Where was Bill Reading?

On Thursday I put up a post that reviewed the settings of the 44 mysteries I have read this year. It turned out I had read books set in 12 different countries and 2 books set in multiple areas. I felt I had been reading more books set outside North America than before I became a blogger. To test the hypothesis I looked back to my reading during 2010 when I read 31 mysteries.

As I expected the greatest number of mysteries were set in Canada and the United States. I read 8 mysteries set in each country.

In Canada I read 3 mysteries set in my favourite place, Saskatchewan. I read 5 more mysteries set in 5 different locales – Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Nunavut.

For the United States I generally ranged around the perimeter of America. I read 2 mysteries set in California. There were 2 books in Massachusetts – Boston and Provincetown. There were single books in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and New York City. Out of the 8 books only 2 were off the coast. One took place in the Catskills of upstate New York and one in Chicago. After completing this review I noted that in 2012 I have not read a single mystery set in New York City.

Of the remaining 11 countries in which I read mysteries in 2010 there were 2 countries with 2 mysteries.

From Sweden I read mysteries set in Stockholm and Ystad, Skane.

I read Australian mysteries set in Sydney and Melbourne.

 

I read books set respectively in Ireland, Germany and Greece.

There was a historical mystery from the U.S.S.R. that started in Moscow and moved east along the railway.

I went to South Africa for a mystery set in and around the Krueger National Park.

I read one South American mystery. It was set in Peru.

There was a thriller that was split between the Middle East and Pakistan.

I also read a book about mysteries, Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James. It is an excellent work.

After reviewing 2010 my theory about being North America centric at that time in my reading was unfounded. I read mysteries set in 13 different countries in 2010 versus 12 countries so far in 2012. Out of the 31 mysteries in 2010 just over half at 16 were set in North America. In 2012 it was 26 out of 44 being North America. By number of countries and percentage I read more around the world when I was not a blogger. Once again reality crushes perception.