Reading the States: Nonfiction Complete!

In 2014 I decided to read one work of fiction and nonfiction for every state in the nation. I created lists of possible reads for myself (and others) to help. And now, just shy of my 40^th birthday and 10 years after starting the project, I’m done! I just finished my Missouri read and below are the nonfictions books I read for each state.

I tried to always choose books that describes the state or deal with an essential piece of the state’s history. I feel like I’ve learned so much about the country that I didn’t know before I began this.

For some of the states I've read multiple books set there and I included a few of my favorites in this list. If you want to see a more complete list of both fiction and nonfiction books set in the state (plus bookstores and authors who live there) check out the complete list here.

Alabama: All Over but the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg,  The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

Alaska: Into the Wild* by Jon Krakauer
Arizona: Half Broke Horses* by Jeannette Walls
Arkansas: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
California: Freedom Writers* by Erin Gruell, The Soloist by Steve Lopez, A Crack in the Edge of the World by Simon Winchester
Colorado: Columbine* by Dave Cullen
Connecticut: Me: Stories of my Life by Katharine Hepburn, Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman
Delaware: Promises to Keep by Joe Biden
Florida: The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean, Marley and Me by John Grogan
Georgia: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr by MLKJ
Hawaii: Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell
Idaho: Educated by Tara Westover, The Big Burn by Timothy Egan
Illinois: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, The Girls of Murder City by Douglas Perry
Indiana: A Fever in the Heartland Timothy Egan, A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
Iowa: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson, Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron, The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow
Kansas: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Kentucky: Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
Louisiana: Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum, Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink
Maine: Elsewhere by Richard Russo 
Maryland: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
Massachusetts: Walden by Henry David Thoreau, The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
Michigan: Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom
Minnesota: Under a Flaming Sky by Daniel James Brown
Mississippi: Black Boy by Richard Wright
Missouri: Jesse James, Last Rebel of the Civil War by T. J. Stiles
Montana: Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean
Nebraska: I Am a Man by Joe Starita
Nevada: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
New Hampshire: I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson 
New Jersey: The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

New Mexico: American Prometheus by Kai Bird
New York: Tis by Frank McCourt, Here is New York by E.B. White, 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, The Great Bridge by David McCullough, Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, Just Kids by Patti Smith
North Carolina: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris 
North Dakota: Grand Forks by Marilyn Hagerty 
Ohio: The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan
Oklahoma: The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan, The Innocent Man by John Grisham, Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Oregon: Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, Blue Moon Over Thurman Street by Ursula K. LeGuin
Pennsylvania: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
Rhode Island:  Gilded by Deborah Davis 
South Carolina: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
South Dakota: The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin

Tennessee:  American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham, Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
Texas: The Liar's Club by Mary Karr, Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
Utah: Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
Vermont:  Wandering Home by Bill McKibben
Virginia: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Washington: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
Washington DC: Inventing a Nation by Gore Vidal, All the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
West Virginia: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Wisconsin: Blankets by Craig Thompson
Wyoming: American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee
Road Trips: Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck, April 1865 by Jay Winik, The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson, Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon, Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose, Roughing It by Mark Twain 

Reading the States: Fiction Complete!

It took me years, but I've finally completed the fiction portion of my Reading the States challenge. My goal is to read one fiction and one nonfiction book set in each state. I try to pick a book that describes the state or really feels like it in someway. Occasionally I'll settle for a book that is just set there if there aren't a lot of options (I'm looking at you Delaware). It's been so fun getting to know each state a bit better through literature. I still have 14 to go on the nonfiction side.

For some of the states I've read multiple books set there and I included a few of my favorites in this list. If you want to see a more complete list of both fiction and nonfiction books set in the state (plus bookstores and authors who live there) check out the complete list here.

Alabama: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Alaska: The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Arizona: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Arkansas: True Grit by Charles Portis (A Painted House by John Grisham) 
California: East of Eden by John Steinbeck (Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler) 

Colorado: Plainsong by Kent Haruf 
Connecticut: Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

Delaware: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Florida: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston

Georgia: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Hawaii: The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings

Idaho: Lila by Marilynne Robinson

Illinois: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, The House on Mango Street is Sandra Cisneros)

Indiana: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington)

Iowa: The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Walker (Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella)

Kansas: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (Doc by Mary Dora Russell)

Kentucky: Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

Louisiana: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams)

Maine: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Maryland: The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

Massachusetts: Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

Michigan: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Minnesota: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

Mississippi: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Missouri: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Montana: Montana 1948 by Larry Watson

Nebraska: O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

Nevada: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

New Hampshire: A Prayer for Own Meany by John Irving

New Jersey: The Plot Against America by Philip Roth, American Pastoral by Philip Roth

New Mexico: Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

New York: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald) 
North Carolina: Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks (The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver) 
North Dakota: The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich

Ohio: Beloved by Toni Morrison (Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld)

Oklahoma: Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts (August: Osage County)

Oregon: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey (If I Stay by Gayle Forman)

Pennsylvania: Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Rhode Island: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

South Carolina: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

South Dakota: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

Tennessee: The Firm by John Grisham (An Abundance of Katherines by John Green)

Texas: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (11/22/63 by Stephen King)

Utah: When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka

Vermont: The Secret History by Donna Tartt (Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore)

Virginia: The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Washington: The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen (Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson)

Washington DC: Heartburn by Nora Ephron (Lost Symbol by Dan Brown)

West Virginia: Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Wisconsin: The Story of Edgar Sawtell by David Wroblewski (Loving Frank by Nancy Horan)

Wyoming: Close Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx

Reading the States is Updated

 

If you're planning on traveling soon or just want to explore a new state through a book, I've just updated my Reading the States posts (at the tab above.) There is one post for every state and a bonus one for cross country road trips.

 

Each posts includes fiction and nonfiction books set in the state. It also includes authors who live there or frequently write about the state. There are also links to bookstores and literary places to visit in each state. 

 

Feel free to let me know if there's a book, bookstore or literary tourist spot I should add to a post!   

Reading the States: Road Trip

Over the past year I’ve posted about books and authors from every single state in America. You can see the complete list here.

I loved learning a bit more about each state and the authors and books that capture its unique characteristics. But I must admit I’m glad I finally reached the end! I hope people are able to use the lists as references in the future when they’re hoping to explore a new state. It’s always fun to read books set in a state you’re about to visit.

For this final post I wanted to give you all a few great road trip books. These are all books that are set in multiple states or involve a trip across the United States. Read a few and I promise you you’ll have a hard time resisting the urge to hit the road.

Also, here's another great blog to check out for more suggestions: LitMap Project.

- Travels with Charley* by John Steinbeck 

- April 1865* by Jay Winik

- A Journey through Literary America by Thomas Hummel

- The Lost Continent* by Bill Bryson

- Blue Highways* by William Least Heat-Moon

- On the Road* by Jack Kerouac
- The Island of Lost Maps by Miles Harvey

- A Walk across America by Peter Jenkins

- Way Off the Road by Bill Geist

- I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson

- Undaunted Courage* by Stephen E. Ambrose 

- Roughing It* by Mark Twain 
- State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America by Matt Weiland
- The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet* by Reif Larsen
- Liner Notes* by Emily Franklin
- Amy & Roger's Epic Detour* by Morgan Matson

Reading the States: Wyoming

State: WYOMING

Fiction:

- Close Range: Wyoming Stories* by Annie Proulx

- An Unfinished Life by Mark Spragg

- The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson

- Letters from Yellowstone by Diane Smith
- Shane by Jack Schaefer

Nonfiction:

- Where Rivers Change Direction by Mark Spragg

- American Wolf* by Nate Blakeslee
- The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman

- Rising From The Plains by John McPhee

- The Legend of Colton H. Bryant by Alexandra Fuller

- Wyoming Summer by Mary O'Hara

- Yellowstone Country by Seymour L. Fishbein
- The Solace of Open Space by Gretel Ehrlich 

Authors Known for Writing in or about the State:

- Patricia MacLachlan

- Annie Proulx

- C. J. Box

- Mark Spragg

Authors Who Lived Here:
- George Clayton Johnson
- Lynne Cheney

- Owen Wister

- Kyle Mills

- Caroline Lockhart

Great Bookstores:
Main Street Books

Valley Bookstore

Night Heron Books

Books and Briar

*Books I've Read

Photo by moi.

Reading the States: Wisconsin

State: WISCONSIN

Fiction:

- Loving Frank* by Nancy Horan

- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle* by David Wroblewski

- Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

- The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

- Off Keck Road by Mona Simpson

- Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen

- A Reliable Wife* by Robert Goolrick

- Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwartz

- American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

- A Map of The World by Jane Hamilton

- The Women by T. C. Boyle

- Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr
- Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Shotgun Lovesongs* by Nickolas Butler
- American Gods* by Neil Gaiman

Nonfiction:

- WAU-BUN by Mrs. John H. Kinzie

- The Land Remembers by Ben Logan

- Blankets* by Craig Thompson

- Old World Wisconsin by Fred L. Holmes

- They Marched Into Sunlight by David Maraniss
- Wisconsin Death Trip by Michael Lesy 

Authors Known for Writing in or about the State:

- Christina Schwartz

- August Derleth

Authors Who Lived Here:
- Stephen E. Ambrose

- Thornton Wilder

- Tim Cahill

- Peter Straub

- Jack Finney

- David Wroblewski

Great Bookstores:
A Room of One’s Own

Arcadia Books

Fireside Books and Gifts

The Reader’s Loft

Literary Places to Visit:

The House on the Rock

*Books I've Read

Photo by moi. 

Reading the States: West Virginia

State: WEST VIRGINIA

Fiction:

- The Madam by Julianna Baggott

- Shiloh* by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

- Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips

- Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina

- When the Whistle Blows by Fran Slayton

- Strange as this Weather Has Been by Ann Pancake

- The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman

- The Miner's Daughter by Gretchen Moran Laskas

- Billy Creekmore by Tracey Porter

- Lick Creek by Brad Kessler
- The Night of the Hunter by Davis Grubb
- Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon 
- The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock 

Nonfiction:

- The Glass Castle* by Jeannette Walls

- Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

- Growing up in Bloody Mingo, West Virginia by Andrew Chafin
- Blood Feud by Lisa Alther

Authors Known for Writing in or about the State:

- Pinckney Benedict

- Breece D'J Pancake

Authors Who Lived Here:
- Booker T. Washington

- John Knowles

- Pearl S. Buck

Great Bookstores:

Taylor Books

Hearthside Books

Empire Books and News

Four Seasons Books

*Books I've Read

Photo by moi.

Reading the States: Washington D.C.

State: WASHINGTON D.C.

Fiction:

- The Lost Symbol* by Dan Brown

- All Aunt Hagar's Children by Edward P. Jones

- Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones

- Advise and Consent by Allen Drury

- Along Came a Spider* by James Patterson

- The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

- My Name Is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
- You Are One of Them by Elliot Holt

- On Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian C. Faulks

- Little Green Men by Christopher Buckley
- Term Limits by Vince Flynn
- The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu
- Dupont Circle by Paul Kafka-Gibbons

Nonfiction:

- Inventing a Nation* by Gore Vidal

- Finding My Voice by Diane Rehm

- Competition 1792: Designing a nation's capitol by Jeanne F Butler

- 1776 by David McCullough

- Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis

- All the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein

- Washington Schlepped Here by Christopher Buckley

Authors Known for Writing in or about the State:

- Bob Woodward

Authors Who Lived Here:
- Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

- Jonathan Safran Foer

- Katherine Boo

- Justin Theroux

- Winston Groom

Great Bookstores:

Kramerbooks

Second Story Books

Politics and Prose

Capitol Hill Books

*Books I've Read

Photo by moi. 

Reading the States: Washington

State: WASHINGTON

Fiction:

- The Last Town on Earth* by Thomas Mullen

- Twilight* by Stephenie Meyer

- Snow Falling on Cedars* by David Guterson

- Citizen Vince by Jess Walter

- The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

- Annie Jordan: A Novel of Seattle by Mary Brinker Post

- Bread Alone by Judith R. Hendricks

- No-No Boy by John Okada

- Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet* by Jamie Ford

- The Art of Racing in the Rain* by Garth Stein
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie 

Nonfiction:

- Atomic Farmgirl by Teri Hein

- The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald

- Blazing The Way by Emily Inez Denny

- The Northwest Coast by James Gilchrist Swan

- The Good Rain by Timothy Egan

- Where Bigfoot Walks by Robert Michael Pyle

- The Stranger Beside Me* by Ann Rule

- Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen

- Skid Road by Murray Cromwell Morgan
- Bretz's Flood by John Soennichsen
- Truth Like the Sun by Jim Lynch 
- The Boys in the Boat* by Daniel James Brown 

Authors Known for Writing in or about the State:

- Jo Dereske

- Lucile Saunders McDonald

Authors Who Lived Here:
- Chris Crutcher

- Tom Robbins

- Pete Dexter

- Steve Martini

- Glenn Beck

- Raymond Carver

Great Bookstores:

Elliott Bay Book Company
Riverwalk Books

Santoro’s Books

Griffin Bay Bookstore

Darvill’s Bookstore

*Books I've Read

Photo by moi.