The question for this month's contest is related to the place category.
Have you ever read a book set in a certain place that inspired you to later visit that place?
Simply answer this question in the comments by the end of March and your name will be entered in a drawing for this month's prize.
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Great question! My answer is definitely yes!! After reading "The Da Vinci Code" I actually got the opportunity to go to Paris :-) My grandmother took me over there in the spring of 2006and I really wanted to go to the Lourve to see the pieces of art that were mentioned in the book as well as the pyramid that turned out to be so important to the book. It was a great trip!
I wish I could say yes. I've read books about Ireland and REALLY want to go there, but so far it's just a dream. But one day - I will get there.
How about reading GONE WITH THE WIND and then winding up living in Atlanta - does that count? Even though reading the book didn't put the idea into my head!
Annie, don't worry about putting my name in for the contest, since I won your FABULOUS prize in January!!
But I did want to answer the question. I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt and LOVED it. When we were taking a trip to Florida a couple of years ago, I MADE my husband stop for the night in Savannah, Georgia, so I could explore it! What a wonderful city!!
I've done it the other way around - read about a country I knew I was going to. I went on a Mediterannean cruise a few years ago, so I read books set in Italy and Greece before I went, and then read about Spain and Turkey when I got back.
There are plenty of places I'd like to visit after I've read about, but my travelling is not too extensive.
And I live in PEI, which I know many people want to visit after they have read Anne of Green Gables.
When I was in fifth grade, I had to do a research project on Kut Tutankhamun. For the next few years, I read a bunch of books about ancient Egypt and then over Christmas in ninth grade I got to go there with my family!! And my mom and I went down into his tomb and everything. It was pretty indescribable. Great question, btw.
Sadly, no. Reading Laurie R. King's O Jerusalem made me want to visit Israel, but I don't have the money for that kind of trip at this point in my life! Maybe once I graduate and get what my friend calls a "real-person job".
Hmmmm...not sure 'inspired' is the right word. My best friend moved to NYC soon after college and after visiting him a few times he sent me a copy of the wonderful book, Time and Again by Jack Finney which featured pictures of real places and settings from old New York City. On subsequent visits I have seen and took pictures of some of those places because I fell in love with them from the book.
Yes actually! One of my favorite books is Anne Rice's The Witching Hour which is set right here in New Orleans where I live and it takes place in Anne Rice's house...well the house where the family lives is based on her house. So after reading the book, I took a tour of her house and it was amazing! Great question Annie!
I've studied Spanish for several years. Because of this, I already had an interest in visiting Spain.
I think that is what initially drew me to the book The Shadow of the Wind.
Of course I had already put Barcelona on my list of cities to visit, but now I have an extra special reason to go there.
Well, I'll have to add my name to the list of those who would dearly love to visit the places I've read about but can't afford to. No money, and more importantly, no time.
Besides, most of those places I'd really like to visit are either on completely different planets or in the past. I'm still working on the time travel skills and my spaceship is on the drawing board but I have hopes.
cjh
One of the reasons why I wanted to go to Scotland so much was because of all the Scottish folklore I had read. I wanted to see the land that had originated those stories.
Also, even though I had already been to London when I first read Neverwhere, it really made me really want to go again. And when I did go again, I found myself passing certain underground stations and smiling.
Oh, and I almost forgot: one of the first things I did when I got to the UK was take a picture in front of platform 9 3/4. I don't think I need to explain this one :P
Ooh, great question Annie!
Has reading a book wanted me to visit a place? Yes, tons of times! But have I actually been able to do that very much? A most definite no. But, I still have lots of hope :)
Happy Reading!
I have been racking my brain about this and can't com eup with anything! I did read Hawaii by James Michener and a book called Molokai (whose author I can't recall) and I am dying to go to the old leper colony on Molokai...someday!
Reading "Cruising the fossil freeway" in December REALLY made me want to go back to Wyoming and Nebraska, as well as to other fine fossil states such as Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, etc. We'll get there someday, Annie...just not soon enough.
Yes! I had read three of Jane Austen's novels by the time I was able to take a trip to England. I was dying to see the cottages and countryside, and the trip was well worth the wait!
Hi Anne,
when I read "The Salt on Our Skin" from Benoîte Groult I wanted to go to Brittany. I've gone there one year later and it's a famous region (Anyway I'm loving France).
But the other way round, I've been on Crete in the 1990th and I visited Spinalonga, too. The Isle of leprosy's. And last year I read the book "The Island" from Victoria Hislop, which is concerning Spinalonga and how the life was going on there. Very very impressive!
Read books about Greek mythology when I was younger and always wanted to visit Greece. I finally got my wish in late 80's and went to Rhodes. Got to see where the Colossus stood, a temple to Diana, just tons of awesome scenes. I've been lucky to travel as much as I have before I retired from the Air Force.
My answer is yes. After reading the Morse books I've visited many of the pubs he frequents in and around Oxford. Also in Oxford the places connected with C S Lewis. I have also visited Bath where some of Jane Austen's books are set and Tuscany after reading Bella Tuscany.
Like Vickie I've read Greek mythology and remember in particular the excitement of visiting Delphi when we were staying near Marathon.
Like Raidergirl, I'm reading books about a country I'm going to. I've always wanted to go to Ukraine, and now I am! So I'm making a conscious effort to read some novels about modern Ukraine as well as the basic travel guide things.
I have read so many great books set in New Orleans and really want to visit. Obviously things over there are a little different now, but I would still like to visit some day. I also want to visit the Orkney Islands just north of Scotland after reading some Juliet Marillier books.
Well I love traveling but unfortunately can't afford to go to all the places I'd like... so yes, many books have inspired me to go to all sorts of fabulous places. Unfortunately, I've not really had the chance to embark on any fantastic journeys because of inspiration from a book. :( But great question!
A few years ago, when looking for a place to visit on vacation, I remembered reading a book about Shaker community. So we visited the Shaker Village in Massachusetts, and on another trip visited a Shaker settlement near Pittsburgh. While the reality was somewhat different than the book had been, both experiences were so enlightening.
I don't think I've ever actually visited anywhere after I've read about it, but I definitely *want* to visit some of the places I've read about. Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country made me want to visit Australia even more than I already did! Whenever I read Civil War fiction (or nonfiction) I always get the urge to visit some of the historical battlefields.
That is a good question and YES! I was inspired by Nevada Barr's books to visit National Parks. My husband and I have the National Park Passport book and get a stamp in it every time we visit one.
After reading Misty of Chincoteague, I wanted to visit the island, off of North Carolina I believe. But I haven't yet had the chance. Sigh.
All the time! Of course, I had to think for awhile because no books pop into my head. After a while, these are what I came up with:
Random Passage (Newfoundland, Canada)
Walk in the Woods (Appalachian Trail)
Like Water for Chocolate (Mexico)
and a variety of books that take place in parts of India I have not yet been too.
I've often read a lot books about England and want to go there, but I still haven't gotten there yet.
I read Maus: A survivor's Tale after I came back from Poland. That made the book more vivid and real to me having been to the place it describes.
Yes, many books. Under the Tuscan Sun - I finally was able to visit the Tuscan region in Italy in 2006. It was better than the book!
I'm reading Yellowknife right now. I never had any desire to visit the Northwest Territories, but now I do. Yellowknife is the capital city. Also, Far North put me in the mind to visit that vast part of Canada.
When I knew we were going to Canada, I looked for some books set in Canada. I read Shipping News and Shadows on Rock before going. Also read Devil in the White City before visiting Chicago.
Sort of - I like to read books set in places I'm going to visit/read them while I'm there. Before going to Scotland I read Ian Rankin's Fleshmarket Close, which is an alley in Edinburgh. When we got to Edinburgh, I was delighted to see the actual alley and take a photo of it!
One place I do hope to visit some day, exactly like Stephanie, is Savannah because of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil!
Love the question and my answer is really very easy.
When I was younger, I read a lot of Sci-fi. Mostly sci-fi as a matter of fact. So, my answer is simple - space. I'd love to hitch a ride on the shuttle some day and visit the 'final frontier'.
cjh
I absolutely have. After reading 'Kokopelli's Flute', I had the chance to go visit a few Anasazi ruins in Colorado. It was magnificent, to see the magic of prose brought to life before my eyes.
Cody
I absolutely have. After reading 'Kokopelli's Flute', I had the chance to go visit a few Anasazi ruins in Colorado. It was magnificent, to see the magic of prose brought to life before my eyes.
Cody
Mine is from my very first romance (and my only Harlequin forays) of Essie Summers - ever since I've wanted to go to New Zealand. Desperately. Mostly the South Island, but I'd go to either if someone were willing to pay. Also my love started waaaaaay before LOTR shocked everyone with the beautiful scenery of NZ.
Scotland's my other country of choice, but the draw is the other way around. Because I love Scotland, I read books, histories, folklore about it.
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