05. A book set in one of the 25 most beautiful cities in the world

[Robin H-R]

I read:
Burke & Hare by Owen Dudley Edwards

Set in Edinburgh, Scotland

BIO - Set in a city you have visited (I've only been to two of them so my choices are definitely narrow)

Finished: 01/20/2024
Rating: 4+ stars

[Samantha]

I read The Social Climber which I thought was going to be primarily set in New York City but was also set in Vermont. In any case with my luck I will pick up 5 more books and have the same thing happen so will be happy that a good portion was in NYC.

I mostly enjoyed it but it was also flawed and the end left me a let down.

I would recommend:
The Red Notebook - Paris
When No One Is Watching - NYC
The Verifiers - NYC
Now You See Us - Singapore

[Theresa]

I just read for this prompt Intrigue in Istanbul - fantistic spot on setting description in Istanbul. One of my personal favorite cities in the world, second only to Paris.

[Marie (UK)]

I read Random in Death this is the latest installment in the Eve Dallas series set in New York

Read and finished only a few days after publication and best book of January

[Amy]

My daughter was just in Singapore so wanted to pick a book from that country. The Frangipani Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu has been on my TBR for a two years. This was a perfect time to finally read this first book in The Crown Colony series. I enjoyed this cozy mystery and will continue with the series. It is set in the 1930s while Singapore was under British Colonial rule. I love when a book has me googling about history!

[Joy D]

For this tag, I read:
Open City by Teju Cole - 5* - My Review (New York City)

[Harley]

I did Watching You for england!

[Dana]

I plan to read Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie. I love how it starts, right into action and with Hercule Poirot.
What more can I ask for? ^_^

Update: I finished it in February and was in love! A new favourite!

[Katie]

Fairly shocked Prague isn't on this list, just because I've always heard so much about its beauty. I am considering The Unbearable Lightness of Being for this one. Anyone who has read it have thoughts on how well it captures the beauty of the city?

So many books I'm finding set in beautiful places appear to be more about their underbellies or destruction. I'm looking for a novel-length love letter to a city I'm not already familiar with.

[Milena]

Katie wrote: "Fairly shocked Prague isn't on this list, just because I've always heard so much about its beauty. I am considering The Unbearable Lightness of Being for this one. Anyone who has read it have thoug..."

I don't remember much about the city at all in The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and I just reread it last year. Sorry if that's disappointing.

[LeahS]

Katie wrote: "Fairly shocked Prague isn't on this list, just because I've always heard so much about its beauty. I am considering The Unbearable Lightness of Being for this one. Anyone who has read it have thoug..."

If you're not planning to stick to the original list, Still Life is set in Florence (and a bit in London), and appreciates its beauty and life.

[NancyJ]

So far I read:

Edinburgh - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
New York - The Spectacular
London - I read too many for another challenge
Shrines of Gaiety -
A Curious Beginning, perilous ..
Soulless, Changeless
A Rip Through Time

I Want to read:
The Astonishing Color of After tai pei
The Gods of Tango Buenos Aires
The Frangipani Tree Mystery Singapore
The Paris Library
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
If I Had Your Face
Our Last Days in Barcelona
Rare and Commonplace Flowers: The Story of Elizabeth Bishop and Lota de Macedo Soares -Rio [I saw a great movie about them, and I might want to read this if I can’t find another option for Rio.

[Wendy]

Katie -- I also don't remember The Unbearable Lightness of Being having much to do with the city as a setting. It's been a while since I read it, but my memory is of it being mostly focused on the relationships and internal lives of the characters. There's a backdrop of the Soviet occupation of Prague in the 1960s but my (possibly faulty) memory is of the author writing about the city as someone who lives in it every day, and not with the wonder of an outsider appreciating it for its beauty.

That said, I'm also considering Prague for this category as it's on one of the alternate lists posted here. I was thinking maybe The Prague Cemetery but I'm not sure yet. It does look to be more on the gritty underbelly side.

I'd recommend Czech author Bohumil Hrabal -- many of his books are set in Prague, though it's a crumbling Prague set during some occupation (German) or another (Soviet), so your mileage may vary on what qualifies as "beautiful".

[Denise]

I read The Girl Who Reads on the Metro by Christine Feret-Fleury (Paris)

[Guylian]

I read by Bernardine Evaristo, set in London.

[Katie]

Thank you all!

I ended up thoroughly enjoying The Frangipani Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu, set in 1936 Singapore. I'm excited to shoehorn the rest of the series in to this challenge wherever I can. :)

I wasn't up for anything very literary, so I'm relieved The Unbearable Lightness of Being wouldn't have been a great fit.

[Milena]

Katie wrote: "Thank you all!

I ended up thoroughly enjoying The Frangipani Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu, set in 1936 Singapore. I'm excited to shoehorn the rest of the series in to this challenge wherever I can. ..."

I hope you read it someday anyway.

[Sherri]

I read Babel

[LeahS]

I stuck with the original list, despite it being compiled by someone who could have gone to Specsavers. Where were Venice, Vienna, Vancouver? (and that's just the Vs).

Anyway, I read A Work of Beauty: Alexander McCall Smith's Edinburgh and Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk (New York) as they both involved people talking about a city they love/d. The Edinburgh book is beautifully illustrated with old photographs and maps - really a coffee table book, but with a good commentary.

[Dana]

Denise wrote: "I read The Girl Who Reads on the Metro by Christine Feret-Fleury (Paris)"

Denise, I loved this one so much! How did you liked it?

[Denise]

Dana wrote: "Denise wrote: "I read The Girl Who Reads on the Metro by Christine Feret-Fleury (Paris)"

Denise, I loved this one so much! How did you liked it?"

I liked it but didn't love it. I would have liked it to be a little longer and more discussion of how the passeurs choose matches for the books. I liked how different it was for sure. I would recommend it to others looking for a quirky read.

[JessicaMHR]

Just finished XOXO set in Seoul...but I used it for an X connection instead since that will be harder to complete.

[Dana]

Denise wrote: "Dana wrote: "Denise wrote: "I read The Girl Who Reads on the Metro by Christine Feret-Fleury (Paris)"

Denise, I loved this one so much! How did you liked it?"

I liked it but didn't love it. I wou..."

I'm glad! I honestly loved it back in 2022. I think me being on a fish pond reading it with the sun warming my back while my partner and friend were fishing helped a lot :D.

But the story was lovely and I was happy with the ending.
I agree what you specified, though. More info would have been better. ^_^

[Jacqie]

I read The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl. I'm a fan of her non-fiction and of her as a person but I didn't love her other novel. This one is an improvement and is an enjoyable little fairy tale set in Paris of the 1980's, lots of fun.

[Bana AZ]

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
It's funny that I'm reading this prompt for the "most beautiful cities" in the world, but the descriptions are so disgusting. This is a memoir-ish of Orwell's experience in poverty in those two cities. And poverty is not beautiful. It was a really good read though. Gave it 4 stars.

[Dixie]

Dixie wrote: "I'm reading A Tale of Two Cities for this."

No, I ended up reading Roman Stories.

[Anne]

I have just read The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell, which is set mainly in London.

[Book Concierge]

SAN FRANCISCO


✔ - 16Mar24
China Dolls – Lisa See – 4****
This work of historical fiction begins in 1938, following three young women – Helen Fong, Grace Lee and Ruby Tom – through World War II and the period shortly thereafter. I really enjoyed this book. I was in vested in these young women and their aspirations, and really enjoyed the detail See included from costumes to scenery to social issues – these elements really took me back to this era and culture.
LINK to my full review

[Pearl]

The Seven Sisters - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
It starts in Lake Geneva, also beautiful,

[J]

I read Across the River and into the Trees by Ernest Hemingway for this one, as it is set in Venice.

[Wendy]

As I've been following the Tour de France this year and am eagerly awaiting the Paris Olympics, I've started hankering for a hefty French summer read. This morning I picked up The Red and the Black by Stendhal which is partially set in Paris, though it opens in the idyllic French countryside (which I've been experiencing vicariously via Tour footage). Really looking forward to this one.

[Jill]

I read The Port of London Murders by Josephine Bell
Set at London Docks just after WW2, so not at all a beautiful city really.

[Robin H-R]

2nd time through I read:
Rivals of the Republic: The Blood of Rome series by Annelise Freisenbruch

Set in 68BC Rome

REJECT:A book related to the theme of a Las Vegas hotel (Caesar's Palace)

Finished: 07/28/2024
Rating: 4 stars

[Dubhease]

I re-read The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Mystery of Marie Rogêt. And read the new to me The Purloined Letter. All take place in Paris.

[Stacey]

I just sped through the psychological thriller, Let It Come Down by Paul Bowles, the king of descent into madness. Bowles is a master at details and imagery, too, as the exotic setting of Tangier, Morocco plays a starring role here, both for its beauty and atmospheric delights.

[NancyJ]

This is an option for the Anniversary challenge 2024

I have a side challenge for this prompt, which fit well with other challenges I had this year. So far I read:

Rome - Call Me By Your Name
Amsterdam - Girl in Hyacinth Blue
Tai Pei - The Astonishing Color of After

Buenos Aires -
The Gods of Tango
Elena Knows

Paris - The Paris Novel
The Red Notebook
The Paris Library
The Elegance of the Hedgehog

New York - The Spectacular
The Chaperone
The Alienist

London
A Curious Beginning
Shrines of Gaiety
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Soulless
A Rip Through Time

Edinburgh -
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

I still want to read
The Frangipani Tree Mystery Singapore
If I Had Your Face
Our Last Days in Barcelona
Rare and Commonplace Flowers: The Story of Elizabeth Bishop and Lota de Macedo Soares -Rio [I saw a great movie about them, and I might want to read this if I can’t find another option for Rio.

[Anastasia]

The Library of the Dead takes place in Edinburgh
It is a dystopia so does not do the city itself justice.