and looking for suggestions! Most of the ones I'm seeing right off the b..."Oh excellent! That one was already on my TBR!!!
When I read this task, I immediately thought of The Virgin Suicides which is a rather famous book set near Detroit and qualifying for me for this challenge. I hope that I like it since it sounds like the kind of book that could go either way for me.
SibylM wrote: "Catie wrote: "Does anyone have favorites set in southern New England? I live in Providence and would ideally like to read something set in Rhode Island for this task.Some recent books I liked a lo..."
Someone earlier mentioned the Goodreads Places list -- https://www.goodreads.com/places/. It is great but long, but I could not find an index. I found that if you do a Google search with the that website plus the place you want, you get right to the pages you need. In your case:
https://www.goodreads.com/places/ rhode island
This will work for any location and is pretty easy.
It was tough to find something 100 miles from Southwestern Oklahoma. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton or True Grit by Charles Portis are both Oklahoma but are more than 100 miles from me. I decided I'm close enough to Texas that I could go that route. I finally settled on Larry McMurtry's The Last Picture Show. Love his work so it's a win for me.
I live in the Swiss alps and of courese there aren't a lot of books set in our small city. Now I guess the time to read "Heidi" has finally come... :D
I'm going to read "Double Jeopardy," by Bob Hill. It's the story of the infamous local murder of Brenda Sue Schaefer and the trials related to her murder, by a local longtime journalist.
I'm in the Houston/Galveston area so I'm going to go with the crime novel Black Water Rising by Atticka Locke or nonfiction book Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson.
As I live in the NY Metro area, this one had potential to yield too many choices. Decided to also go back 350 years and read City of Dreams: A Novel of Niuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan by Beverly Zwerling. I read another book of hers and loved it.
Barbara wrote: "Sadly, I checked and Chicago os just outside of that radius for me. I'll have to see if I can find something interesting set on Milwaukee or Dubuque."Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City is about Milwaukee and it's one of my very favorite books I read last year. It's narrative non-fiction that follows a number of different families facing eviction and is super, super powerful. I highly recommend it.
ETA: I see that it's already been recommended to you, but I'm leaving my suggestion up anyway, since it's just that good. And while, yes, it is written by a white man, it's done in a way that sheds light on the experiences of black women from their own perspective, so I wouldn't discount just because of the author's own identity.
Wallace wrote: "Someone living in Arkansas or Idaho is going to have a much harder time than someone in NY or much of California, for example."
No lie. I live in Little Rock and it was nearly impossible to find something set within 100 miles that I actually want to read. I'd settled on The Lions of Little Rock, which I hear good things about but since I attended Central High School I got kind of inundated with the history of integration in this region. Still, a good story is a good story.
Last night I asked my book club and they recommended Where Things Come Back. That one is set in the fictional town of Lily, Arkansas. The plot revolves around the alleged sighting of the Lazarus woodpecker, thought to be extinct. To me, this makes it clear that the setting is intended to be Brinkley, Arkansas, where bird watchers reported sighting the ivory-billed woodpecker. I think this one ought to count because there's enough information to link it with a specific place?
No lie. I live in Little Rock and it was nearly impossible to find something set within 100 miles that I actually want to read. I'd settled on The Lions of Little Rock, which I hear good things about but since I attended Central High School I got kind of inundated with the history of integration in this region. Still, a good story is a good story.
Last night I asked my book club and they recommended Where Things Come Back. That one is set in the fictional town of Lily, Arkansas. The plot revolves around the alleged sighting of the Lazarus woodpecker, thought to be extinct. To me, this makes it clear that the setting is intended to be Brinkley, Arkansas, where bird watchers reported sighting the ivory-billed woodpecker. I think this one ought to count because there's enough information to link it with a specific place?
I'm looking for suggestions of books set in Ecuador. I'm (conveniently) 99 miles south of Quito, so pretty much anything that's not northern or the Galapagos should work.
Joanna wrote: "I live in the Swiss alps and of courese there aren't a lot of books set in our small city. Now I guess the time to read "Heidi" has finally come... :D"You won't regret it!
Ooh this one is really hard for me! I live in a rural area in the middle of the desert. I might try to find a local history or something. Anyone have any recommendations for the Imperial Valley, california? Mexicali Mexico is about 10 miles away, there might be something there. Or Yuma az is about 50 miles away. Salton sea?
I have a short story collection on my TBR called Mexicali Blues. A friend gave it to me and said it was great.
I'm using my 'cheat' book (that covers 3 categories that I'd usually do each year anyway) which is Sense and Sensibility. I live a few miles from the view that inspired the setting for the cottage where the mother and sisters have to move to in Devon (it's a pretty depressing view, I can see why it inspired it).S&S also covers A book I've read before and A debut novel. :)
Karin wrote: "Chessa wrote: "Ugh, living in Helena, MT and don't love westerns. If anyone has suggestions I'm all ears! So far I've got Work Song and Buster Midnight's Cafe noted, ..."
You could also try _The Miseducation of Cameron Post_ by Emily Danforth, which is a YA book and could, I think, fall in the category of "Read a YA or Middle Grade Novel by an author who identifies as LBTQ+". Excellent book, too.
Riah wrote: "I'm looking for suggestions of books set in Ecuador. I'm (conveniently) 99 miles south of Quito, so pretty much anything that's not northern or the Galapagos should work."I have The Revolutionaries Try Again on my TBR—it's a bit experimental, so not necessarily everyone's up of tea, but it is set in Guayaquil.
I don't know exactly where in the Andes this is set, but The Queen of Water is also set in Ecuador.
I'm going to read The Exorcist for this challenge. According to Google, and then mapquesting it, my location is 32 miles away from Washington DC, well within the 100 mile radius :)
I thought The Exorcist was set in St Louis.
Stina wrote: "I thought The Exorcist was set in St Louis."Nope. It was filmed in Washington DC--the steps featured in the movie are somewhat of a tourist attraction.
Additionally:
"The novel was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University.[1] As a result, the novel takes place in Washington D.C. near the campus of Georgetown University..."
Filming locations:
http://www.thennowmovielocations.com/...
Chessa wrote: "Ugh, living in Helena, MT and don't love westerns. If anyone has suggestions I'm all ears! "I live in Bozeman, MT and have been dying to read about Butte in it's heyday. I'm going with The Richest Hill in the World by Richard Wheeler.
Ellie wrote: "I'm going with The Reader (Der Vorleser) by Bernhard Schlink. It is set in Heidelberg, Germany and since I live there it is the perfect match."Lucky you, that book is one of my all time favorites!
Megan wrote: "Stina wrote: "I thought The Exorcist was set in St Louis."Nope. It was filmed in Washington DC--the steps featured in the movie are somewhat of a tourist attraction.
Additionally:
"The novel wa..."
Ah, apparently the "real" exorcism that inspired the book and film took place in St Louis.
Come to think of it, I think my brother showed me those steps one time when I was visiting him in DC. It didn't mean anything to me because I'd never seen the movie. I think I have watched it since. Sort of. I seem to recall finding it boring enough that I tuned it out and went back to whatever book I was reading.
Stina: I've never seen the movie! Maybe reading the book will give me incentive to watch the movie.
Allie wrote: "This one is the one I think will be the biggest challenge for me. I'm in SW Virginia (Blacksburg/Roanoke area) and looking for suggestions! Most of the ones I'm seeing right off the bat are set in ..."Maybe one of Sallie Mann's books? She's from Lexington.
I live in Nashville and I may end up rereading Bowling Avenue which I read last year. It is a great read... and set in Nashville around the time of the great flood.
Nicole wrote: "Looking for suggestions in Toronto, Canada or as far as Detroit,Michigan. I'm kinda smack-dab in the middle"Hello there. I am assuming you live in the London area, as this is where I live, right between Toronto and Detroit. I am here to be the poopface that tells you that if you want to stick to the challenge in the purest sense, neither Toronto or Detroit is actually close enough to qualify. I just got a couple of new books for Christmas that were set in Toronto, so I checked! Basically if you live in London, books that are set in London are really the easiest things to find that qualify. The downtown branch of the library has a shelf on the second floor of nothing but London based authors.
Tanya Huff and Lynsay Sands are two popular authors that have written books set in London. I think Kelley Armstrong may actually have as well, but it's been awhile. As mentioned before in the thread, anything about the Donnelly family will do, as Lucan is well within the radius. Rush Home Road was mentioned in the thread and would be set near enough to London.
I have a copy of And on That Farm He Had a Wife: Ontario Farm Women and Feminism, 1900-1970 out of the library right now, and was considering it for this task, as it covers southern Ontario's rural farm area. I also just got a copy of a London history book with one of my Indigo gift cards, and it seems promising. They generally have at least a few promising looking local interest books.
I am not even close to having decided what to do for this task, but yeah, it apparently is not anything in Toronto or Detroit. Honestly, with Toronto it's a couple of miles. I doubt anyone would think less of you if you went a couple miles out of the radius.
Catie wrote: "Riah wrote: "I'm looking for suggestions of books set in Ecuador. I'm (conveniently) 99 miles south of Quito, so pretty much anything that's not northern or the Galapagos should work."I have [boo..."
I just remembered another book set in Ecuador that might work for you—if you are able/willing to read in Spanish, Augusto Rodriguez has a very short collection of stories called Del otro lado de la ventana (it's not on goodreads), which I really enjoyed. I believe the stories are set somewhere near Guayaquil, but I don't think that's ever explicitly stated.
Tasks like these have gotten so much easier since I moved to New York City...
Julia wrote: "Tasks like these have gotten so much easier since I moved to New York City..."After living in NYC, DC, and ATL I just moved to Fargo, and I am having the opposite experience.
I live in Colorado and have yet to read The Shining, though I love Stephen King. So that's what I'm reading.
I'm in SLC, UT. My choices roughly boil down to Mormon, ex-Mormon, nature, FLDS, and the old West. Lololol.
Teresa wrote: "I'm in SLC, UT. My choices roughly boil down to Mormon, ex-Mormon, nature, FLDS, and the old West. Lololol."Lots of good choices! Executioner's Song, Under the Banner of Heaven, The World's Strongest Librarian, maybe Abbey's Desert Solitaire and The Monkey Wrench Game (not sure how far from SLC, but in Utah),
Bonnie, those are good choices, but I've read most all the ones that interest me. I've exhausted the good cult books and I'm so sick of Terry Tempest Williams type authors being pushed every time I turn around that I don't read Utah based nature books anymore. I grew up here and I read 100-200 books per year. I've narrowed it down to Butch Cassidy or a neutral family type novel featuring Mormonism.
Teresa wrote: "Bonnie, those are good choices, but I've read most all the ones that interest me. I've exhausted the good cult books and I'm so sick of Terry Tempest Williams type authors being pushed every time I..."I am floundering. After a lifetime lived in Detroit, NYC, DC, and ATL, all of which have a rich literary tradition, I am now in Fargo.There is NOTHING set here to read. I think I am going to go with LaRose, which doesn't make the 100 mile limit but is in North Dakota.
Bonnie, I see what you mean. I found this, hopefully it will help https://www.mappit.net/bookmap/places....
Teresa wrote: "Bonnie, those are good choices, but I've read most all the ones that interest me. I've exhausted the good cult books and I'm so sick of Terry Tempest Williams type authors being pushed every time I..."Hi Teresa. That is a problem! Since you've got a full year for the challenge, maybe you could find something from a local/university press that is coming out in 2017.
I'm new to this group/challenge and I just wanted to know if you have to do the tasks in order? Sorry if this is a dumb question.
ChezJulie, that's a good idea. Idk why I'm stressing about it. Last year, the right books always appeared. Erin, nope you read them in whatever order you want.
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If you're interested in Fort Worth architecture, there is Cowtown Moderne: Art Deco Architecture of Fort Worth, Texas.
North Dallas Forty is excellent and would also qualify as a book about sports.
If you're into true crime, there is Texas Vs. Davis: The Only Complete Account of the Bizarre Thomas Cullen Davis Murder Case and The Demon Inside, about the Walker Railey murder case.
There are several excellent books set in Denton, including Quakertown and White Lilacs, both about an incident that happened in Denton in the 20s, and Shouting in the Dark: My Journey Back to the Light, an inspirational autobiography by an artist in Denton who learned to paint after he became blind.