Books and Places on Earth

[hypermole]

I often think about places I've never been too but of which I've read in the pages of a book (the rooftops of the houses in Praga in "The unbearable lightness of being") or, even better, places I've been to after reading so much about it (hello Instanbul, I'm talking to you..).

 

Lately I was curious about:

 

1) How much did I travel on Earth sitting in my reading armchair? Where have I been? 

2) Is there a way to plan a journey around the world by reading books ie. type a location and find a book (apart from googling "Books about..<insert place here>")

 

So.. Has anyone felt the first question too? Found the answer? What about the second question?

 

By the way.. First post.. hi! (..waves hand..) 

 

Post Scriptum.. I haven't found any rules about presenting myself before posting but in any case. Hi. Giulio. 33 years old from Rome. Avid SciFi reader.

[Onion Budgie]

Hi Giulio, and welcome!

 

Yes, I've often wondered about how many countries I may have visited during my reading travels.    I know that I've covered much of North and South America, and a vast section of Europe.  Not so much in the Far East, or Africa, so perhaps I should rectify that.

 

As to your second question, try this website:  http://www.tripfiction.com/

There are probably others.  This was the first one I clicked on.  

[hypermole]

Thank you for the spot on reply!

 

On my side I felt that I've covered mostly Europe, a bit of Northern America and all the highest mountains on our planet (I really like to read about climbing expeditions)

 

I'll look into the website, thank you! I'll let you know what I will be visiting in the next few days 

[chesilbeach]

Hi Guilio, welcome to the forum
 
There is a challenge that some of the members of the forum are taking part in called the Around the World challenge where they try tor read a book from every country in the world.  The thread about the challenge is here -> http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/3126-around-the-world-reading-challenge/page-6
 
You can also see some of the individual members challenge threads in this board, and see what choices they've made for each country.

[ian]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

 

It's funny, I've not thought about linking the places I've read about before, but it's an interesting idea. And of course, not only are you traveling from place to place, but you're also travelling to different times, and if you read sci-fi - different planets or alternate universes. 

 

I have come across a similar idea though - when I was a kid I was deeply into astronomy. I read a book by Patrick Moore that described a nights star-gazing in much the same way as this. You would travel light-years in an evening by looking at, say, the Moon and then at Rigel or Aldebaran. It was something that appealed to me at the time and has stuck with me ever since, so I'm surprised that I haven't thought about reading in the same way.