BOOKS and STATES Challenge
arm-chair road tripping
through United States of America
Setting up a grand challenge for myself as I have been wanting to read my way through parts of the country that are unknown to me. I picked mostly current books rather than classics. Slim pickings in some states. But maybe more newbies will be released in the Fall/Winter.
Below is the tentative list.
TRAVEL - USA (road trip)
America for Beginners by Leah Franqui
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
Cape May by Chip Cheek
Don't Turn Around by Jessica Barry
The Grand Tour by Olivia Wearne
He Started It by Samantha Downing
I Might Regret by Abbi Jacobson
The Wangs vs. The World by Jade Chang
ALABAMA
The Summer House by Lauren K. Denton (
review)
ALASKA
AK: The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah
AK: To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
ARIZONA
AZ: Inland by Téa Obreht
AZ: The Perfect Fraud by Ellen LaCorte
ARKANSAS
AR: Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle
AR: Twenty-eight and A Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles: The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyun Kim (
review)
COLORADO
CO: The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger
CO: Eventide by Kent Haruf
CONNECTICUT
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (
review)
DELAWARE
DE: The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez
DE: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
FLORIDA
Camino Island by John Grisham (
review)
GEORGIA
GA: Dark Town by Thomas Mullen
GA: The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor
HAWAII
The Burning Island by Hester Young (
review)
IDAHO
ID: Educated by Tara Westover
ID: Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
ILLINOIS
IL: Seeking Mansfield by Kate Watson
IL: The Other Mrs. Miller by Allison M. Dickson
INDIANA
IN: The Starlite Drive-in by Marjorie Reynolds
IN: Come and Get Me by August Norman
IOWA
IA: Real Life by Brandon Taylor
IA: Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America’s Heartland by Patricia Bryan and Thomas Wolf
KANSAS
KS: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
KS: To the Stars Through Difficulties by Romalyn Tilghman
KENTUCKY
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes (
review)
LOUISIANA
LA: The Agony House by Cherie Priest
LA: This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston
MAINE
The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda (
review)
MARYLAND
MD: Murder at the Mansion by Sheila Connolly
MD: Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Li
MASSACHUSETTS
Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner (
review)
MICHIGAN
Beach Read by Emily Henry (
review)
MINNESOTA
MN: Say Say Say by Lila Savage
MN: The Lager Queen of Minnesota by Ryan J. Stradal
MISSISSIPPI
MS: The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz
MS: Desperation Road by Michael F. Smith
MISSOURI
MO: Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles
MO: Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
MONTANA
MT: Fall Back Down When I Die by Joe Wilkins
MT: Winter Range by Claire Davis
NEBRASKA
NE: The Bones of Paradise by Jonis Agee
NE: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
NEVADA
NV: Don't Skip Out On Me by Willy Vlautin
NV: On Swift Horses by Shannon Pufahl
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NH: The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
NH: Fake Plastic Love by Kimberley Tait
NEW JERSEY
NJ: Guestbook: Ghost Stories by Leanne Shapton
NJ: The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
NEW MEXICO
NM: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
NM: The Infinite Pieces of Us by Rebekah Crane
NEW YORK
Long Island: The Summer We Found the Baby by Amy Hest (
review)
NORTH CAROLINA
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (
review)
NORTH DAKOTA
ND: Three Women by Lisa Taddeo (
review)
OHIO
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (
review)
OKLAHOMA
OK: The Art of Crash Landing by Melissa DeCarlo
OK: Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
OREGON
OR: Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
OR: Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford (seattle/worlds fair)
PENNSYLVANIA
PA: Marilou Is Everywhere by Sarah Elaine Smith
PA: The Readymade Thief by Augustus Rose
RHODE ISLAND
RI: My Mrs. Brown by William D. Norwich
RI: The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
SOUTH CAROLINA
SC: The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
SC: The New and Improved Romie Futch by Julia Elliott
SOUTH DAKOTA
SD: Hour Glass by Michelle Rene
SD: Laura: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Donald Zochert
TENNESSEE
TN: Little Sister Death by William Gay
TN: Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
TEXAS
TX: Exile by Lisa M. Bradley
TX: Waiting for Eden by Elliot Ackerman
UTAH
UT: The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
UT: Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
VERMONT
VT: The Ghost Clause by Howard A. Norman
VT: Life Among The Savages by Shirley Jackson
VIRGINIA
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby (
review)
WASHINGTON
WA: Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao
WA: The Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
WEST VIRGINIA
WV: The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows
WV: The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
WISCONSIN
WI: Leviathan by Paul Auster
WI: Revival by Tim Seeley
WYOMING
WY: The Western Star by Craig Johnson
WY: Skies Like These by Tess Hilmo
WASHINGTON DC
DC: Summerlings by Lisa Howorth
DC: The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close
