Positive Books set in Boston/Massachusetts

[snshne322]

I know there are a handful that take place at the Cape, but I feel like the majority of the books I've read that take place in Boston/Massachusetts are all murder or suspense type books.

I've just started The Kind Worth Killing on audio and it's another book set in my area that's surrounded by suspense and murder. Others like Stephen King, Joe Hill and Dennis Lehane are others I know that follow suit.

I'm sure there are a ton, but do you have any recommendations for positive books set in Boston or Massachusetts?  I love knowing all the landmarks mentioned, but I get burned out by the genre.

[ufcasey]

I really liked The Kind Worth Killing, but didn't particularly like the audiobook narrators.

Anyways, I found this list. And out of those, I would recommend Still Alice. Not a murder/thriller, but I can't say it's exactly 'positive' either though since she has Alzheimer's.

[snshne322]

c7, I haven't read either of those! I'll check them out.

[litskispeciality]

Little Women? It takes place in Concord and the surrounding area. Speaking of which, I really need to do a day trip out that way see Louia May Allcott's house, which isn't *too far* from Walden Pond if you really want a book related day trip.

[snshne322]

Jul 6, 2016 11:44:32 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

Little Women? It takes place in Concord and the surrounding area. Speaking of which, I really need to do a day trip out that way see Louia May Allcott's house, which isn't *too far* from Walden Pond if you really want a book related day trip.

Oh yea!  Thanks for that one.  I've never actually read it.  I've been to LMA house, but it was when I was a kid and it was a forced fun day with Mom.  I didn't appreciate it then.  DH took me to Walden Pond on one of our random dates years ago, but maybe I'll take DS there this summer.

[susiebw]

I second The Namesake. I think a few of Jhumpa Lahiri's books are set in New England and India - her family spent a lot of time in RI.

The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant was pretty good too.

[litskispeciality]

I read an abridged version of Little Women in 5th grade. I have the original on my to be read list. I visited Louisa's house as a kid after I read the book and watched the Wynona Ryder version of the movie 2000 times. I think I'd appreciate it a lot more as an adult.

[sassypants]

Jul 6, 2016 10:20:05 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

I really liked The Kind Worth Killing, but didn't particularly like the audiobook narrators.

Anyways, I found this list. And out of those, I would recommend Still Alice. Not a murder/thriller, but I can't say it's exactly 'positive' either though since she has Alzheimer's.

This book made me sob like a baby. Ugly crying. Seriously. I cried at the movie, too.


For a very wry take on the Pilgrims and Puritans, try The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell. It's nonfiction, but fascinating, and Sarah Vowell is hysterical in a dark way. Here's the GR description:

To this day, America views itself as a Puritan nation, but Vowell investigates what that means—and what it should mean. What was this great political enterprise all about? Who were these people who are considered the philosophical, spiritual, and moral ancestors of our nation? What Vowell discovers is something far different from what their uptight shoe-buckles-and-corn reputation might suggest. The people she finds are highly literate, deeply principled, and surprisingly feisty. Their story is filled with pamphlet feuds, witty courtroom dramas, and bloody vengeance. Along the way she asks:



Was Massachusetts Bay Colony governor John Winthrop a communitarian, Christlike Christian, or conformity's tyrannical enforcer? Yes!



Was Rhode Island's architect Roger Williams America's founding freak or the father of the First Amendment? Same difference.



What does it take to get that jezebel Anne Hutchinson to shut up? A hatchet.



What was the Puritans' pet name for the Pope? The Great Whore of Babylon.



Sarah Vowell's special brand of armchair history makes the bizarre and esoteric fascinatingly relevant and fun. She takes us from the modern-day reenactment of an Indian massacre to the Mohegan Sun casino, from old-timey Puritan poetry, where "righteousness" is rhymed with "wilderness," to a Mayflower-themed waterslide. Throughout The Wordy Shipmates is rich in historical fact, humorous insight, and social commentary by one of America's most celebrated voices. Thou shalt enjoy it.

[revjen]

Nora Roberts's three sisters island trilogy takes place in MA.

[susiebw]

Speaking of witchery, what about The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane?

And non-fiction, the book about the Essex was really good too. In the heart of the Sea. Not feel-good though. Like not at all. But not crime and murder. Not much, anyway. Okay, maybe never mind this one.

The Perfect Storm? Any of Linda Greenlaw's books (The Hungry Ocean, etc.)?

[sassypants]

Jul 7, 2016 9:17:39 GMT -5 susiebw said:

Speaking of witchery, what about The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane?

And non-fiction, the book about the Essex was really good too. In the heart of the Sea. Not feel-good though. Like not at all. But not crime and murder. Not much, anyway. Okay, maybe never mind this one.

The Perfect Storm? Any of Linda Greenlaw's books (The Hungry Ocean, etc.)?

I LOVED this book!!!

[revjen]

I think A Discovery of Witches starts out in MA as well.

And if I can ever get the idea out of my head correctly, I might have one set in MA too. Lol ... but it would be in the Salem/Danvers area.

[aurora]

Jul 6, 2016 12:40:19 GMT -5 susiebw said:

...The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant was pretty good too.

Thanks! I saw this at my library's ebook page and was wondering.

[susiebw]

Jul 9, 2016 6:45:29 GMT -5 aurora said:

Jul 6, 2016 12:40:19 GMT -5 susiebw said:

...The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant was pretty good too.

Thanks! I saw this at my library's ebook page and was wondering.

I listened to it and it was like sitting and listening to an older lady tell you all about her life.  It wasn't exciting, but it was definitely interesting.  The narrator's accent was great, too.

[aurora]

Jul 11, 2016 12:08:45 GMT -5 susiebw said:

Jul 9, 2016 6:45:29 GMT -5 aurora said:

Thanks! I saw this at my library's ebook page and was wondering.

I listened to it and it was like sitting and listening to an older lady tell you all about her life.  It wasn't exciting, but it was definitely interesting.  The narrator's accent was great, too.

Just started yesterday! I agree: great accent!