It is a little, but that's not the main effect. My familiarity with the setting mostly amplified how impressed I was with the detail included by the author. There were a ton of little things that I never would have thought to include, but that instantly brought me back to similar situations I've been in.

There's less of that as the books go on. More of the fantasy elements takeover.

Undisciplined

It must be fun reminiscing nostalgically about your past while you read

cryotosensei

BooksAndArticles

Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time: Books 1-3

I don't relate strongly with any of the main characters, beyond remembering what it was like to be a teenage boy. I am from a somewhat similar setting to most of the main characters (small mountain town in the woods) and similarly grew up learning some of the same skills they rely on.

There is a scholarly order of the magic users. None of them are main characters, but I do relate to them whenever they're around.