The Perfect Books To Read in Every State
(Left to right) Isabel Wilkerson, Vintage, Elizabeth Strout, Random House, Lauren Groff, Random House, New York Review of Books, The Huntington, Scribner Book Company, Kiese Laymon, Amistad/ HarperCollins, Jerry Bauer, Random House, Wikimedia Commons, Random House, Bernard Gotfryd, Deep Vellum Publishing, Arrowsmith Press, Random House, Peter Hurley/Vilcek Foundation, Random House, Charles Bock, Knopf, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Bantam, U.S. Printing Office
Before you’re all packed and the route is plugged in, you have to tackle the biggest question of all: what book(s) are we bringing on the journey?
Any American road trip traces storied territory. Every state holds landscapes that inspire writers. Could a cross-country reading list do justice to this creative treasure trove?
At Wildsam, we teamed up with our friends at Lit Hub—the internet’s leading source of news and analysis about writing, books and literary culture—to see what we could do. With a map in hand and overflowing bookshelves, we paired literary gold with every state— and DC!
If you’re craving incisive work from touchstone writers and the beautiful locales to dig in, we’ve got you covered.
Coming soon: Literary landmarks worth a pilgrimage.
ALABAMA
THE novel: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Gifty and her family leave Ghana for Huntsville in this novel drawn from Gyasi's life as the daughter of immigrants.
the nonfiction: Salvation on Sand Mountain by Dennis Covington
A National Book Award finalist, Covington's book covers the trial of Glenn Summerford and a snake handling church in Appalachia with generous curiosity.
WHERE TO READ: Johnny's Restaurant, Homewood
This buzzy meat-and-three is the real place to dine on fried green tomatoes. Stop in for lunch, and then swing by Little Professor, the state's oldest bookshop, which is only a few blocks away.
Alaska
The novel: Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
This tale of an Inuit girl and her adoptive wolf pack is an adventure classic. ALSO OF NOTE: The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon
the nonfiction: Coming into the Country by John McPhee
A master observer of place and people, McPhee's travels through Alaska introduce readers to prospectors, politicians, and the bush community of Eagle.
WHERE TO READ: Alaska State Library, Juneau
The archives, stacks, and reading rooms here don’t skimp on majesty, and the design of the library itself—perched waterside and flanked by Thunder, Jumbo, Juneau, Roberts, and McGinnis peaks—is evocative of a bird poised for flight.
Arizona
THE novel: Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
Cosima "Codi" Noline returns to her rural Arizona home in Kingsolver's 1990 novel, a meditation on grief, family, and homecoming.
the nonfiction: The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez: A Border Story by Aaron Bobrow-Strain What happens when an undocumented teen mother takes on the U.S. immigration system? This book is a harrowing deep-dive into the cost of the American dream.
WHERE TO READ: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson Find 98 acres of botanical garden for walks and many desert landscape reading spots among sky-high saguaros.
ARKANSAS
THE novel: True Grit by Charles Portis
Mattie Ross is 14 when she sets out across western Arkansas seeking justice for the murder of her father; adventure ensues.
the nonfiction: Hipbillies: Deep Revolution in the Arkansas Ozarks by Jared M. Phillips
This archival deep-dive of Ozark beatniks is a departure from more common tales of the counterculture.
WHERE TO READ: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville
Moshe Safdie designed this stunning structure in harmony with surrounding mountain landscape; you can find a rare Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian house here, too.
California
The novel: The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner
A retired literary agent ruminates on choices, memory and a journey to his mother’s birthplace in this National Book Award-winning novel. ALSO OF NOTE: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen; Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler.
the nonfiction: Eve’s Hollywood by Eve Babitz
A wild ride through Los Angeles, rendered in prose that sets the city—and all of its nuanced characters—aglow. ALSO OF NOTE: Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion, a classic collection of essays from another essential voice of California.
WHERE TO READ: Nepenthe, Big Sur
Named for the sorrow-dispelling drug in Homer's Odyssey, this perch is known for its dramatic Pacific views (and vibes); literary legends haunt these parts. BONUS: The Henry Miller Memorial Library is right down the road.
Colorado
The novel: Plainsong by Kent Haruf
This spare, gorgeous novel is set in the High Plains, in the fictional town of Holt.
the nonfiction: Deep Creek by Pam Houston
In these poignant essays, Houston revels in the Rockies’ beauty and chronicles the ways in which her 120-acre ranch high in the San Juan Mountains has healed and inspired her.
WHERE TO READ: Rocky Mountain Land Library, Fairplay
An ongoing labor of love: this residential library is the result of a transformation of an abandoned ranch, celebrating nature and history.
CONNECTICUT
The novel: Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
Trouble brews in a suburban idyll when conventions are questioned and tested. ALSO OF NOTE: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong; Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.
the nonfiction: Yale Needs Women by Anne Gardiner Perkins
In 1969, five women broke the gender barrier at Yale College for the first time; this Connecticut Book Award-winning account follows them through the school’s early years of coeducation.
WHERE TO READ: Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, New Haven
A cathedral of 180,000 volumes (and thousands of linear feet) plus jaw-dropping permanent collections, all accessible for free—heaven for bibliophiles.
OUR FAVORITE POETS IN EVERY STATE IN AMERICA
As part of our collaboration with our friends at Lit Hub, editors from both teams went deep on American poets, old and new. The results are here.
Delaware
The novel: The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez
A star-crossed love story—as well as a choral portrait of the Latino immigrant experience in America—about a Mexican family who move to a Delaware apartment building. ALSO OF NOTE: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk.
the nonfiction: Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
The American anthropologist and left-wing thinker's seminal work of economic anthropology is essential reading in the land where pretty much all American credit cards are based.
WHERE TO READ: Sambo's Tavern, Leipsic
This riverside seafood joint has been serving up state foodway—crab, all ways—for more than half a century.
District of Columbia
THE novel: Cane by Jean Toomer
A classic series of modernist vignettes that evoke Black life in urban and rural settings in the American South.
the nonfiction: Banned in D.C. by Cynthia Connolly
A uniquely vivid, messy, and sweaty photographic document of D.C.'s vibrant early '80s punk underground, which remains a potent force shaping the city's culture.
WHERE TO READ: Busboys & Poets, Anacostia
This bright and bustling neighborhood hub manages to be bar, bookstore, brunch spot and coffeeshop, all rolled into one.
Florida
The short stories: Florida by Lauren Groff
Nature means menace in this lush collection of short stories from three-time National Book Award finalist Groff, who lives and teaches in Gainesville. Notable novel: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead.
the nonfiction: The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
Orlean's investigation of the 1994 arrest of horticulturist John Laroche and a group of Seminoles in south Florida for poaching rare orchids also served as the (very meta) inspiration for the film Adaptation.
WHERE TO READ: Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Miami to Dry Tortugas
Nearly 3,000 square nautical miles of coastal and ocean ecosystem teeming with fish, coral, and birds. Protected, but free.
GEORGIA
The novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
A rich, humane exploration of spiritual isolation in a rural Georgia mill town. ALSO OF NOTE: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.
the nonfiction: The Devil You Know by Charles Blow
This journalist’s manifesto is also a call to action, asking Black Americans to migrate back South.
WHERE TO READ: Spelman College, Atlanta
Reading spots abound on the 39 verdant acres of this historically Black college, where luminaries like Alice Walker and Martin Luther King Jr. once crossed paths.
Hawai'i
The short stories: This Is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakauwila
A collection of raw, vivid stories that invert traditional conceptions of paradise. ALSO OF NOTE: Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn.
the nonfiction: Hawai‘i’s Story by Hawai‘i’s Queen by Queen Lili‘uokalani
A stirring account—first published in 1898, five years after the overthrow of the Kingdom—written by the islands’ last monarch.
WHERE TO READ: Limahuli Garden and Preserve
One of only five National Tropical Botanical Gardens in the U.S.; the Canoe Garden features plants brought over by the region's original Polynesian inhabitants.
Idaho
The novel: Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Fingerbone, Idaho is a living, breathing character in this novel, from Pulitzer Prize winner Robinson, about three generations of women and the homes they make—both material and interior. ALSO OF NOTE: Train Dreams by Denis Johnson.
the nonfiction: Educated by Tara Westover
In this memoir, Westover, born to survivalist Mormon parents in Clifton, shares her harrowing experience of education in the rural Idaho of her childhood, and her journey beyond the confines of her family.
WHERE TO READ: Stanley Baking Company, Stanley
This "little log cabin with a kitchen" in the picturesque mountain town of Stanley (pop. 100) has been a favorite gathering place for tourists and locals alike for over 20 years.
Illinois
The novel: The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
The AIDS crisis infiltrates and upends a community of friends in 1980s Chicago in this multi-generational novel. ALSO OF NOTE: The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow.
the nonfiction: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Wilkerson interviewed more than a thousand people in the crafting of this masterwork about the migration of Black Americans to northern and western cities. ALSO: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.
WHERE TO READ: Gino’s East, Chicago
50 years of graffiti and grease line the walls of this Windy City deep dish pizza institution.
Indiana
The novel: An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
A Terre Haute native, Dreiser published this novel—a study of a notorious murder case, and a resounding indictment of American society—in 1925.
the nonfiction: The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
An exploration of daily joys and wonder from an Indiana University professor and beloved lyricist.
WHERE TO READ: Indiana Dunes National Park, Porter
Inspiration should be easy to find in this lush expanse of shifting sand dunes, wetlands, oak savannahs and 15,000 acres of plant and bird variety.
Iowa
The novel: A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
Smiley's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel transplants the intergenerational drama of Shakespeare's King Lear onto an Iowan farm.
the nonfiction: A Region Not Home: Reflections from Exile by James Alan McPherson
Ruminative and wide-ranging essays by a beloved Writers’ Workshop teacher and Genius Grant recipient.
WHERE TO READ: Art Building West, Iowa City
The shining edifice of this University of Iowa building is a sight to behold—and is surrounded by plenty of good reading spots.
Kansas
The novel: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
This "nonfiction novel", first published as a four-part series in The New Yorker, recounts the 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Holcomb, a farming community in southwest Kansas. ALSO OF NOTE: Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell.
the nonfiction: Heartland by Sarah Smarsh
A memoir that doubles as a cultural examination of socioeconomic disparities in America, written by a fifth-generation Kansan.
WHERE TO READ: Raven Bookstore, Lawrence
In 2019, owner Danny Caine compiled a zine called “How to Resist Amazon and Why,” which has become a rallying cry for readers and independent bookstores alike.
KENTUCKY
The novel: A Place on Earth by Wendell Berry
The 89-year-old writer-poet-activist lives and writes on a working farm in Henry County, from which he's spun out many enduring, interwoven tales of the people in the fictional small town of Port William (inspired by his own hometown of Port Royal).
the nonfiction: Blood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter’s Son by John Jeremiah Sullivan
In Sullivan's first book, he combines reflections on his relationship with his late father with an in-depth history of American horseracing.
WHERE TO READ: Lexington Free Public Library, Lexington
The world's largest ceiling clock—complete with a five-story Foucault’s Pendulum—is housed within this library's rotunda.
Louisiana
The novel: The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
A young New Orleans stockbroker searches for meaning beyond artifice through a Mardi Gras quest; the result is an American masterpiece.
the nonfiction: The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
Broom melds memoir with sweeping historical narrative as she writes about her family history and childhood home as well as the vast racial inequities in the city of New Orleans.
WHERE TO READ: City Park, New Orleans
This park, dotted by 600-year-old live oaks and bordered by bayous, covers 1,300 acres.
Maine
The novel: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
A beloved novel in stories that explores the quiet, mysterious undertow of life in a coastal town.
the nonfiction: Always, Rachel: The Letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman 1952-1964
Impassioned correspondence between the great
environmental writer and her close companion;
the coast’s sublimity features often.
WHERE TO READ: Stephen King House, Bangor
The author’s Bangor Victorian sits behind a wrought-iron fence adorned with spiders and bats, and acts as an archive for writers, by appointment only.
Maryland
The novel: Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
The domestic intimacies of the Tull family unfurl in Tyler’s ninth novel. In his review for The New Yorker, John Updike wrote that Tyler had "arrived at a new level of power.” ALSO OF NOTE: Kindred by Octavia Butler
the nonfiction: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
In a letter to his son, Coates weaves stories of his life—beginning with his childhood at North Collington Avenue in West Baltimore—into an expansive American narrative.
WHERE TO READ: George Peabody Library, Baltimore
An astonishing library with serpentine stairways that guide you to its centerpiece: the soaring stack room complete with tiered balconies.
Massachusetts
The novel: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The March women of Concord’s Orchard House have served as inspiration for generation upon generation of writers.
the nonfiction: I Still Did It by Nakia Hill
"Girls, Write!" workshops yielded this intergenerational anthology filled with stories of resilience from girls and women of color, ranging in age from 10 to 88, all Bostonians.
WHERE TO READ: Gardner Museum, Boston
The immersive art museum’s New Wing joins the glass-walled interior with the Monk’s, Jordan, and Lynch gardens—a special landscape for cracking open a book.
Michigan
The short stories: The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway
These coming-of-age short stories were inspired by Hemingway’s summers at his family’s Northern Michigan cottage. ALSO OF NOTE: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides.
the nonfiction: Black Detroit by Herb Boyd
Part memoir, part cultural history, Boyd's illuminating take on Detroit explores the changemakers and freedom fighters who shaped (and continue to shape) the iconic city.
WHERE TO READ: Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Upper Peninsula
Row out to this park’s island encircled by five lower falls. Four miles upstream, the dramatic Upper Falls cascades nearly 50 feet down, across 200 feet.
Minnesota
The novel: The Sentence, Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich's (fictional) ghost story features the author’s real-life Minneapolis bookstore at its center. ALSO OF NOTE: History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
the nonfiction: All Our Relations by Winona LaDuke
A formative work of Native resistance to oppression, written by an Anishinaabe environmental leader.
WHERE TO READ: Zumbro, Minneapolis
Arrive early for the frittata special and wild rice pancakes at this welcoming bistro.
MISSISSIPPI
The novel: Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
Esch Batiste and her family prepare for Hurricane Katrina in fictional Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, in this National Book Award-winning novel from Ward, who also experienced Katrina.
the nonfiction: Heavy by Kiese Laymon
Laymon's powerful memoir about growing up as a Black man in Jackson, Mississippi reckons with harm in both public and private life.
WHERE TO READ: Bottletree Bakery, Oxford
Grab a coveted counter stool and indulge in croissants, cinnamon rolls, and hand-hewn loaves at this long-running bakery.
Missouri
The novel Stoner by John Williams
William Stoner converts from Missouri farm boy to scholar in this tale of academia, war, and love.
the nonfiction: Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon
Take a vicarious three-month road trip around the United States via Ford Econoline van, with this Boone County writer as your guide.
WHERE TO READ: Loose Park Rose Garden, Kansas City
A public horticultural respite brought to you by the Kansas City Rose Society.
Montana
The novel: Perma Red by Debra Magpie Earling
Debra Magpie Earling's tale of a free-thinking woman on the 1940s Flathead Reservation holds stark present-day relevance.
the nonfiction: Brothers on Three by Abe Streep
More than a sports story (but an exciting one at that), this Montana Book Award winner follows two starters from the Arlee Warriors high school basketball team, who live and play on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
WHERE TO READ: Missoula Public Library
With its state-of-the-art design and breathtaking scenic views, it’s no surprise that this spot was declared the “World’s Best Public Library” of 2022 by the World Library and Information Congress in Dublin, Ireland—the first library from North America to win the prestigious award.
Nebraska
The novel: My Ántonia by Willa Cather
The stories of immigrant Ántonia Shimerda and Jim Burden coalesce in Black Hawk, a town based on the author’s native Red Cloud.
the nonfiction: Old Jules by Mari Sandoz
Droughts, scarcity, and isolation are threaded through oral histories passed down from a pioneer father.
WHERE TO READ: Red Cloud
Consider a pilgrimage to Willa Cather’s hometown, surrounded by farmland and prairie—and packed with nods to the luminary herself.
Nevada
The novel: Beautiful Children by Charles Bock
The son of pawnbrokers tells an intersecting, neon-lit tale of Las Vegas.
the nonfiction: The Main Event by Richard O. Davies
Before Nevada became synonymous with gambling, it earned its nickname the “Sin State” for its embrace of boxing.
WHERE TO READ: The Peppermill
Low neon lighting and purple plush booths serve as the backdrop for this Reno lounge, which serves breakfast and cocktails any time—perfect for 3 a.m. or p.m.
New Hampshire
The novel: The World According to Garp by John Irving
The author’s fifth novel and magnum opus tackles themes of feminism, sexuality, and literary ambition against the backdrop of a New Hampshire boarding school.
the nonfiction: Jane Kenyon: A Literary Life by John H. Timmerman
This examination of the lyric poet's life and work explores the construction of and inspiration behind her poetry as well as her lifelong struggle with manic depression.
WHERE TO READ: Cornish
Visit the tiny town, far from the bustle of New York, to which J.D. Salinger retreated in 1953.
New Mexico
The novel:Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Myth, love and destiny comingle in this coming-of-age classic, set in rural New Mexico in the 1940s.
the nonfiction: Georgia O’Keeffe: A Life by Roxana Robinson
This biography of Georgia O'Keeffe is also the story of New Mexico, the landscape she loved and painted.
WHERE TO READ: St. Francis Cathedral, Santa Fe
Step into the silence of a Romanesque Revival church built on the site of an adobe chapel. Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop includes a fictionalized story of its construction.
NEW JERSEY
THE novel: American Pastoral by Philip Roth
Swede Levov’s rise-and-fall saga, set in 1960s Old Limerock, is the first novel in Roth's American Trilogy, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998.
the nonfiction: The Autobiography of LeRoi Jones by Amiri Baraka
In which the legendary activist, poet, and teacher chronicles his life and provides deeply personal insights into his groundbreaking work.
WHERE TO READ: Little City Books, Hoboken
Browse this much-loved corner indie shop, run by Donna Garban and Kate Jacobs.
New York
The novel: The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe
Three women typists meet while working at a publishing house in this candid portrait of desire. ALSO OF NOTE: Go Tell It On the Mountain by James Baldwin; The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
the nonfiction: Up in the Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell
This collection of essays chronicles encounters with the people of New York, all originally published in the New Yorker between 1943 and 1964. ALSO OF NOTE: The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro.
WHERE TO READ: The Subway
New York's hottest reading spot is underground. Bonus points for the unmatched people (and title) watching potential.
NORTH CAROLINA
The novel: Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier
The author’s follow-up to Cold Mountain, centered on a white orphan adopted by a Cherokee chief, was translated into the Cherokee language by the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in 2007.
the nonfiction: Soul City: Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia by Thomas Healy
In the 1970s, Floyd McKissick dreamed of building a Black city in Warren County, North Carolina. Thomas Healy tells the tale.
WHERE TO READ: Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe, Asheville
This community bookstore spotlights and supports the work of its regional writers and is replete with cozy reading hideaways, too.
North Dakota
The novel: Stephen Florida by Gabe Habash
In Habash's debut novel, a college wrestler obsesses over a championship win; his loneliness is echoed in his surrounding landscape.
the nonfiction: The New Wild West by Blaire Briody
Briody chronicles the dark side of a new Gold Rush as the sleepy town of Williston becomes a boomtown once the frackers arrive.
WHERE TO READ: Badlands Overlook, Medora
The rolling badlands panorama is perfect for spotting elk or bison wandering through the otherworldly buttes.
Ohio
The novel: Sula by Toni Morrison
In Morrison's masterful second novel, an omnicient narrator details the lives of the children Nel Wright and Sula Peace and their families in a tightly woven Ohio neighborhood—the Bottom, on the edge of Medallion.
the nonfiction: The Hard Way on Purpose by David Giffels
This collection of linked essays is an insider’s mining of an American Rust Belt story.
WHERE TO READ: Kenyon College, Gambier
Bring a book and spread out on the classic quad of the home to the esteemed Kenyon Review.
Oklahoma
The novel: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
In this classic of the Great Depression, The Joads—a family of sharecroppers from Sallisaw—set out for California, in hopes of leaving Dust Bowl-induced drought, poverty and hardship behind.
The nonfiction: Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann
In this hallmark true crime investigation, a journalist exposes the Osage Nation murders of the 1920s, a pivotal moment of prejudice that shaped the FBI.
WHERE TO READ: Patience S. Latting Northwest Library, Oklahoma City
This 35,000 square foot feat of glassed architecture resembles oil derricks and looks out on the prairie.
Oregon
The novel: Hard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter
In which orphaned teenager Jack Levitt must live by his smarts on the streets of Portland.
The nonfiction: The Residue Years by Mitchell S. Jackson
This acclaimed memoir chronicles Portland's Black communities in the embattled '90s.
WHERE TO READ: Sylvia Beach Hotel, Newport
This Oregon Coast hotel dates to 1918, each room with a literary theme. A little cheesy? Perhaps—but the purist wifi/TV/phone blackout is worth it
Pennsylvania
THE novel: Rabbit, Run by John Updike
This classic of ennui chronicles three months in the life of Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, a former high school basketball player in a stale town. ALSO: Straight Man, by Richard Russo.
the nonfiction: A Prayer for the City by Buzz Bissinger
The Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist crafts a heartfelt epic of the idiosyncratic Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell.
WHERE TO READ: Tommy DiNic’s
This restaurant possesses pilgrimage-worthy roast pork with provolone and garlicky broccoli rabe.
RHODE ISLAND
THE novel: Agatha of Little Neon by Claire Luchette
When their parish is shut down, Agatha and her fellow sisters start a new life at a halfway house in the former mill town of Woonsocket.
the nonfiction: Dylan Goes Electric by Elijah Wald
A fascinating history of the historic night at the Newport Folk Festival when Dylan plugged his guitar into an amp and left folk music behind.
WHERE TO READ: John Carter Brown Library, Providence
Featuring public exhibits and an indigenous languages collection, with materials sourced from the Arctic to Patagonia, the John Carter Brown Library is not to be missed.
SOUTH CAROLINA
The novel Edisto by Padgett Powell
In Powell's lyrical novel, Simons Manigault comes of age on the titular Edisto, a “named but never discovered place in the South” found between Charleston and Savannah; his mother, “the Duchess,” believes he could be a prodigious writer.
the nonfiction: The Green Book of South Carolina by Joshua Parks
Compiled by the WeGOJA Foundation (on behalf of the SC African American Heritage Commission), The Green Book of South Carolina is a first-of-its-kind travel guide to the most tourist-friendly destinations offering visitors avenues to discover intriguing African American history as they travel the state.
WHERE TO READ: Angel Oak, Johns Island
This gorgeous old tree’s epic branches create sprawling shade perfect for lounging.
Tennessee
The novel A Death in the Family by James Agee
Dual tragedies shape this autobiographical novel, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
the nonfiction: Dreams to Remember: Otis Redding, Stax Records, and the Transformation of Southern Soul by Mark Ribowsky
The Stax Records story is a window into a transformative eria in American Music and properly celebrates the iconic Memphis record label.
WHERE TO READ: Centennial Park, Nashville
A 132-acre oasis in Nashville’s West End.
TEXAS
THE novel: Texas: The Great Theft by Carmen Boullosa
Boullosa's epic historical novel is a fresh and deeply absorbing reimagining of the history of Texas-Mexico borderlands. ALSO OF NOTE: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.
the nonfiction: Goodbye to a River by John Graves
In 1957, Graves traveled down a stretch of the Brazos River by canoe just before a dam would destroy the river's biome.
WHERE TO READ: Barton Springs, Austin
Bathe in this revered, 68-degree urban sanctuary, enjoyed by lap swimmers, sunbathers and plenty of dogs.
UTAH
THE novel: Mormon Country by Wallace Stegner
Wallace Stegner's 1942 chronicle of Mormon life in “lovely Deseret” captures the arid western landscape that the LDS community claimed in its search for a safe haven.
the nonfiction: Finding Abbey: The Search for Edward Abbey and His Hidden Desert Grave by Sean Prentiss
In which Prentiss details his search for the hidden gravesite of environmentalist and writer Edward Abbey, the “Thoreau of the West.”
WHERE TO READ: Bryce Canyon National Park, Bryce
Wander through a maze of fantastic rock hoodoos, painted cliffs and wind-whipped alpine forests—the perfect spot for a little nature reading.
VERMONT
THE novel: The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Academic obsession leads a quintet of eccentrics into occult darkness at the fictional Hampden College in Donna Tartt's cult classic.
the nonfiction: Wandering Home: A Long Walk Across America's Most Hopeful Landscape by Bill McKibben
In his most personal book, Bill McKibben ruminates on wildness as he hikes from Vermont’s Mt. Abraham to the woods of the Adirondacks.
WHERE TO READ: Mad River Valley, Washington County
Beloved for lazy river floats come summer, Mad River is paradise for rock climbers, readers, and sunbathers. Readers looking for a more pastoral backdrop will find it in the valley's villages, where gabled barns and farms are stitched together by covered bridges.
Virginia
THE novel: The Known World by Edward P. Jones
Jones's groundbreaking, Pulitzer Prize winning novel tells the story of Henry Townsend, a Black slave owner in antebellum Virginia, and the stories of those around him.
the nonfiction: The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon-Reed
In Annette Gordon-Reed's game-changing history of the Hemings family, we gain insight into the tangled web of family and exploitation that defined their lives, and the ways in which they fought for agency within an oppressive system.
WHERE TO READ: Belle Isle, Richmond
Sink into your book in this quiet, 54-acre island park in the midst of the James River.
Washington
THE novel: The Cold Millions by Jess Walter
The acclaimed Spokane novelist brings the oft-forgotten radical history of the Northwest to life, taking on the riots over free speech and workers' rights that broke out in his city in the early 20th century.
the nonfiction: Red Paint: An Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk by Sasha La Pointe
Profound and often wrenching, this power ballad of a book binds together two distinct Pacific Northwest threads: unbreakable Indigenous culture and underground rock-and-roll creativity.
WHERE TO READ: Main Street, Port Townsend
At the very tip of the state, marked by a Jamestown S'klallam totem pole, tune into this Victorian port's community with a coffee at Velocity. Walk a few blocks to get lost in two remarkable bookstores: indie gem Imprint and William James, a gobsmacking trove of used and rare.
West Virginia
THE novel: Hawk’s Nest by Hubert Skidmore
Skidmore is known for his beautiful studies of Appalachian life; this story of a mining company and the discontented men who work there is his only remaining novel in print.
the nonfiction: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Memories of a West Virginia family both dysfunctional and free-spirited are the beating heart of Jeannette Walls's 2005 memoir.
WHERE TO READ: New River Gorge, Fayetteville
A whitewater river—one of the oldest on the continent—flows through deep canyons here.
Wisconsin
THE novel: The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
In which the Harpooners—a baseball team at Westish College, a fictional school on the shores of Lake Michigan—embark on a Melville-influenced season.
the nonfiction: Wisconsin Death Trip by Michael Lesy
A mine is shut down in Black River Falls; Wisconsin Death Trip recounts the grisly aftermath.
WHERE TO READ: Boswell Books, Milwaukee
This East Side indie book enclave is a community treasure.
Wyoming
THE novel: Cowboys and East Indians by Nina McConigley
These short stories illustrate both Wyoming's iconic landscape and its constantly shifting culture, weaving in a modern immigrant perspective on the West.
the nonfiction: The Grizzly Years by Doug Peacock
In one of the most singular books about wilderness and wild things, a traumatized Vietnam vet communes with the grizzlies of Yellowstone.
WHERE TO READ: Whitebark Bakery and Cafe, Lander
Lander, a small town with farm and ranch roots, has become a cultural and explorational hub. South of the Wind River Indian Reservation, on the cusp of the mountains, it now draws an adventurous crowd of climbers and hikers. Hang out here to absorb the far-flung creative ethos.
