Kelli’s Comments (group member since Jun 29, 2011)

Kelli’s comments from the Topeka & Shawnee Co. Public Library group.

I haven't read anything in this genre either but I think I'm going to have to try it.

Tricia wrote: "I'm about 1/3 the way through "Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin" by Timothy Snyder. This is a great book about Hitler and Stalin between the 1930s and 1040s. This book is such an eye op..."

I actually own that book which unfortunately has delayed my reading of it. I am excited to get to read it though.

I agree. I think I will add it to my list.

Besides participating in quick virtual discussion on Goodreads, I haven't really participated in a formal discussion group. But I do discuss books with friends and family and some of the books I've recently talked about and enjoyed are:

The Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Just finished reading The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski. Posnanski is a sports columnist and traveled around the country with Buck during the last year of his life. Buck made appearances at schools, charity events, ball games, museums, etc. and offered his wisdom, stories, and humor. His passion was baseball and he wanted his stories of the negro leagues to come to life and portray the ball players' love of the game. It's a great read and I highly recommend it!

I just started a light read... the third Charley Davidson book, Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones.

I am currently reading Vlad III Dracula: The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula by Kurt Treplow and enjoying it. The book examines the political and economical elements of 15th century Wallachia and Southeastern Europe as well as the conflicts these countries were facing with the Ottomans. The Principality of Wallachia was created in 1310 but the throne was not automatically handed down through the practice of primogeniture. Therefore, legitimate and illegitimate heirs were constantly battling over the throne for the next 150-200 years. Vlad III had three separate reigns himself. I am not familiar with a lot of Eastern European history so I thought I'd pick this book up for a quick read.

I have not read this book but I strongly agree with the conclusion. I've traveled to a variety of countries as well as all over the United States. Depending on the region, you are exposed to so many different cultures and live that way of life for a short period of time... or at least I try. When I was in South America I worked with families that struggled everyday to make a living. I wouldn't say I walked a mile in their shoes exactly, but my eyes were definitely opened to many economic and agricultural issues they faced, their food, their religion, their folklore, and their festivals.

It did take me a little while to get used to the dialect. But I'm flying through it now just because I need to know what happens.

I am finally reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I can't believe I waited so long and really wish I would have read it sooner! It's been an emotional roller coaster that gets me so angry at times and then later makes me laugh out loud. But ultimately I just want to slap Hilly to kingdom come.

I'm only about halfway through the book, so no spoilers please!! :)

I am currently reading two books: Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg.

Fried Green Tomatoes has been a pleasant surprise to read. I laugh out loud to some of the stories and am nearly brought to tears at times. I saw the movie years ago and can barely remember it, but the book is turning out to be so much better.

Alabama--Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Alaska
Arizona-- Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
Arkansas
California-- 1st to Die by James Patterson
Colorado-- American Vampire Vol. 2 by Scott Snyder
Connecticut
Delaware--The Dakota Cipher by William Dietrich
Florida-- Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Starts off in FLA, but moves to the UK)
Georgia-- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Hawaii-- American Vampire Vol. 3 by Scott Snyder
Idaho-- American Vampire Vol. 3 by Scott Snyder
Illinois-- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Indiana-- The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski
Iowa-- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Kansas-- The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski
Kentucky-- The Walking Dead, Book 1 by Robert Kirkman starts off in Kentucky but moves on to Georgia quickly
Louisiana-- The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris
Maine-- The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
Maryland-- The Walking Dead Vol. 12 by Robert Kirkman
Massachusetts--Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich
Michigan-- Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich
Minnesota-- The Soul of Baseball by Joe
Mississippi-- The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Missouri-- Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton
Montana--How Few Remain by Harry Turtledove
Nebraska
Nevada-- American Vampire Vol. 2 by Scott Snyder
New Hampshire-- The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
New Jersey--Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich
New Mexico-- Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones
New York-- The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski
North Carolina--Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
North Dakota-- The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski
Ohio-- The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski
Oklahoma--How Few Remain by Harry Turtledove
Oregon-- Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
Pennsylvania--The Dakota Cipher by William Dietrich
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas-- The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski
Utah-- Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
Vermont
Virginia-- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Washington--Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming-- Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

As you can see by my list, my reading tastes are ecclectic as well as old... but here are my favorite reads this year.

1. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

This was a beautifully written book that takes place in a small English village during a plague outbreak. It examines the community's reaction overtime to the horrible circumstances they face as well as the pastor's duty and waning beliefs.

2. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

This is book 3 of the Song of Ice and Fire series. I easily immerse myself into this fantasy world when I read it and find myself constantly changing my loyalties to certain characters. This book contained a lot more warfare than the first two which helped me devour it as quick as possible.

3. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

This was my favorite book in the trilogy. I enjoyed the trial as well as the exposure of the political cover-up against Lisbeth. It was slower in pace compared to the other two but I liked trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I never read this book in school and figured since so many people who have read it rave about it that I should give it a chance... and I'm glad I did. I loved her strength and character she showed when she battled the various situations life threw at her.

5. Boozehound: On the Trail of the Rare, the Obscure, and the Overated in Spirits by Jason Wilson

This is a great book for those wanting to discover new/old recipes for cocktails. It has some interesting stories about the marketing in the industry as well as a look at the differences in flavor in new and old world palates. It also has some great travel stories.

They need to be finished in 2012... If you start a book now and finish in early January, I would count it.

Thanks for the bonus list! The heavy readers will probably appreciate it. As for me, I know I will be struggling just to finish the 50 states. :)

I think this challenge is going to be tough for me since I read more stories that take place in Europe than the US. I'm going to have to branch out.

Remember, non-fiction counts!

Unfortunately, I have never read this book. I have, however, seen the laughable Gwenyth Paltrow/Ethan Hawke movie. That might be why I've stayed away from reading it. Sounds like I should change my mind and read this for my next classic.

If you have any questions, post them here. Thanks!

Rhode Island– Summer by the Sea by Susan Wiggs; The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike; The Edge of Winter by Luanne Rice; Heart of the Night by Barbara Delinsky; Rhode Island Blues by Fay Weldon; Strange Bedfellow by Janet Dailey; Moonlight Becomes You by Mary Higgins Clark; The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut

South Carolina– South of Broad by Pat Conroy; Lowcountry Summer by Dorothea Benton Frank; Last Light Over Carolina by Mary Alice Monroe; Home in Carolina by Sherryl Woods; One Summer by Nora Roberts; The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood; The Inheritance of Beauty by Nicole Seitz; On Folly Beach by Karen White; Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell

South Dakota– A Heart for Home by Lauraine Snelling; Mercy Kill by Lori Armstrong; Bobby Singer’s Guide to Hunting by David Reed; 61 Hours by Lee Child; The Warrior by Everett Wade; High Plains Tango by Robert James Waller; Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult; Shadow Bear by Cassie Edwards

Tennessee– The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks; Nashville Chrome by Rick Bass; The Millionaires by Inman Majors; Night of Thunder by Stephen Hunter; Secondhand Heart by Joyce Livingston; Damnation Falls by Edward Wright; South of Shiloh by Chuck Logan; The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society by Beth Patillo; Chill of Fear by Kay Hooper

Texas– Texas Blue by Jodi Thomas; Larkspur Cove by Lisa Wingate; The Texas! Trilogy by Sandra Brown; Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips; Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist; Lacy by Diana Palmer; A Lawman’s Christmas by Linda Lael Miller; Storm Cycle by Iris Johansen; Embers of Love by Tracie Peterson

Utah– Desert Heritage by Zane Grey; The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff; The Locket by Richard Paul Evans; Cage of Stars by Jacquelyn Mitchard; Heartbreaker by Nora Roberts; Reckless Love by Elizabeth Lowell; Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer; Utah by Dana Fuller Ross; Silent Witness by Michael Norman

Vermont– Fatal Cure by Robin Cook; Midwives by Chris Bohjalian; Seek My Face by John Updike; Second Glance by Jodi Picoult; Still Lake by Anne Stuart; The Waterfall by Carla Neggers; Wife For Hire by Janet Evanovich; Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving; Killing Me Softly by Maggie Shayne; Red Herring by Archer Mayor

Virginia– Hiss of Death by Rita Mae Brown; Scarlet Nights by Jude Deveraux; Rumor Has It by Tami Hoag; Hide and Seek by Fern Michaels; The Horsemaster’s Daughter by Susan Wiggs; Spencer’s Mountain by Earl Hamner, Jr.; Haunted by Heather Graham; Ransomed Bride by Jane Peart; Trace by Patricia Cornwell; Shenandoah Summer by John Jaffe

Washington– Murder One by Robert Dugoni; The Alpine Vengeance by Mary Daheim; Ghost Ship by P.J. Alderman; A Man’s Heart by Lori Copeland; Moon Called by Patricia Briggs; Twilight by Stephenie Meyer; True Colors by Kristin Hannah; Nameless Night by G.M. Ford; Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz; The Other by David Guterson; Lottery by Patricia Wood

West Virginia– Zero Day by David Baldacci; June Bug by Chris Fabry; Red Helmet by Homer Hickam; Into the Web by Thomas H. Cook; Absolute Rage by Robert K. Tanenbaum; Fatal by Michael Palmer; A Misty Mourning by Rett MacPherson; Seneca Shadows by Lauralee Bliss; The Healer by Sharon Sala

Wisconsin– The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffrey Deaver; The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski; Driftless by David Rhodes; Dead Center by David Rosenfelt; The Hounds of Winter by James Magnuson; Laura Rider’s Masterpiece by Jane Hamilton; Black House by Stephen King; With a Little Luck by Janet Dailey

Wyoming– Cold Wind by C.J. Box; Wyoming Sweethearts by Jillian Hart; Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen; Denim and Diamonds by Debbie Macomber; The Signal by Ron Carlson; The Winter Man by Diana Palmer; The Drowning Man by Margaret Coel; Something More by Janet Dailey; Angels Fall by Nora Roberts; Impulse by JoAnn Ross

Books That Knockout More Than One State- The English Major by Jim Harrison; Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck; A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson; On the Road by Jack Kerouac; The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America by Bill Bryson; Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech; Anywhere But Here by Mona Simpson

Alabama- Boy’s Life by Robert R. McCammon; Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg; Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund; Crazy in Alabama by Mark Childress; Train Whistle Guitar by Albert Murray; Murder on a Girls’ Night Out by Anne George; Days of Little Texas by R.A. Nelson

Alaska– Alaska by James Michener; Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer; Whispers of Winter by Tracie Peterson; A Handful of Heaven by Kristin Hannah; Midnight Sun by Kat Martin; Yukon Justice by Dana Fuller Ross; Starvation Camp by Bill Pronzini

Arizona– Lawless by Nora Roberts; Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton; White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz; Innocent as Sin by Elizabeth Lowell; Double Blind by Hannah Alexander; Exit Wounds by J.A. Jance; Mojave Crossing by Louis L’Amour; To Santa With Love by Janet Dailey;

Arkansas– Fallen Angels by Patricia Hickman; Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris; Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry; Arkansas Traveler by Earlene Fowler; On Tall Pine Lake by Dorothy Garlock; A Painted House by John Grisham; A Case of Nosy Neighbors by Lori Copeland; Merry Wives of Maggody by Joan Hess

California– Women’s Murder Club Series by James Patterson; A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore; East of Eden by John Steinbeck; Coming Back by Marcia Muller; A Cold Heart by Jonathan Kellerman; Fear Itself by Walter Mosley; The Last Detective by Robert Crais; O is for Outlaw by Sue Grafton; The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Halderman

Colorado– Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer; Hard Truth by Nevada Barr; Nothing to Lose by Lee Child; Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas; Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson; Killjoy by Julie Garwood; Indivisible by Kristen Heitzmann; Dead Aim by Iris Johansen; Breathless by Dean Koontz

Connecticut– Bride Quartet Series by Nora Roberts; Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates; Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner; Bittersweet by Danielle Steel; A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick; Dune Road by Jane Green; Whiplash by Catherine Coulter; We’ll Meet Again by Mary Higgins Clark; The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb; The Perfect Summer by Luanne Rice

Delaware– True Justice by Robert K. Tanenbaum; Anna’s Gift by Emma Miller; A Light in the Storm by Karen Hesse; History of Delaware by John A Munroe; And Never Let Her Go by Ann Rule; Delaware: A Guide to the First State; The Saint of Lost Things by Christopher Castellani

Florida– To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway; Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen; Nobody Lives Forever by Edna Buchanan; Gold Coast by Elmore Leonard; Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay; Hurricane Punch by Tim Dorsey; Hothouse Orchid by Stuart Woods; Everglades by Randy Wayne White; Lifeguard by James Patterson; Southern Comfort by Fern Michaels; A Turn in the Road by Debbie Macomber

Georgia– The Color Purple by Alice Walker; Faithless by Karin Slaughter; The Killing Hour by Lisa Gardner; Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd; Cape Refuge by Terri Blackstock; Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell; Summer in Mossy Creek by Deborah Smith
Hawaii – Days of Infamy by Harry Turtledove; Fluke by Christopher Moore; From Here to Eternity by James Jones; Aloha Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini; At First Sight by Stephen Cannell; Aloha Reef Series by Colleen Coble; Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell; Swimsuit by James Patterson; Burned by Carol Higgins Clark

Idaho– Heat by Stuart Woods; In His Arms by Robin Lee Hatcher; Cover of Night by Linda Howard; Sins of Summer by Dorothy Garlock; The Bookman’s Last Fling by John Dunning; Malice by Robert K. Tanenbaum; Blue Heaven by C.J. Box; Amber Morn by Brandilyn Collins; The Trouble With Valentine’s Day by Rachel Gibson

Illinois– Friendship Bread by Darien Gee; Stained Glass by Ralph McInerny; Blood Rites by Jim Butcher; In the Company of Secrets by Judith Miller; Copycat by Erica Spindler; Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury; Mum’s the Word by Dorothy Cannell; Promises To Keep by Ann Tatlock; Butterfly’s Child by Angela Davis-Gardner

Indiana– A Cousin’s Challenge by Wanda Brunstetter; A Change of Heart by Philip Gulley; Sins Out of School by Jeanne M. Dams; Paradise by Judith McNaught; Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld; Learning by Karen Kingsbury; The Sisters by Nancy Jensen; Dust by Joan Frances Turner; Over and Under by Todd Tucker

Iowa– Home by Marilynne Robinson; Leap of Faith by Danielle Steel; More Than a Memory by Dorothy Garlock; A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley; The Life & Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson; Code Sixty-One by Donald Harstad; Ticket To Ride by Edward Gorman; Soft & Tenderly by Sara Evans; Dewey: A Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

Kansas– Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool; Eureka by Jim Lehrer; Gilead by Marilynne Robinson; First Dawn by Judith Miller; Kansas Troubles by Earlene Fowler; A Maiden’s Grave by Jeffrey Deaver; The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas; Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child; The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard

Kentucky– One Summer by Karen Robards; Circle of Gold by Karen Harper; The Best Laid Plans by Sidney Sheldon; Kentucky Rich by Fern Michaels; Magnolia Creek by Jill Marie Landis; River Lady by Jude Deveraux; Causing Havoc by Lori Foster; The Journey by Wanda Brunstetter; Restless Heart by Wynonna Judd

Louisiana– Tall, Dark, and Cajun by Sandra Hill; Voodoo River by Robert Crais; Torn Apart by Sharon Sala; Countdown by Iris Johansen; Ghostwalk by Heather Graham; Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris; Red River by Lalita Tademy; Cypress Nights by Stella Cameron; Interview With a Vampire by Ann Rice

Maine– The Body in the Lighthouse by Katherine Hall Page; The Cider House Rules by John Irving; Dreamcatcher by Stephen King; The Ghost & Mrs. Muir by Alice Denham; Saint’s Gate by Carla Neggers; Trespasser by Paul Doiron; Knockdown by Sarah Graves; Promises to Keep by Jane Green; Dark Tiger by William Tappley; Law of the Nines by Terry Goodkind

Maryland– Beachwood Lane by Sherryl Woods; Homes Again by Mariah Stewart; I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman; Whiplash by Catherine Coulter; The Hollow by Nora Roberts; A Hope Beyond by Judith Pella; A Mercy by Toni Morrison; While Innocents Slept: A Story of Revenge, Murder, and SIDS by Adrian Havill; The Lake House by James Patterson

Massachusetts– Red Garden by Alice Hoffman; Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks; Stranger in Paradise by Robert B. Parker; Black Creek Crossing by John Saul; The Given Day by Dennis Lehane; Shock by Robin Cook; The Merchant’s War by Charles Stross; Makers by Cory Doctorow;

Michigan– Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides; The Chocolate Castle Clue by JoAnne Carl; Where Yesterday Lives by Karen Kingsbury; A Woman’s Place by Lynn Austin; Company Man by Joseph Finder; A Song For My Mother by Kat Martin; Mr. Paradise by Elmore Leonard; Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley

Minnesota– Vermilion Drift by William Kent Krueger; Pilgrims by Garrison Keillor; Shockwave by John Sanford; Soft Target by Stephen Hunter; Stay a Little Longer by Dorothy Garlock; Freedom by Jonthan Franzen; Devil’s Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke; A Can of Peas by Traci Depree

Mississippi– The Sweet Potato Queens’ 1st Big-Ass Novel by Jill Connor Browne; One Mississippi by Mark Childress; Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin; The Appeal by John Grisham; Mudbound by Hillary Jordan; The Help by Kathryn Stockett; Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard; The Devil’s Punchbowl by Greg Iles

Missouri– Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg; Anita Blake Series by Laurell K. Hamilton; North Star by Richard Wheeler; Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell; Sin Killer by Larry McMurtry; A Killing Frost by Hannah Alexander; The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain; The Language of Sycamores by Lisa Wingate

Montana– A River Runs Through It by Norman McLean; Montana Sky by Nora Roberts; The Divide by Nicholas Evans; The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans; The Creed Legacy by Linda Lael Miller; Back of Beyond by C.J. Box; Prey by Linda Howard; Santa In Montana by Janet Dailey; Die Trying by Lee Child

Nebraska– One of Ours by Willa Cather; Worth Dying For by Lee Child; The Coffin of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert; The Nebraska Night Riders by Jon Sharpe; Bohemian Girl by Terese Svoboda; The Echo Maker by Richard Powers; One False Move by Alex Kava; The Hangman’s Knot by Daivd Wiltse

Nevada– Vegas Rich by Fern Michaels; Running Scared by Elizabeth Lowell; Dark Eye by William Bernhardt; Midnight Louie Mystery Series by Carole Nelson Douglas; Void Moon by Michael Connolly; Goddess of Vengeance by Jackie Collins; Any Man of Mine by Rachel Gibson; Nightwalker by Heather Graham

New Hampshire– Cell by Stephen King; Cold Ridge by Carla Neggers; A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson; The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve; The Graveyard Game by Kage Baker; A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving; Deadly Kin by Tom Eslick; Escape by Barbara Delinksy; The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

New Jersey– Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich; Cold Truth by Mariah Stewart; Election by Tom Perrotta; Rolling Thunder by Chris Grabenstein; Mobbed by Carol Higgins Clark; Plugged by Eoin Colfer; An Uninvited Ghost by E.J. Copperman; Caught by Harlan Coben; The Penny Pinchers Club by Sarah Strohmeyer

New Mexico– The Wailing Wind by Tony Hillerman; Los Alamos by Joseph Kanon; Tularosa by Michael McGarrity; Extreme Denial by David Morrell; The Bone Fire by Christine Barber; Black Thunder by Aimee Thurlo; Dark Canyon by Louis L’Amour

New York– The 25th Hour by David Benioff; The Alienist by Caleb Carr; The Chosen by Chaim Potok; The Family Trade by Charles Stross; Julie & Julia by Julie Powell; Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger; The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro; Bless the Bride by Rhys Bowen; Push by Sapphire; The Twelfth Card by Jeffrey Deaver; The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

North Carolina– On Agate Hill by Lee Smith; The Ballad of Tom Dooley by Sharyn McCrumb; Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs; The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks; Burnt Mountain by Anne Rivers Siddons; Sand Sharks by Margaret Maron; Nightwalkers by Peter T. Deuterman; Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

North Dakota– Toxic Terrain by Don Pendleton; A Christmas Blizzard by Garrison Keillor; Dakota December by Lauraine Snelling; The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich; Breakfast With Buddha by Roland Merullo; Buffalo Valley by Debbie Macomber; Oh My Stars by Lorna Landvik; An Unlikely Blessing by Judy Baer

Ohio– Beloved by Toni Morrison; Whiskey Island by Emilie Richards; Zombie, Ohio: A Tale of the Undead by Scott Kenemore; A Sister’s Hope by Wanda Brunstetter; God Ain’t Through Yet by Mary Monroe; The Carousel Painter by Judith Miller; Indignation by Philip Roth; Songs for the Missing by Stewart O’Nan; Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie

Oklahoma– Blood Stains by Sharon Sala; Keep a Little Secret by Dorothy Garlock; Ghost in Trouble by Carolyn Hart; Shame by Greg Garrett; Fields of Gold by Marie Bostwick; A Thousand Voices by Lisa Wingate; Goddess of Legend by P.C. Cast; Oklahoma Brides by Vickie McDonough; The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Oregon– Hometown Ties by Melody Carlson; The Oregon Experiment by Keith Scribner; Born to Die by Lisa Jackson; Indigo Blue by Catherine Anderson; Ultraviolet by Nancy Bush; The Shack by William P. Young; Proof Positive by Phillip Margolin; Gone by Lisa Gardner; Clear and Convincing Proof by Kate Wilhelm

Pennsylvania– Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby; The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara; The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold; Christine by Stephen King; The Sixes by Kate White; Fragile Beasts by Tawni O’Dell; A Quilter’s Holiday by Jennifer Chiaverini; The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss; 13 Bullets: A Vampire Tale by David Wellington

Goal: Travel through each US state by book in 2012

Why Participate: I believe reading challenges, like book clubs, motivate people to read more and explore authors and genres they normally wouldn't read.

Rules: As you read your usual preferences, keep track of where the story is set. If a book takes place in more than one state, they all count towards your goal. Try and travel across all 50 states between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. Once you have accomplished your reading goal, post a list of titles and their corresponding states below. There are no prizes, just bragging rights! :)

I actually read this book for one of my classes. You're right about it not being subtle... I see examples of the feed everyday! :)