Hey friends,
I know it’s not Tuesday anymore, but I started this yesterday but got distracted by homework so I couldn’t finish it…oops. I still loved the prompt so wanted to get this post up!
Anyways, today is Tuesday which means that it’s time for Top Ten Tuesday! For those of you not familiar with Top Ten Tuesday, it was a meme created by the lovely bloggers over at The Broke and the Bookish, but was moved to That Artsy Ready Girl in 2018. Be sure to check out Jana’s blog for prompts for the rest of the year!
This week for Top Ten Tuesday we’re going to be talking about 10 books that take place in another country. To keep this fair and to challenge myself, I will NOT be talking about fantasy books UNLESS the country is real. So yes, Harry Potter will be on this list.
Also for those of you that don’t know, I’m American (from NYC), so no books that place in the USA.
Oh and this list is in no particular order.
The books:
1. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling (England) – Yeah, we’re going to start off being predictable. This series has made me want to visit England so badly. I’ve always wanted to go to Europe (my dad traveled overseas a lot for work), but after 7-year-old me first read this series, getting to Kings Cross Stations skyrocketed up to the top of my bucket list.
2. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Afghanistan) – I remember reading this one in High School and really enjoyed it. This was one of the books that just had a melancholy emotion surrounding it, but was so powerful.
3. Stalking Jack the Ripper (England) by Kerri Maniscalco – Ah I love historical fiction that dances on True Crime. Jack the Ripper was one of the individuals that started the research spiral that ended up in me pursuing a graduate degree in Forensic Psychology. This book was such a fun read. Victorian England is another location I have a sweet spot for though.
4. Hunting Prince Dracula (Romania) by Kerri Maniscalco – Different location so it totally counts. Since watching Young Frankenstein (if you’ve never seen this movie, you’re seriously missing out!), I’ve been obsessed and fascinated with this setting. I haven’t actually seen or read Dracula, but I do love this area and vampires. And yes, I’m planning on reading Dracula this October.
5. Life of Pi (India) by Yann Martel – This was another book I read in high school (I took a class called modern novels and got a lot of reading done lol). I remember being more neutral about this one until the end of the story and then falling in love. It’s a book I want to reread to try to figure out the “ambiguous ending”. I also haven’t seen the movie yet and want to reread it before I watch the film.
6. Romeo and Juliet (Verona) by William Shakespeare – The play that sparked my love of Shakespeare when I was nine, something about this one just holds a special place in my heart. As a mid-twenty something young adult (clearly the oldest and wisest of the bunch), I love looking at the timeline and modern memes of this story, but it’s still one that makes me happy. I also love the influence this story has had on modern media.
7. The Alchemist (Spain) by Paulo Coelho – This book is one of those books I’m going to find myself rereading for the rest of my life. Every time I do, I get something else out of it. It’s a short, quick story, but it just means a lot to me. The message is simple at first, but after experiencing the book it becomes more complex. Also, it resonates with where I am in my life.
8. The Mark of Athena (Rome) by Rick Riordan – Okay, this one was a bit of cheating, but by this far on my list, I realized that I have not read many books that take place outside of the US. But this book does see the characters head to Rome and a large chunk of the story takes place in Europe. Also, while Arachne will forever scar my nightmares, this book was one of my favorites of the Heroes of Olympus.
9. Macbeth (Scotland) by William Shakespeare – This has to be my favorite Tragedy (of the ones I’ve read) and I just love this story. This entire tale is about self-fulfilling prophecy and the path to success/overambition and ah I just love it.
10. Julius Caesar (Rome) by William Shakespeare – Okay, so this is a story I like more because of the pop culture references we’ve gotten from it rather than the actual play. Between my yearly craving for a Caesar salad on March 15th to the iconic “we should totally just stab Caesar,” this play just has a special place in my heart.
Okay yeah, I need read more books not set in the US. I had a really difficult time coming up with the back half of this list. Also, yes I have read Anna and the French Kiss. I just didn’t like it and only wanted to include books that I like.
What are some of your favorite books from other countries?
Be sure to let me know below!
Coffee Cocktails & Books 📖 