50 State Challenge

[Maeve]

Anybody interested in a 50 State Challenge? I am inspired to this by this book I just read called How the States Got Their Shapes. I thought it could be cool to read a book set in each of the 50 US States or have the state in the title (For example "Looking for Alaska"). Anyone interested in this challenge? We could list our books here.

Also, if you are interested in reading How The States Got Their Shapes, I have started a bookring for it over at bookcrossing:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/20/...

[Katrina]

The around the world in 80 books group does this challenge and it seems really popular over there, so it may be worth a look to help get recommendations for specific states. I'm focusing on reading my way around the world at the moment so can't participate.

[Anna]

I'd love a 50 states challenge... I guess it'll be a release a book in each state where I've been to or will be in. And at least one in each country I visit...
I love the show by the way, I'm totally addicted to it. H2 channel is awesome :)

[Cheryl]

I'll join you in the 50 State challenge, at least the reading part. (Not the releasing part Anna's talking about.)

And I read a book already, if we say it starts when you posted the first comment, Feb. 17.

[Cheryl]

I'm glad other people are doing this, if only to remind me to add mine in as I go along! And of course I'm enjoying seeing what everyone here is reading, too.

Maine The Young Man and the Sea A wise and funny MG (ages 8-12 or so) adventure by an author who has done even better. Was good for a sense of place.

Illinois (Chicago) Bushman Lives! Smart, funny YA for the cynical and the hopeful, better for true fans of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams than for me. Not particularly of Chicago.

Oregon Ramona the Brave I think this is my second favorite of the series, after Ramona and her Father. Most any suburb would work fine for these universally appealing stories.

Missouri (St. Louis) Gateway Even though much of this took place in an SF alternate world, I still felt the summer heat & humidity of MO in Shinn's writing. And the frame, with the gateway Arch and the park, was interesting.

Iowa The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - (sigh) I listened to it while doing light housework etc. - but that's all that made this memoir/ pop history mess worth my time. Others love it though.

New York (NYC) The Voice of the Turtle: A Comedy in Three Acts A charming play from the WWII era about an actress who's conflicted about whether she wants to be a bohemian, a gold-digger, or the sweetheart of a good man.

Wisconsin Truck: A Love Story Gorgeously poetic writing about the kind of community I grew up in. Actually, Perry's community is in the next county from the one I grew up in.... ;)

Minnesota Mapping the Farm: The Chronicle of a Family Recommended to me by Perry; a more straightforward biography of several generations of a family of farmers.

Arizona As the Crow Flies Just a picture-book, and not really specific to AZ, but it'll do if I don't find anything better.

California (San Francisco) Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore I recommend this as likely to appeal to BookCrossers, as well as to almost everyone else. I didn't think I'd like it, based on the description, but you can see in my review that I was glad I did (for a group discussion). http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Hawaii Jungle Dogs For younger readers, an adventure and coming-into-manhood story that evokes modern rural life on the island brilliantly.

[Paula]

I'll try and see how many I can get. Sounds fun.

[Lamilla]

I believe the only state I will get for sure is Louisiana, since I haven't finished Sookie series yet. Let's see if I could get anything else!

If your book will ever come to Europe, I'd love to read it

[Maeve]

If there is a lack of US interest I will open it up. There are so many books to read I guess the Americans are swamped :)

[Cheryl]

Lamilla wrote: "I believe the only state I will get for sure is Louisiana, since I haven't finished Sookie series yet. Let's see if I could get anything else!"

Maeve, were you thinking of limiting this challenge to a certain time frame? Like, Read books representing all 50 states in one year?

[Maeve]

I don't know. That would be cool, a book a week just about but that would limit other reading. Maybe 3 years?

[Cheryl]

That sounds much more doable!

[Paula]

I might be able to do it in 3 years!

[Lamilla]

1/50
I got Wyoming with the Brokeback Mountain

[Paula]

I have 9 so far:

1. New York - The Story Sisters - Alice Hoffman

2. Maine - Valentine Murder-Leslie Meier

3. Connecticut - Two Little Girls in Blue - Mary Higgins Clark

4. Florida - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children-Ransom Riggs

5. Pennsylvania - The Last Confession-Solomon Jones

6. Colorado - Peppermint Twisted-Sammi Carter

7. Georgia - The Witch's Grave - Phillip DePoy

8. Minnesota - Off the Grid - P J Tracy

9. Arizona - Son of a Gun - Justin St. Germain

10. Kansas - The Chaperone - Laura Moriaty

11. Washington DC - Behind the Scenes, or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House - Elizabeth Keckley

12. Virginia - Spare Change - BEtte Lee Crosby

13. Nebraska - Tears on a Page - Patricia Young

14. Montana - The Bartender's Tale - Ivan Doid

15. New Jersey - Explosive Eighteen - Janet Evanovich

16.California - A Darkness More Than Light - Michael Connelly

17. Texas - Zero at the Bone - Mary Willis Walker

18. Alaska - Two Old Women - Velma Wallis

19. Massachusetts - Lying With Strangers - James Grippando

20. W. Virginia - Billy Creekmore - Tracy Porter

21. Hawaii - Blood & Orchids - Norman Katkov

22. Alabama - Hope's Son - Andrew Bridge

23. Michigan - Starvation Lake - Bryan Gruley

24. N. Carolina - Serena - Ron Rash

25. Idaho - Killer Summer - Ridley

26. Tennessee - Ask a Shadow to Dance - Linda George

27. Ohio - Saving CeeCee Honeycutt - Beth Hoffman

28. New Hampshire - Rebel Angels - James Rice

29. Kentucky - The Rosewood Casket - Sharyn McCrumb

30. Illinois - The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 - Charles River Editors

[Lamilla]

Paula wrote: "7. Florida - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children-Ransom Riggs"
I have this book in wishlist for a while, maybe this year is the right time to read it at last!

[Paula]

It was an ok read for me Lamilla but you might like it more, it was just more fantasy than I normally like.

[Cheryl]

Wow Paula! You got 9 books in 11 days?!

[Paula]

No Cheryl, I wish I could read that fast. Nothing was said (that I saw) :) when it started so I just started with my books from January til now. If it's not supposed to be that way, I'll make adjustments.

[Cheryl]

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "I'll join you in the 50 State challenge, at least the reading part. (Not the releasing part Anna's talking about.)

And I read a book already, if we say it starts when you posted the first comment, Feb 17..."

Maeve, we need a ruling!

It's totally cool with me either way, no big deal at all, don't want to turn this into a competition - but I think it's most fun if we're all together. :)

[Maeve]

Um... I guess the start date was from when I posted? Good job all you busy readers!

[Cheryl]

Thanks!

[Cheryl]

Added two more juv. to my post above. I'm reading adult books, too, but they're SF and non-fiction. :)

[Lamilla]

I'm reading Dead Run by P.J. Tracy for Wisconsin.

[Cheryl]

Dead Run for the link, if anyone else wants to investigate it. I assume it's a thriller - is it good?

[Cheryl]

I just added Iowa to my list above.

[Paula]

ok, I have edited and brought mine up to date now. I have 10 so far.

[Cheryl]

Terrific, Paula!

[Cheryl]

I've just added several more to my post above. I'm finding that a clearly drawn and specific setting can enrich a book and make me enjoy it more.

[Paula]

I've just updated mine also, I now have 14.

[Cheryl]

And an impulse grab at the library got me Hawaii. Another juvenile, (for about age 11-14), but a good book that could not have taken place anywhere else.

[Paula]

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "And an impulse grab at the library got me Hawaii. Another juvenile, (for about age 11-14), but a good book that could not have taken place anywhere else.

Have to get them when you can! LOL

[Cheryl]

Thanks Paula!

[Paula]

Just updated my states. Getting there but I seem to read a lot of New York books! LOL

[Cheryl]

Whoot, making progress!

I'm reading too much SF... last I checked, neither the Moon nor Mars was our 51st state... ;)

[Paula]

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "Whoot, making progress!

I'm reading too much SF... last I checked, neither the Moon nor Mars was our 51st state... ;)

LOL, not yet!

[Edwina]

I'd like to join, if it isn't too late.
I just saw this and it sounds like fun.

[Edwina]

List of States.
To help me keep track.

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California - Dog Aliens 1: Raffle's Name - Cherise Kelley
Colorado
Connecticut - In A Dark Place - Ray Garton
Delaware
Florida
Georgia - The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers
Hawaii - The Colony - John Tayman
Idaho
Illinois - Please Stop Laughing At Me...: One Woman's Inspirational Story - Jodee Blanco
Indiana - The Basement: Meditations on a Human Sacrifice - Kate Millett
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana - Dead Reckoning - Charlaine Harris
Maine - Salem's Lot - Stephen King
Maryland
Massachusetts - Closer By The Mile - Ken Brack
Michigan - Zombie - Joyce Carol Oates
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey - The Girl Next Door - Jack Ketchum
New Mexico
New York - Plain and Simple: A Journey to the Amish - Sue Bender
North Carolina - North Carolina Legends - Richard Walser
North Dakota
Ohio - Death Ride At Euclid Beach - John Stark Bellamy
Oklahoma
Oregon - If I Stay - Gayle Forman
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina - Speaks the Nightbird - Robert McCammon
South Dakota
Tennessee - Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab - The Body Farm - Where the Dead Do Tell Tales - Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson
Texas - Death Ain't But A Word - Zander Marks
Utah
Vermont
Virginia - Kill Game - Francine Pascal
Washington - The Art Of Racing In The Rain - Garth Stein
West Virginia - The Mothman Prophecies - John A. Keel
Wisconsin
Wyoming

[Cheryl]

Welcome Edwina!
Feel free to fill in books you've read since Feb 17th, 2013, which was our 'only-a-little-bit-official' start date.

[Edwina]

Are non-fiction books allowed or is this limited to fiction only ?

[Cheryl]

We've never defined such a limit, as far as I know, but I would certainly welcome non-fiction, especially history, biography, architecture...

I have read some pop-science books that I'm wondering about. Imagine a researcher doing psychology surveys with all the graduate students at UCLA. Does the book take place in California? Well, the professor would say No, because she'd want to assume her findings were more universal, that somehow they'd apply even to Norwegian bachelor farmers in Lake Wobegon (Lake Wobegon Days). Otoh, of course, maybe her findings are peculiar to California, and so I could claim that book for this list.

I am pretty sure if I were reading Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun, I'd claim the state where she works through her project. (New York) And I'd make this decision even though I find that a lot of what she writes is, actually, applicable to people not part of the NYC culture.

[Maeve]

Ok, I haven't been active on the thread but I have been actively reading! Here is my list so far:

Alabama -
Alaska - Drop City by T.C. Boyle
Arizona - Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
Arkansas – I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
California - How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown, The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Colorado - Bellwether by Connie Willis
Connecticut - Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
Delaware - Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Florida – Basket Case by Carl Hiassen
Georgia – The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Hawaii - The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings
Idaho - Godforsaken Idaho by Shawn Vestal
Illinois - John Dies at the End by David Wong
Indiana - All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Iowa - Dewey by Vicki Myron & Bret Witter
Kansas - Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool
Kentucky - Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place by Bell Hooks
Louisiana - Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Maine -
Maryland - Every Day by David Levithan
Massachusetts – The Blithedale Romance by Nathanial Hawthorne
Michigan – The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides
Minnesota -
Mississippi - Salvage the Bones by Jessamyn Ward
Missouri - Truman by David McCullough
Montana - Missoula by Jon Krakauer
Nebraska - Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Nevada - Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
New Hampshire -
New Jersey - Nemesis by Philip Roth, The Godfather by Mario Puzo
New Mexico - Code Talker by Chester Nez
New York – A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes
North Carolina - Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
North Dakota -
Ohio - A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
Oklahoma - Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Oregon - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Pennsylvania - The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
Rhode Island -
South Carolina - South of Broad by Pat Conroy
South Dakota -
Tennessee -
Texas - Path to Power by Rober Caro
Utah - Moon Palace by Paul Auster
Vermont - The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster
Virginia - The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Washington - The Art of Racing in the Rain
by Garth Stein
West Virginia - The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
Wisconsin -
Wyoming – Contact by Carl Sagan
Washington DC - The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, and the Battle for the Supreme Court by Cliff Stoan.

[Maeve]

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "We've never defined such a limit, as far as I know, but I would certainly welcome non-fiction, especially history, biography, architecture...

I have read some pop-science books that I'm wondering ..."

I'm definitely all for any genre! As long as it's about/set in/or includes the state in the title it's fair game!

[Cheryl]

Sounds good!, Thanks Maeve.

You've been reading a diversity of books, too, good on ye! I really enjoyed Mike Brown's memoir about Pluto.

[Maeve]

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "Sounds good!, Thanks Maeve.

You've been reading a diversity of books, too, good on ye! I really enjoyed Mike Brown's memoir about Pluto."

It was great! I am glad you liked it too. I love reading a broad variety. If this were limited to fiction or a particular genre I'd be out of luck! After all the book that inspired was non-fiction after all! :)

[Maeve]

Edwina wrote: "I'd like to join, if it isn't too late.
I just saw this and it sounds like fun."

Welcome by-the-way! :)

[Sonja]

I just saw this thread and would love to join too! One of my favorite things about reading is the arm-chair travel and getting a feel of how people live in other parts of the country. This is a perfect challenge for me! Thanks for starting it.

My books do much more actual traveling than I do :)

[Maeve]

Sonja wrote: "I just saw this thread and would love to join too! One of my favorite things about reading is the arm-chair travel and getting a feel of how people live in other parts of the country. This is a p..."

Welcome Sonja!

[Sonja]

Washington = Dream Lake by Lisa Kleypas - Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands --

Friday Harbor : Caution: many of the 8,000 year-round residents of San Juan Island fell in love with it during their first visit, and the town of Friday Harbor was where it all began. (Often it was love at first sight, before they even got off the ferry.) In this historic, compact, and very walkable town, the hub of the island, you can easily fill a delightful day. Stroll through art galleries, bookstores, and antique shops, sample a bouquet of boutiques, stop for a cafe lunch or enjoy a world-class dinner overlooking the harbor, visit The Whale Museum and the San Juan Historical Museum, or meander through the marina.

This book is part of a series of three set in Friday Harbor... the author gives a good feel of the Island life and the people that live it. Along with a good ghost story stirred in. I would love to visit here one day.

I have this book in paperback and if you would like to read it, I'll be happy to mail it to you.

[Nancy]

It is a little late to start, but I will start paying greater attention to the setting of each book. Maybe I can get a few done before the year is up. Probably not all fifty states.

[Edwina]

Nancy wrote: "It is a little late to start, but I will start paying greater attention to the setting of each book. Maybe I can get a few done before the year is up. Probably not all fifty states."

Nancy, There is a 3 year time limit on this, so you have plenty of time. :)