Novels set in Bookstores

During our researches for the TripFiction site, we have come across innumerable books that are set in bookshops around the globe. A quirky compilation, one that hones in on cultural differences, with books and bookstores as the central theme. We have really enjoyed creating this small list -. and please add your favourite "novels set in bookstores" below!

Our collated novels set in bookstores can now be found on our Pinterest board here

Selected fiction set in Barcelona

Barcelona is no. 7 in www.Viator.com Top Travel Destinations 2012. Such a popular destination, it's not surprising we have had lots of requests via our service BookButler@TripFiction.com for recommended fiction set in Barcelona. So, here we share some of our top personal picks....Stroll through the Rambla and the Barri Gòtic, enjoy lunch at the famous restaurant Els Quatre Gats, climb steps to the top of the Sagrada Familia - and do all this via fiction. There is so much to glean from a good novel that brings a chosen location to life! 
   





 "Ever wondered what makes Catalonia different and special? That'll be the people, their character and the history. This novel introduces you to all of these elements in a very readable story. If you are like me, you will make a beeline back to Santa Maria del Mar to see all the things you missed before. Some of the characterisations are rather 'sensational' and it gallops through mediaeval history at a huge pace .. but it is very enjoyable if historical fiction is your thing. It's a good translation too."
(Reader Review on Tripfiction) http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/173




Fancy a spot of romance?"This book is filled with Elizabeth Adler trademark descriptions of the locality. A freshness in her writing bring the city to life and for those of us lucky enough to travel there, and those of us reading from our armchair. The Number 1 novelist for conjuring local flair"


     http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/700



Don't be fooled - Barcelona, with all its illustrious colour and exterior finery, hasn't always been able to curb its darker yearnings. Blame it on a bubbling, repressive concoction made with a pinch of Church, a touch of Crown and a large dose of General Franco to stir up the insides of its very independent and anarchic Catalonian spirit. Repression, vice, immigration - the 14 stories in Barcelona Noir will divert readers' eyes from Barcelona's lively Ramblas and Gaudi spires, opening them onto the city's tainted side; one that will never appear on any tour. http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/1232

And no list for Barcelona set fiction can be complete without mentioning Carlos Ruiz Zafón's work. It is Barcelona, 1945, post war, and a boy, Daniel awakes and can no longer remember his Mother’s face. Daniel’s widowed father, who deals in antiquarian books, introduces him to the Cemeter of Forgotten Books – each book waiting for someone to care for them. From an overwhelming choice, Daniel chooses The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax and then goes on a quest to find the rest of Carax’s work. However, he discovers that someone has been destroying every work of his and that his own book may well be one of the only works by Carax in existence. He is drawn to a world of other worldliness, love and madness and it becomes clear he has to find out more about Carax before his own family is engulfed by the scary world he has entered.
http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/364


Have you read any Barcelona fiction that really drops you into the buzzing city? Then share it with other readers and leave a comment in our Comments Box.