Atmospheric Books

Happy Top Ten Tuesday! That Artsy Reader Girl/The Novelry shared a description for atmospheric books:

“A novel feels atmospheric when the setting and the narrative are deeply involved with one another; when characters and plot are physically embedded in their surroundings, and a near-tangible mood lifts from the pages and wraps itself around the reader.” 

 I certainly feel this is true of the books listed below. Happy atmospheric reading!

1. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón--This books and its sequels feel intimately entwined with the streets and surrealist architecture of Barcelona--highly recommend!
2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern--This book is practically all atmosphere.
3. The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley--This book is a journey through the (literal) bowels of a living planet--the book is inextricable from the setting, often feeling claustrophobic or, once beyond the planet, exposed.
4. The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders--The story is intimately tied to the physical setting of the tidally locked planet, but even more so constrained by the performance of time in a place where the sun never sets (or never rises).
5. Seasparrow (Graceling #5) by Kristin Cashore--I love all the Graceling books, but this one is most tied to its oceanic and Arctic settings. The author based it on her own trip to the Arctic Circle as well as historical Arctic explorers, and it's reflected in every detail of the book. This really added a new element to love for me!
6. The Cloisters by Katy Hays--I love the Cloisters, so I was excited when I read the review for this book in The Washington Post--and it did not disappoint. This is the perfect detailed, modern Gothic mystery, like an adult version of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (setting-wise) mixed up with The Secret History (character- and plot-wise), and as someone in my book club put it "[you will feel] like [you are] clacking down the halls of the Cloisters."
7. Court of Venom by Kristin Burchell--This one is set in an insular, sinisterly magical, desert oasis, creeping with poisonous plants--a great and unusual atmospheric read!