amysisson's 50 state challenge

ConversesFifty States Fiction (or Nonfiction) Challenge

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amysisson's 50 state challenge

1amysisson
Editat: nov. 10, 2022, 3:28 pm

I've decided it's about time I start this challenge, although I'm not putting a time deadline on it because I am committed to reviewing a lot of books that aren't going to qualify (plus I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy that doesn't take place on Earth, let alone in the U.S.!).

I'm going to continually update this first post so I have my progress in one place, and add additional posts as I read each book as well. Books are fiction unless otherwise noted.

Alabama - Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll (10/1/21)
Alaska - Murder on the Iditarod Trail by Sue Henry (3/4/13)
Arizona - Half in Love with Death by Emily Ross (1/1/19)
Arkansas
California - White Oleander by Janet Fitch (6/7/14)
Colorado - Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn (9/3/15)
Connecticut - Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult (8/5/19)
Delaware
Florida - Mystery of the Tempest by Sam Cameron (8/15/13)
Georgia - Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (1/29/14)
Hawaii - Moloka'i by Alan Brennert (2/5/13)
Idaho
Illinois - The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (8/8/20) (nonfiction)
Indiana - Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck (6/10/13)
Iowa
Kansas - Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (9/5/21)
Kentucky - Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs (7/26/21)
Louisiana
Maine - On Writing by Stephen King (6/12/13) (nonfiction)
Maryland
Massachusetts - Still Alice by Lisa Genova (5/8/13)
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi - Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy (7/26/21)
Missouri - Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (6/28/21)
Montana
Nebraska - Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (7/11/13)
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico - Tyrannosaurus Canyon by Douglas Preston (3/12/13)
New York - The Room-mating Season by Rona Jaffe (5/1/13)
North Carolina - Joyland by Stephen King (1/20/20)
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon - Let Me Go by Chelsea Cain (9/16/13)
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina - Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen (9/11/22)
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas - Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg (9/4/13)
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington - Goodbye for Now by Laurie Frankel (10/17/13)
Washington D.C.
West Virginia - The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch (12/10/21)
Wisconsin - The Sin Eater's Confession by Ilsa J. Bick (10/29/15)
Wyoming - The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson (11/10/22)

Canadian Provinces (while I'm at it!)

Alberta
British Columbia - The Ghost Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel (9/9/21)
Manitoba - A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (5/11/14)
New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
Nova Scotia
Ontario - The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan (4/4/13)
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
Saskatchewan

Other

England - Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith (6/24/21)
Ireland - In the Woods by Tana French (5/14/13)

2thornton37814
gen. 17, 2013, 6:31 pm

Welcome to the challenge.

3amysisson
Editat: oct. 3, 2022, 1:25 pm

Adding a chronological list in addition to the alphabetical by state list in the first post.

02/05/13 - Hawaii - Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
03/04/13 - Alaska - Murder on the Iditarod Trail by Sue Henry
03/12/13 - New Mexico - Tyrannosaurus Canyon by Douglas Preston
05/01/13 - New York - The Room-Mating Season by Rona Jaffe
05/08/13 - Massachusetts - Still Alice by Lisa Genova
06/10/13 - Indiana - Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck
06/12/13 - Maine - On Writing by Stephen King
07/11/13 - Nebraska - Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
08/15/13 - Florida - Mystery of the Tempest by Sam Cameron
09/04/13 - Texas - Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg
09/16/13 - Oregon - Let Me Go by Chelsea Cain
10/17/13 - Washington - Goodbye for Now by Laurie Frankel
01/29/14 - Georgia - Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
06/07/14 - California - White Oleander by Janet Fitch
09/03/15 - Colorado - Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn
10/29/15 - Wisconsin - The Sin Eater's Confession by Ilsa J. Bick
01/01/19 - Arizona - Half in Love with Death by Emily Ross
08/5/19 - Connecticut - Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
01/20/20 - North Carolina - Joyland by Stephen King
08/08/20 - Illinois - The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
06/28/21 - Missouri - Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
07/26/21 - Mississippi - Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy
7/26/21 - Kentucky - Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs
6/5/21 - Kansas - Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
10/1/21 - Alabama - Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll
12/10/21 - West Virginia - The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch
9/11/22 - South Carolina - The Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

4amysisson
Editat: juny 7, 2014, 1:32 pm

And adding a chronological list for the Canadian provinces.....

04/04/13 - Ontario - The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan
05/11/14 - Manitoba - A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews

5amysisson
maig 15, 2013, 1:10 pm

Can't resist -- added a section for other places outside the U.S. and Canada.....

6countrylife
Editat: juny 22, 2013, 9:14 am

Welcome to the challenge, Amy. I've only read two of your listed books - Moloka'i, which was very educational, and Here Lies the Librarian, in which I also learned quite a lot, but was also quite a hoot to read.

Did you know that there is also a Canadian challenge, structured the same way - to read each province/territory and no deadline? I'm enjoying that one too; taking my sweet time with both, I'm afraid. If you're interested, it's here: http://www.librarything.com/groups/canadianfictionnonfi

eta: I know there's also a Reading Globally challenge, though I'm not ready to dip my toes into that one yet, so can't tell you anything about it.

7amysisson
jul. 11, 2013, 3:52 pm

I love it when I choose a book for a completely different reason, but it ends up that the state/setting plays enough of a role that I feel justified including it in this challenge. This was the case with Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, which takes place in Nebraska. There's a lot about college in a rural and cold state, small town versus city (or, well, big town), and a little about ranches. The book itself is actually about a college freshman who writes fan fiction (slash fanfic, more specifically) in her favorite fictional universe, which is very much a Harry Potter-esque setting and plot. She also has to deal with a manic father, a twin sister who is branching out on her own and not making the best decisions, and her first real boyfriend. Charming book!

8amysisson
Editat: ag. 15, 2013, 4:56 pm

Added Florida - Mystery of the Tempest by Sam Cameron. Set in the Florida Keys, this is a modern day "Hardy Boys" type mystery featuring twin brothers, one of whom is struggling with being gay. There are fun Shakespeare references, too.

9amysisson
Editat: ag. 22, 2013, 2:36 pm

Dang.... was all set to add British Columbia to my Canadian list, but I couldn't get into the book -- "Touch" by Alexi Zentner (title won't touchstone properly). I loved the present-day narrator's voice when he talked about his own life, but the reminiscing about the grandfather just didn't hold my interest, and reviews indicate that that's what comprises most of the book.

I am getting to be a mighty picky reader these days.....

10amysisson
Editat: set. 5, 2013, 9:17 am

Added Texas - Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg. Enjoyable YA about a teen who is tired of having her life revolve around her seven-year-old sister's beauty pageant circuit. Takes place in a Dallas suburb, and the teen's father (her parents are divorced) lives in Houston (where I live). Given Texas's obsession with cheerleading competitions and some attempts to preserve the debutante culture, I felt that this setting certainly fit the plot.

11amysisson
set. 16, 2013, 10:50 pm

Just added Oregon -- Chelsea Cain's Let Me Go, sixth (!) in her novel about serial killer Gretchen Lowell and Detective Archie Sheridan. I do feel like the author makes the setting an integral part of the stories.

12amysisson
Editat: oct. 17, 2013, 2:22 pm

Added Washington state - Goodbye for Now by Laurie Frankel. Takes place in Seattle. Thoughtful book about love, death, grief, letting go, online dating, and more.

13amysisson
gen. 29, 2014, 8:12 pm

Added Georgia - Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen. One of her lovely magic realism tales with small magics and family traits.

14amysisson
maig 11, 2014, 10:25 pm

A tangent, but for the Canadian provinces I added A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews. Didn't like it, alas....

15amysisson
juny 7, 2014, 1:31 pm

Added California - White Oleander by Janet Fitch. I liked it. In some ways the setting didn't seem integral to the book, but two things changed my mind: the way the main character eventually considers California to be her compass point, and the way she experienced so many different "lives" all within Los Angeles.

16amysisson
set. 3, 2015, 11:42 pm

Added Colorado - Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn. This is the fourth book in the series. The first book, which I re-read a few weeks ago, also takes place in Colorado but I didn't count it there because it was a re-read. I then read books 2 (Washington D.C.) and 3 (New Mexico), but they were also re-reads. Now I'm proceeding with the rest of the series, several of which will probably take place mostly in Denver, like this one.

It's a fun series, about a werewolf DJ named Kitty.

17amysisson
gen. 1, 2019, 3:44 pm

Added Arizona - Half in Love with Death by Emily Ross. This is a YA mystery about a girl whose older sister has gone missing, and who is believed to have run away. In the end I didn't like it very well; the main character seemed unbearably naive and stupid at times.

18amysisson
gen. 21, 2020, 12:15 pm

Added North Carolina - Joyland by Stephen King. I adored this! Devon Jones looks back to a coming-of-age summer spent working at a small-time theme park. The supernatural element is an important part, but not the most important part, of the story.

19amysisson
juny 28, 2021, 10:38 pm

Forgot to add The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, which I read back in August 2020. And now I just finished Missouri -- Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, which I wanted to read after watching the terrific HBO mini-series. I rarely read a book after watching an adaptation, but I was hoping for a few tiny points of clarification, which I got.

20amysisson
jul. 26, 2021, 1:55 pm

Added Mississippi - Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy. Terrific book! The author really gives this small town in Mississippi an identity.

21amysisson
jul. 26, 2021, 8:16 pm

Added Kentucky by reading Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs. A rising high school senior named Gloria goes to Geek Camp on a college campus, where the faculty try to convince the attendees to accept full scholarships to the University of Kentucky in the hopes of keeping some of the best and the brightest in the state. I liked it, but some of the characters' actions seemed a little arbitrary at times.

22amysisson
set. 1, 2021, 10:34 pm

Well dagnabbit. I was excited about finishing The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis in part because I thought it would give me Kentucky for my 50 States list.... and I literally just read a Kentucky book and had forgotten I'd checked that state off the list.

But I'm really glad I read The Queen's Gambit. :-)

23ritacate
set. 4, 2021, 6:26 pm

>22 amysisson: yep, been there, done that

24amysisson
set. 6, 2021, 1:56 am

Read Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. Some takes place in Kansas City, Missouri, but a lot takes place in Kansas.

25amysisson
oct. 2, 2021, 12:13 am

Added Alabama by reading Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll. This is a terrific YA novel about three teens forming a profound friendship while working at Unclaimed Baggage, a store that sells lost suitcases and their contents (which is a real thing). There are some great funny moments, but there's a lot of serious stuff going on as well.

26amysisson
oct. 3, 2022, 1:22 pm

Added South Carolina with Sarah Addison Allen's Other Birds. Lovely quiet book.

27labfs39
oct. 9, 2022, 11:12 am

Welcome to the challenge, Amy. You have a great start already!

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