Do you like reading books about places you've never been?

ReadandRoll[ · Post by **ReadandRoll[** » 02 Jul 2017, 17:39

Kelebogile Mbangi wrote:Isnt that a part of why we read books? To visit places we've never been, experience feelings we've never felt, meet people we've never met - All through our minds eye.

Exactly!

doremon · Post by **doremon** » 02 Jul 2017, 17:53

I always want to read such books.

Spirit Wandering · Post by **Spirit Wandering** » 02 Jul 2017, 18:36

Yes, especially if they are places that I would like to visit, such as China.

DennisK · Post by **DennisK** » 02 Jul 2017, 18:49

That is a great question - one that reaches far beyond the scope of this book. I don't believe MY TRIP TO ADELE was written so much to describe far away places as it was a story of select human experiences of individuals from faraway places. Granted, Elias' return to Marrakesh caused me to pause the story so that I could visit it on Wikipedia. But still, his story was more interesting than the place of Marrakesh. Yaser and Mariam's story was more interesting than Los Vegus, and Nadia's story was more interesting than Amman, Jordan.
I find that visiting a place is not like reading about it. Each place I've visited seem to have its own sense about it – its own spirit that can never be found anywhere else. How does one find words that can impart that experience onto the reader?

Virgo · Post by **Virgo** » 02 Jul 2017, 19:04

It's exciting to read about places I have never being before cause it helps my imagination to create things.
I love day dreaming on a normal day, so I get comfortable imagining events and places in novels/books. It's one of my personality traits as a Virgo.?

Sindhu Srinath · Post by **Sindhu Srinath** » 02 Jul 2017, 19:08

Of course! I get to travel (via imagination) without actually travelling! It's like a review we ask people who have seen the place before going. When authors describe places in detail, I almost feel the pleasure of actually being there.

godreaujea · Post by **godreaujea** » 02 Jul 2017, 19:33

I absolutely love reading books about places I've never been to. I grew up in a very isolated area, and it was through books that I was able to become more cultured.

kina · Post by **kina** » 02 Jul 2017, 20:37

Yes, I love books like these. I especially do if they're very descriptive and capture the feeling of the places as well as how they look. If they manage to do this in fiction or nonfiction, it's already among my favorites. It helps draw me in and lets me see what the narrator or characters are seeing, and get a better understanding of what they experience in the book.

BookishBookkeeping · Post by **BookishBookkeeping** » 02 Jul 2017, 21:32

I find reading books about different places is one of the main reasons I read. Most often I'll never be able to go there so I love being transported there through a book. Even places which don't exist. Some books I've experienced this with are all the Jane Austen books with it's settings in England, "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "The Hunger Games". To name a few.

Gravy · Post by **Gravy** » 02 Jul 2017, 21:46

I quite enjoy reading about places I've never been. Both places I'd like to visit one day, and those that I have no prior feelings towards.
One of my favorite places for books to be set is South Africa.

Maria joraimah · Post by **Maria joraimah** » 02 Jul 2017, 22:13

Absolutely!

Reading books of places I've never been will give me a chance to familiarize myself with it like knowing their culture, traditions, what beautiful places to see if I happen to be in that place one day. It's just good to know what to expect.

normindrasarawi · Post by **normindrasarawi** » 02 Jul 2017, 22:41

Absolutely yes! It feels like I'm on a journey, and it's one of the quickest way to learn their culture.

Gnome · Post by **Gnome** » 03 Jul 2017, 05:28

It's not just the new places I've enjoyed eating about but the culture as well. There are millions of things to say about Shakespeare but all he did was transport English culture and expectations to places like Verona or Venice.

One of the things I loved about this book was the representation on how people bring their culture with them when they move. I had no idea that dowries were still an active tradition or how they worked. It was very nice to see that even in a city renown for its sins that a traditional family could footing without falling to the cliche of a "Vegas story."

Vickyoreo86 · Post by **Vickyoreo86** » 03 Jul 2017, 06:08

I actually prefer reading books about places I have never visited. It allows me to use my imagination so much more! Sometimes the reality is not as great as the description in books or your own mind. I tried to read a book based in my home city but I was concentrating too much on whether they had the descriptions correct. Took some of the romance out of an otherwise good story. But then I am a fantasy reader at heart, I enjoy world building of fictional places.