Wednesday, May 8, 2013

#3 Preview to Summer Book Swap Link-Up: Big City Tales


My focus for this week's link-up theme of Big City Tales is London, England!
I'm teaming up with Martie from Spunkyrella- so make sure you link-up as well!

 
I've never been to London but have always wanted to go and so much of our classic literature stems from this city filled with diversity.  Our relatives, Andrew and Kaitlyn currently live there and I would love to visit them.  Not just for the city, but also to see their new baby.

You might have been able to tell, from the first link-up, that I would choose London because of Harry Potter.  It was automatically the first city I thought of when presented with this unique challenge but I also thought of the other reasons why London is wonderful apart from that popular series.

Oliver Twist speaks of the days of the Industrial Revolution and how they marked an era of innovation as well as cultural change.  Impoverished conditions, slums, orphans, and the days before unions or minimum wage tells a scary reality that many people went through.  Mary Shelley, the author Frankenstein, wrote a book involving a dark topic that became a cultural symbol of horror that is still popular today.  I remember reading it as a little kid, excited to learn more about this "scary monster" but realizing that the story was a lot more than a Halloween costume.  Shelley is from Somers Town, London.  Sophia Kinsella, a popular author of several chick lit novels, also is from London.

I really want to go, experience the sites, culture and history.  I also really want to go to Platform 9 and 3/4...gotta happen.

What are some of your favorite big cities represented in books or just literature?


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3 comments :

  1. Thanks for linking-up. Better late than never :)

    I like to read English books (even though German is my first and main language) but I do find it difficult to read books by British authors other than American. Don´t know why actually!

    Like the image a lot!

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  2. Though very different, you might like author William Boyd's books....all very British!

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  3. Dangit, didn't even think of HP and London, though I've visited, ridden double decker buses and ridden the subway somehow there was a disconnect. Boo.

    Thank you for the reminder and for sharing!

    HP rules!!!

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