Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.
This week’s topic is:
June 13: Pride Month Book Recs!
Prompts: Many books are inspired by real-life settings. Have you ever visited places inspired by books you’ve read? What places are on your bucketlist? If you could visit any fictional setting come to life, where would you go?
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Many books are inspired by real-life settings. Have you ever visited places inspired by books you’ve read?
Looking at my current books I’ve read, I realize I do not read a lot of books based in reality lol. 😂. But that makes sense since I’m always escaping…but I did find a few books that were set in places I’ve visited in the past.
All Paths Lead to Paris by. Sabrina Fedel – Paris, France! I went in 2011 for my honeymoon – it was a European Grand Tour so we hit a lot of popular cities in Europe.
Love Unmasked by. Becky Dean – Venice, Italy – this was part of my honeymoon tour but we only were there for one day, which I was sad about. i found it such a mysterious city and wanted to explore but didn’t have time. But we did the gondola ride, and I remember it being VERY hot.
Something Like Fate by. Amy Lea – if I remember this book, they went all over Italy.
All Roads Lead to Rome by. Sabrina Fedel – Rome, Italy – I remember going to the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basillica. We went to the Trevi fountain and the Spanish steps. The Colosseum was so hot and crowded, I felt like I didn’t really get to appreciate it. But I enjoyed Rome!
Castle of the Cursed by. Romina Garber – Spain – this takes place in Spain and the only place I’ve been in Spain is Madrid, but it was a fun trip.
The Seventh Veil of Salome by. Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Los Angeles, California. This takes place in the golden age of Hollywood but I went to college in California during 1996-2000. So definitely a different era but a time was had! Some of the best years of my life.
The Getaway List by. Emma Lord – New York, New York – my best friend from college and I took a trip to New York back in 2009. It was such a fun girl’s trip and a much needed one at that time. I have so many good memories of that trip.
What places are on your bucketlist?
What the River Knows by. Isabel Ibañez – Egypt is on my bucket list!
The Amalfi Curse by. Sarah Penner – I’ve been all over Italy but I haven’t been to the Amalfi coast.
This Time it’s Real by. Ann Liang – China is on my list as well.
Under Loch and Key by. Lana Ferguson – Scotland has always been a place I’ve wanted to visit.
XOXO by. Axie Oh – South Korea! But I’m crossing this off my list since I’m in South Korea as this post has published.
The Great Alone by. Kristin Hannah – Alaska. The trip that COVID took away from my family (parents, sister and her family and mine) – sad….we had a Disney Alaska Cruise booked when Covid locked down everything.
Tokyo Ever After by. Emiko Jean – Tokyo, Japan. I’ve been to Okinawa, Osaka and Kyoto but never to Tokyo. That’s next on my list!
If you could visit any fictional setting come to life, where would you go?
Most of the fictional settings I read are scary! lol….but these are the places I would love to visit just for a week or so.
Den of Liars by. Jessica S. Olson – the setting is like Vegas but with magic and more danger. I’d be there visiting just for the magic and gambling.
Embrace the Serpent by. Sunya Mara – I just want to have a golemn friend that was made of rocks! Oh and magical gems.
The Floating World by. Axie Oh – this world seems very magical.
Thunderhead by. Neal Shusterman – okay this world fascinates me, I’d be scared of the Scythes but…having no death because such advancement of medicine? This world kind of sounds like what our reality is heading towards but it’s fascinating to read about.
Onyx Storm by. Rebecca Yarros – I’d just go for a tour of meeting the dragons lol.
A Court of Mist and Fury by. Sarah J. Maas – Velaris. Plus I feel I’d only feel protected in Velaris.
June Topics:
June 2: Pride Month Book Recs!
Prompts: Happy Pride Month! To celebrate, we’d love to hear about your favourite LGBTQIA+ books, why you love them, and what books you’d recommend for a summer Pride reading list. Are there any new releases you’re looking forward to reading this Pride Month?
June 13: Traveling for Literature
Prompts: Many books are inspired by real-life settings. Have you ever visited places inspired by books you’ve read? What places are on your bucketlist? If you could visit any fictional setting come to life, where would you go?
June 20: All About Audiobooks (Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly)
Prompts: Do you like to read audiobooks? Where do you typically get audiobooks? Do you have any favorite narrators, or platforms for listening to them? Do you find it easy to access audiobooks, or can it be more challenging compared to ebooks and physical books?
June 27: Mid-Year Check-In
Prompts: Now that we’re halfway through the year, let’s check in! How has your reading year been so far? What reading/blogging achievements are you most proud of? Looking forward, is there anything you want to change up for the rest of the year?
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 
I love that you put a book rec for each location!
Thanks!
I loved reading through your travel reflections — it sounds like you’ve had some amazing adventures! Your European Grand Tour sounds like a dream, I also really enjoyed how you connected real-life travels with the books you’ve read — it’s such a cool way to see places from a new perspective.
Your fictional settings list is so fun too — I laughed at the “scary” worlds comment, so true! 😂 Thanks for sharing such a personal and adventurous take on the topic!