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Welcome to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day in April (except Sundays), I’ll be sharing a short bookish
memory with you.
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I’ve lived in Colorado, USA for most of my life. The state is
overcrowded, but as far as places to live go, it’s an excellent one. It’s
usually sunny, even when there are several feet of snow on the ground. Compared
to other states, it’s (mostly) safe and (somewhat) clean. You’re never far from
the wilderness here.
Growing up in Colorado has influenced what I read. The
Southwestern US is rich in folklore and has a long, strange history. Living in the "Wild West" is
what sparked my interest in ghost stories. Spending time in nature has given me
an appreciation for survival stories and books about plants and animals. Big
cities have always felt foreign to me. In fiction and in real life, I like
silence and room to breathe.
Here are some pictures I’ve taken while exploring Colorado over the years:
Does where you live influence your taste in books?
Wow such beautiful pictures!! I wouldn't say where I lived influences my reading but I love when a book is set where I live. I get all geeky about knowing the places they are talking about.
ReplyDeleteMe too! I got excited because a book I read recently talked about an airport I’d been in.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
If it did I'd read serious crime novels! My town has issues with drugs and violence, the street next to ours has junkies and psychos living in it. Come to think of it, maybe that is what inspires my apocalypse and zombie tastes! *giggles* Colorado looks gorgeous...I'd like my little ranch house out in that scenery with peace, quiet and nobody to bug me!
ReplyDeleteLol, we have junkies here, too. They are a lot like zombies . . .
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Your pics are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit - when I visit Colorado - I tend to want to read stories of the old West. Read a great book about the brothels when we were in Wolf Creek, a great book about early settlers and medicine when in Winter Park.
Winter vacations make me want to read action and romance. Beach vacations lean towards silly books.
Coppertone Books
Thanks! I could really use a beach vacation right now. It’s currently snowing.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I haven't been out west since my grandfather passed away (he lived in Montana), but I have such great memories of the impossibly high mountains and starry skies and wide, empty spaces. I live on the East coast, part of the intensely populated Philly area, so I guess that inspires me to see a lot of dramatic potential in interpersonal conflict.
ReplyDeleteI went camping in Montana once. That trip was the first time I ever saw a grizzly bear.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
My imagination (as a child) loved the wild west. I do love that genre but I think I am most influenced by good writing in any genre.
ReplyDelete@Moondustwriter Sharing A Piece of Uganda
I’m the same. I’ll read pretty much any genre, as long as it’s well-written.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Oh yeah, I'm back in the marsh of the Southeast in Georgia, but grew up in the salt marsh in North Carolina. The South has shaped me, but so has a lot of the time I've spent in the American West--especially the inner-mountain West (Utah, Nevada and Idaho).
ReplyDeleteI would like to spend more time in the South. It definitely has a unique culture and landscape. And really good food.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I love Colorado and have not been there but a few times. It's so beautiful and compared to the flatness of the north Texas prairies, so unique. I will definitely come back and visit your posts . . . Cheers, Denise
ReplyDeleteThanks! I hope you get to come back and visit soon!
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Colorado looks like a beautiful state, I haven't been there but love the pics! Especially the one with the sun going down over the water. I don't know if my state has influenced my reading much, but I've always enjoyed wide open spaces and more laid back vibe.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I like the laid back vibe, too. I get stressed out in cities.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Well, I live in the U.S. So most of the books I read are by Americans or foreign English speakers, like Brits and Canadians.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a medium-sized city and now live in a large city. But I don't know if that's why I don't read books with rural settings often or if it's because there aren't as many of those books. NYC and London show up a lot in the books I read, though I've never lived in either city. But I suppose I can relate more to traffic jams than farms or ranches.
Interesting! I’m the opposite. I like my book settings to be as rural as possible.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I forgot to mention that I really like the purple one and you might keep your eye open for some photography contests you can enter.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures! I hope to get west someday.
ReplyDeleteSam @ WLABB
I love your pictures - beautiful! I've never thought about where I live influencing my reading preferences - food for thought! I guess my biggest reading memories are reading on the beach, the park, my backyard - anywhere outside! I love this challenge; this is my third year participating! Happy reading and good luck with the rest of A to Z! :D
ReplyDeleteYou know, I've never really thought of that before. I've moved around a lot but my reading tastes have not really changed.
ReplyDeleteThose pictures are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing. ~Aleen
These pictures are beautiful, AJ! I would frame some of them! I read a little bit of everything. I will pick up a book set in St. Louis, my hometown, when it looks even remotely interesting so I guess it has had a slight influence.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I love your pictures, thank you for sharing them! I have only driven through Colorado, (and spent a night there and gotten 2 new tires at a Walmart, but you get the idea) and it IS absolutely breathtaking! I don't know that where I live (Pennsylvania) really matters when I read books, I like a variety of settings, BUT I will admit that I get really giddy excited when Scranton is mentioned in a book. Now if I ever see any other local towns, I might lose my cool entirely ;)
ReplyDeleteMe: *looks at pics*
ReplyDeleteMe: Dog butt floof!
XD Lol.
I love your photos. They're gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteWhere I lived hasn't influenced the books I read as much. But it might just be that I've moved so much, so the influence is always changing. The biggest influence on what I read has always been gifts and recommendations from friends and family.
I LOVE Colorado! My youngest is at CSU and I am trying to convince my hubby that we should retire there after our military life is over, but he's being stubborn about wanting to be where it's warm most of the year. Where I live definitely influences what I read. Whenever we move I try to find books that take place in our area.
ReplyDeleteWe're planning to head out to Colorado for another vacation this summer (hopefully, as long as we can get all our ducks in a row and plan it). I LOVE it there, and I think if I could choose anywhere to live it would be there. Of course, I haven't been there in the winter ... :-)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction