It's not often that I read books wih locations I'm familiar with; more because I don't seek them out, not because they don't exist.
But New York is the setting for so much popular culture - I recognise things I never knew that I knew. Streets, shops, even the way people walk.
This also includes books, and especially the series I'm currently reading, The Dark Tower. Large parts of these novels are set in New York and there's a whole host of references which I know would have gone completely over my head before.
Now, I feel like I understand the story more completely, like I am sharing an inside joke with Stephen King. One of the central elements of the story is located really nearby; I walk down the same streets and it seems almost as if I could wander into the fictional universe.
This might be particularly enhanced due to King's tendency to use regional brands, slang and businesses within his fiction. Anyway it's definitely something I'll look for in the future when choosing books.
