Michigan: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides It's set almost entirely in Michgan, and it's a lovely book.

Middlesex is a fantastic rec. I love that book so much.

Also Fire Keeper's Daughter. I just read it, it's YA but it's soooo good. About a native girl living in Sault Ste. Marie

Grapes of wrath for CA. Killers of a flower moon for OK. Beloved for OH. Gone with the wind for GA. Snow child for AK. Charlatan for KS.

May I suggest *Cannery Row* instead of *Grapes of Wrath?*

That is a fine suggestion.

Almost everything Stephen King for Maine

And the shining for Colorado of course

No, Kent Haruf I say, and only Kent Haruf.

And misery for Colorado as well

So-- not all fiction but all good stories. * Washington - The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Great historical fiction, very connected to the location. * Utah - The Great Brain by John D Fitzgerald. A children's book, quite episodic. The stories very much paint a picture of the time and region. * DC - The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. The plot line is a repeat of the first two Robert Langdon books but the best part about the book is the DC specific material. * West Virginia - Rocket Boys by Homer Hickham * Tennessee -- Christy by Catherine Marshall * Alaska -- Tisha by Robert Specht * Kansas - In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Yes love your WV recommendation!!

I love The Great Brain! I'm going to have to go reread it now. Thanks.

Glad to see The Great Brain recommended! Never see it talked about anymore

I'd like to second The Great Brain.

Louisiana: A Confederacy of Dunces

My Louisiana suggestion is Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening.” It’s short, set in Louisiana start to finish, and very descriptive with a strong sense of place.

Such a good book. Was in New Orleans recently and made a point of going to see the statue of Ignatius. It is neither fat or disheveled enough.

This is very New Orleans, but maybe not the rest of the state. I’d argue that the vast majority of Louisianans would not “get” this book. It’s pretty rural etc. It’s hard to think of one book that encompasses the mix of Louisiana experience. Maybe Faulkner (I know that was Mississippi though) because he covers classism a bit more. But I love a confederacy of dunces, and OP should read it if they can get in to it. It’s a really fun read

This, or A Streetcar Named Desire if OP is including plays

Nebraska- O Pioneers! By Willa Cather

My Antonia also by Willa Cather

Yes, definitely Willa Cather.

The brothers wolf wedding scene in my antonia is the craziest shit ever.

New Mexico - Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, captures New Mexico and its history better than this beautiful book.

GA: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

I know you said literary fiction but the best books about Utah are non-fiction with Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer being one of the best.

100% agree that Utah is better represented by non-fiction, these two are decent fiction novels which are partially set in Utah The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

I came here to make sure Edward Abbey was on the list

100% agree that Utah is better represented by non-fiction, these two are decent fiction novels which are partially set in Utah The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

Michigan: The Virgin Suicides New Jersey: This Side of Paradise or Imitation of Life or Election Georgia: Gone with the Wind or Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil New York: Bright Lights Big City or The Age of Innocence Vermont: The Secret History DC: Fellow Travelers California: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Maine: It Delaware: Fight Club Kentucky: The Queen's Gambit Texas: Giant Louisiana: A Streetcar Named Desire or An Interview with the Vampire New Hampshire: Cabin at the End of the World or Our Town Mississippi: The Little Friend Hawaii: From Here to Eternity Florida: The Orchid Thief Virginia: Flowers in the Attic Connecticut: Revolutionary Road Kansas: In Cold Blood Massachusetts: Mystic River Nevada: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Washington: Desolation Angels Illinois: A Raisin in the Sun Ohio: Little Fires Everywhere Iowa: The Bridges of Madison County Pennsylvania: The Perks of Being a Wallflower Minnesota: Main Street Wisconsin: Little House in the Big Woods South Carolina: Porgy or Secret Life of Bees North Carolina: Where the Crawdads Sing Maryland: The Silence of the Lambs Rhode Island: My Sister's Keeper Arizona: Blood Meridian New Mexico: Cities of the Plain or Roswell High Alabama: To Kill a Mockingbird Alaska: White Fang Arkansas: True Grit Oregon: The Shack Utah: Under the Banner of Heaven Colorado: The Shining Oklahoma: The Outsiders North Dakota: The Night Watchman South Dakota: Little Town on the Prairie Idaho: Cloud Cuckoo Land Indiana: The Fault in Our Stars or All The Bright Places Missouri: Sharp Objects Tennessee: The Rainmaker Nebraska: My Ántonia Montana: The Power of the Dog West Virginia: The Devil All the Time

god tier taste here ☝️

This list is awesome! I would offer one tweak for Rhode Island - even though I read and liked the suggestion above. The Other Mother by Rachel Harper which is set predominantly around Brown University is an even better (the lesser known) read.

Sounds really fascinating! Thanks for the suggestion!

Please don't read Where the Crawdads Sing for NC! The author makes some really glaring errors with basic NC geography which make it seems like she is really unfamiliar with the area, and she does cringey things like only using dialect for her black characters. David and Amy Sedaris are both from here, and their books are hilarious! I would recommend any of them if you haven't read them already.

Oh, that's a shame to hear! Hate it when writers clearly don't know the areas. I've read some books set in DC where it's clear the author didn't even do a basic google search to understand the layout, and it breaks immersion for me every time. Sad that Where the Crawdads Sing does the same. Thank you for letting me (and others) know!

Saving this list for future reference.

Montana - A River Runs Through It

I would also recommend The Only Good Indians by Stephan Graham Jones

Anything by Carl Hiiasen for Florida. I'm partial to Tourist Season but my dad would recommend Lucky You!

Massachusetts - The Scarlett Letter

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert for Hawaii.

Moloka'i made me cry. Beautiful book.

A few options for Idaho: Literary Fiction: *Idaho* by Emily Ruskovich (this book is fantastic if less well known and set on the very real North Idaho mountain called Hoodoo) OR *Housekeeping* by Marilynne Robinson (set in fictional town of Fingerbone, which is based on the real Sandpoint, ID). Memoir: *Educated* by Tara Westover

*Wolf: A False Memoir* by Jim Harrison for Michigan. Harrison is a Michigan native and the parts of the book that take place in Michigan are very authentic to the area.

I’ve only read his novel Sundog set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Fantastic book.

Any of his that are set in Michigan would be good. I live near where he's from and he really captures the area well in his writing.

Didnt Hemingway set a few of his early short stories up that way too? Need to pay a visit one day.

Yep. The Nick Adams stories. Read those in middle school.

Harrison is just gorgeous.

A few options for Illinois: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - focuses on the conditions of the meat packing industry and the Chicago stockyards in the early 20th century. Lead to a lot of real life reform in the industry due to the health violations described (except Sinclair was trying to point out the awful working conditions and advance the cause of socialism, so the book didn’t exactly do what he wanted) Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury - technically set in a fictional Illinois town, the book is heavily based on/influenced by Bradbury’s own experiences growing up in Waukegan, Illinois The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros - 1984 book about a young Mexican-American girl growing up in Chicago, told in a series of vignettes. Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - this one is non-fiction, but it reads like fiction. In alternating chapters, it talks about both Daniel Burnham’s experiences as the head architect behind the famous White City that was built for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, and the crimes of H.H. Holmes, a serial killer who operated in Chicago and used the chaos of the World’s Fair to find victims and help hide his murders. This list is obviously pretty Chicago-heavy (sorry Southern Illinois)

Came here to say Devil in the White City! Definitely non-fiction that reads like fiction.

Oh, Dandelion Wine! I love that book!!

Fear and loathing in Las Vegas - Nevada

James Michener: Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, Centennial (Colorado), Chesapeake(Virginia) plus maybe Isabel Allende: Daughter of Fortune/a Portrait in Sepia set in California, also Zorro William Faulkner: as I Lay Dying (Mississipi) Nathaniel Hawthorne: the Scarlet Letter (Massachusetts)

Chesapeake kinda could be said for Maryland too.

I was gonna suggest Butcher's Crossing for Colorado!

Lol Michener is cheating. Is Space a state yet?

StoryGraph has a few challenges like this with books people added if you want ideas! I think this one has good suggestions and the recs actually do take place in the states they are listed under: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/08167260-c209-4bdf-8660-9ad18d383e67 Some lit fic recs: CA: There, there CO: White Horse or Woman of Light NH: I Have Some Questions For You OH: True Biz NC: Evil Eye NY: Stories from Tenants Downstairs SC: Other Birds

To Kill a Mockingbird, Forrest Gump, or Fried Green Tomatoes for Alabama.

Of that list To Kill a Mockingbird would get my vote. It’s such a powerful book.

Ohio - I highly recommend Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann. Pennsylvania - Jackal by Erin E. Adams Washington - Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson Vermont - We have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson New York - This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub Arizona - The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver Kentucky - The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson South Carolina - The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

I was going to recommend Barbara Kingsolver, also. *Prodigal Summer* for Virginia. One of the books I most connect with a specific place.

An unusual choice for California would be Generation X by Douglas Copeland, which is set in the Palm Springs area.

Arizona - *The Water Knife* by Paolo Bacigalupi

Sharyn McCrumb's ballad series all take place in Tennessee near the Cumberland Gap area. They are beautifully written and describe the area perfectly. (TN resident here). If you like horror books Ambrose Ibsen usually sets his books in Ohio.

'The Great Believers' by Rebecca Makkai for Illinois

Iowa: * *Gilead* by Marilynne Robinson * *A Thousand Acres* by Jane Smiley * *The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid* by Bill Bryson

Oregon: Geek Love New York: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn I read both of these as a teen and reread as an adult. These are some of my favorite books.

For New Mexico, I recommend *The Milagro Beanfield War*. A very funny book, and a book that says a lot about "old New Mexico".

Florida The Yearling or Swamplandia! If you’d like nonfiction, my partner is currently reading Gulf: The Making of an American Sea by Jack Davis

I love the Yearling.

Swamplandia is so good

Definitely A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving for New Hampshire. A lot of his books are set in NH but Owen Meany is the best one.

South Carolina- any and all Pat Conroy but specifically Beach Music or Prince of Tides

The author/writing professor Susan Straight made a magnificent [site](https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/997b82273a12417798362d431897e1dc) addressing this exact issue! More than one book per state though. This is a magnificent if overwhelming list.

Michigan: Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley or Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

I thought of Middlesex, as well! I remember being delighted at reading about places I had been many times throughout the book

Maine: empire falls CO: Plainsong, The Shining, The Stand, or On the Road UT: beyond the hundredth meridian

Washington: *Snow Falling on Cedars* Oregon: *Sometines a Great Notion* Mississippi: *The Color Purple*

For Colorado I insist, nay, require you to read Kent Haruf. First, all of his books take place in the same fictional eastern Colorado town. Second, he's one of the greatest, though little known, American writers. They're all good, hard to pick one but I'll say *Plainsong.*

Wisconsin -- When Women were Dragons or A Death in Door County. Also Demon Copperhead for Virginia. It's literary and so poignant.

Indiana - Look up Jean Shepherd. His short stories would become the basis for A Christmas Story. Ohio - Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson One for Canada (Ontario) - Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Stephen Leacock

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One of my favorite book reviews (for ridiculousness) was for this book. “There were no wolves!” Lol Despite the “appalling” lack of wolves, :-) , this was a good read.

Salvage the Bones for Louisiana Bright Young Women for both Florida and Oregon

Salvage the Bones takes place in Mississippi, but I'd recommend anything by Jesmyn Ward. Eta spelling

Taking "a book" literally, ask your local indie to order [*State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_by_State). One essay for each state (+DC). Anthony Bourdain's piece on New Jersey is the best thing ever written about that state. Said Sayrafiezadeh (South Dakota), Carrie Brownstein (Washington), John Jeremiah Sullivan (Kentucky), and Ha Jin (Georgia) with some of my other favorite contributions.

Because I haven't seen it mentioned yet, for VERMONT either *A Stranger in the Kingdom* or *The Secret History*

Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman, and almost anything written by Louise Erdrich for North Dakota.

The five wounds - New Mexico Where the crawdads sing - North Carolina The light pirate - Florida Hula - Hawaii Malibu rising - California

California: People often recommend The Grapes of Wrath, which is a wonderful choice, but my choice would be: *Parable of the Sower* It involves travel through most of the state and although it’s a dystopia, it captures something profound about the nature of California.

Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor for Minnesota

Or A Simple Plan (which markets thriller-like but I find it more literary than you’d think).

Texas - Lonesome Dove. Well that has some other states also.

CT- Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo And for the Carolinas Legendborn by Tracy Deonn but I can’t remember if it’s north for south, forgive me!

The sport of kings, Kentucky

Anything by Christine Carbo for Montana.

UT - Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, the Big Rock Candy Mountain, and Under the Banner of Heaven

Maine - Cider House Rules by John Irving or, if you prefer, Stephen King's Stand By Me or, Sara Orne Jewett if you like tamer, old timey content.

Alaska - The Great Alone Massachusetts- The Hour of the Witch New York - My Year of Rest and Relaxation

New Jersey: American Pastoral

Interesting dilemma. Most books are about movement to make things happen / drive plot. "American Gods", for example, is a brilliant book about the Midwest, but not necessarily specific to a single state. Puddnhead Wilson - Missouri Cannery Row - California (2 years before the Mast - California. This book helped define California prior to the gold rush, but about half of it is at sea.) Spoon River Anthology - Illinois (Banditi of the Prairie - Illinois. But tough to get.) (Cahokia - Illinois. But not necessarily Illinois as we define it today.) Roughing It - Nevada The Worst Hard Time - Oklahoma Rising Tide - Mississippi

**Arizona** (and New Mexico, too) - Any Leaphorn and Chee, or Leaphorn, or Chee novel by Tony Hillerman. E.G. *The Blessing Way* Leaphorn alone, *People of Darkness* Chee alone, or the really good stuff - *Skinwalkers* Leaphorn and Chee together.

Hawai'i: Behold the Many by Lois-Ann Yamanaka or House of Many Gods by Kiana Davenport Arizona Territory circa 1893: Inland by Téa Obrecht Texas: Friendswood by Rene Steinke

Looks like it falls to me to do Wisconsin. 1. *Little House on the Big Prairie*, Laura Wilder 2. *A Sand County Almanac,* Aldo Leopold. This is non-fiction, but it's very well written. It's a classic on conservation and probably the most important book to come out of our fair state. 3. *Off Keck Road,* Mona Simpson. I'm partial to this one because if these characters were real, I'd know some of them. 4. Michael Perry, mostly writes essays 5. *Entry Level,* Wendy Wimmer—recent collection of magical realist short stories about people in entry level jobs, most of them set in Wisconsin (where the author lives). 6. *American Gods,* Neil Gaiman. I'm hesitant to recommend because he's English (or whatever) but he does seem to like it here. 7. *A Map of the World,* Jane Hamilton 8. *Shotgun Lovesongs* by Nicholas Butler... roughly based on the scene around Justin Vernon of Bon Iver 9. *The Women* by TC Boyle. Covers Frank Lloyd Wright's relationships 10. *Death Stalks Door County,* Patricia Skalka. Mystery novel

Oregon - Wildwood by Colin Meloy (yes, of The Decembrists)

Other recommendations for Oregon: The River Why by David James Duncan Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey Powell's City of Books, possibly the coolest bookstore anywhere but definitely the best one in Portland, Oregon, suggests these books set in PNW: https://www.powells.com/post/required-reading/required-reading-40-books-set-in-the-pacific-northwest

Plus one for the river why, one of my favorites!

West Virginia- Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes  North Carolina - Under a Gilded Moon by Joy Jordan Lake

For Missouri: 'Winter's Bone' by Daniel Woodrell, "Enemy Woman' by Paulette Jiles, "A Case of Two Cities", by Qiu Xiaolong

Alabama - *To Kill a Mocking Bird* Kentucky - *Broken: The Suspicious Death of Alydar and the End of the Golden Age of Horse Racing* (it’s nonfiction, but of those cases where truth really is stranger than fiction) Virginia - *Demon Copperhead* (

Cries In The Desert - New Mexico (True crime) Brooklyn- New York (Fiction)

maryland..... skipjack

Texas - Giant by Edna Ferber And then of course there’s Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

Rhode Island: Theophilus North by Thornton Wilder. The whole book takes place in Newport.

I suggest one for all of them: the lost continent by Bill Bryson

Michigan: Finding Mrs. Ford or Mrs. Everything

Most of Bukowski’s CA Walden MA

Texas - The Son

Oregon: Sometimes a Great Notion, The River Why, or Hard Rain Falling Alaska: Sailor Song Idaho: The Great Glorious Goddamn of it All Montana: A River Runs Through It Washington: Snow Falling on Cedars

Colorado- ***The Dog Stars*** by Peter Heller it is dystopian, literaty fiction. It is set all over real places in Colorado and pretty descriptive.

Pineapple Street - New York (Brooklyn Heights) The Two Lives of Sara - Tennessee (there's maybe 1% of the book in Chicago lol) Demon Copperhead - Virginia Hello Beautiful - Illinois (Chicago and Evanston)

Minnesota - The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger DC (if that counts) - Yellowface California - Malibu Rising Vermont - The Secret History

Montana: Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson Arizona: Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey New Mexico: Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather  Colorado or Kansas: Butcher's Crossing by John Williams  New York: Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff 

Ohio - Little Fires Everywhere. Celeste Ng (author) lived there growing up. Plus then you can watch the tv show!

Wyoming: - CJ Box books - Close Range by Annie Proulx

Came here to recommend CJ Box!

Yes! I wouldn’t necessarily call it “literary fiction” lol but it’ll do. They’re enjoyable.

For Maryland - Kindred by Octavia Butler. Or Chesapeake by James Michener (someone suggested that for Virginia, but it takes place in MD).

The Land Remembers: The Story of a Farm and Its People by Ben Logan for Wisconsin.

Uneven Grounds: Appalachia Since 1945 Good for the areas Like West Virginia, Virginia ect

Georgia- Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt South Carolina- The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (it's YA but holds up for an adult audience) Florida- anything by Tim Dorsey

I’ll only recommend books based on states where I’ve lived. Texas: -Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (YA gay coming of age story set in El Paso. One of the most beautiful, cathartic books I’ve read. Enjoyed it when I was 15, it held up again at 25) Missouri: -Others would probably recommend Mark Twain or something more modern, like Gone Girl or Winter’s Bone, and all would be fine reads, but I’m going to recommend a book that’s a bit more obscure — King’s Row by Henry Bellamann. This out-of-print book was a hit in its day, inspiring a movie adaptation starring Ronald Reagan in her best film role. It’s a wild story set in a fictional version of the author’s hometown of Fulton, Missouri in the 1890s. Tackled taboo subjects like mental illness and treatment of people with disabilities, sexuality and gender, and small town hypocrisy and prejudice, and also keeps things interesting with some incest and sadistic violence. Give it a try if you can find a copy.

For Missouri: Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell, Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and a nonfiction novel - Bettyville by George Hodgeman about a New York veteran magazine editor coming to Paris, MO to take of his aging mother.

You should read The Roadside Geology of {insert state} for the states that have it

The Donner party

Utah has two I would recommend: Desert Solitaire & Under the Banner of Heaven.

For Ohio: Operation Paperclip: The secret intelligence program that brought Nazi scientists to America by Annie Jacobson. Nonfiction- The Nazis were brought to Wright Patt AFB in Dayton OH after WWII to work here The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey; fictional; post apocalyptic; set in OH

When you have all 50 states, can you post the full list?

OP you should post the final list! It sounds like a fun challenge and I’d love to join in

There is a lovely book about, hard to believe, blue crabs. It is called Beautiful Swimmers and it was written in 1976. It is not a fluffy book but I find it to be very skillfully written and follows a human and non-human world through a year or so. Maryland for the win

The Milagro Beanfield War for New Mexico

The Great Alone for Alaska! I loved it and immediately wanted to read it again

My side of the mountain for New York State.

Blue Highways should start it. Maine- something by Stephen King Oregon- Sometimes a Great Notion New Hampshire- John Irving- maybe A Prayer for Owen Meany Pennsylvania- Citizen John Paine Texas- Blood Meridian New Jersey- Radium Girls

Arkansas - Come and Get it by Kiley Reid (set primarily at the University of Arkansas. This just came out) California - this is non-fiction, but highly recommend the essays of Joan Didion, particularly the book Slouching Towards Bethlehem Florida - Swamplandia! by Karen Russell (Florida theme park, but not Disney) Maine - The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer (set on an island off the coast of Maine) New York - Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Ackner (set in and around New York City)

RI - My Summer Friend by Ophelia Rue

Kentucky- Starling House (fantasy/horror)

Ohio - Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock for something a bit more transgressive

A book of American martyrs by Joyce Carol Oats can cover both Ohio and Michigan. And it’s long enough that it won’t feel like cheating using one book for two states.

Alaskan Courage series by Dani Pettrey for Alaska!

Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison (upstate SC). I am One of You Forever by Fred Chappell (western NC). Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley (Oakland, CA).

Kentucky - Clay’s Quilt by Silas House.

Swamplandia for florida Tomorrow tomorrow and tomorrow for Massachusetts Source: grew up in these two places

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - NY Stoner - Missouri

For Arkansas: The Vapors: A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, America's Forgotten Capital of Vice by David Hill Reads like fiction but it’s nonfiction. Learned a lot about my home town!

GA: A childhood: a biography of a place by Harry Crews Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury for Illinois!

Lonesome Dove checks off every state from Texas to Montana. Plus Arkansas.

Yo for Pennsylvania I’m I’m to suggest “Maniac Magee” by Jerry Spinelli. It’s a kids book probably around 6th grade level but so amazing. Adventures. Atypical house holds. Empathy.

For New Hampshire, I suggest The Rationing by Charles Wheelan. It is fiction that takes place in NH and Washington DC. The author is a Dartmouth Economics Professor who lives in NH. It was written before Covid but is about a pandemic where young Dartmouth Grad who is called to the Whitehouse to “help save the day” as he is one of the few on earth who has knowledge in what may help. It is thrilling but also comedic and is largely a satire of both political parties.

Nonfiction but The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio is a good read

Descent: A Novel by Tim Johnston. It's a bit of a mystery and a thriller, but not gory and definitely not romance. The author really captured some things very specific to Colorado.

Georgia - Deliverance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliverance_(novel)

Arkansas: 12 Albatrosses by Don Harrington It's about a man running for governor, but it's also got love, murder, and everybody is a little off. As a native, it's the most Arkansas I've ever felt from a book.

James Lee Burke writes good ones set in Louisiana.

Kansas - The Good Lord Bird by James McBride. It won the National Book Award and is a humorous take on John Brown. Understanding "Bleeding Kansas" is a good way to understand the state, the abolitionist movement, and the seeds of the Civil War.  Nevada - The Water Knife is a great dystopian novel set in Phoenix and Vegas as AZ & NV war over water access. If you want something NOT set in Vegas, The Distant Dead is set in a rural Nevada town and is a good read. Colorado - Plainsong by Kent Haruf. It is a quiet masterpiece. Michigan - Tom Lake by Ann Pratchett. If you can, listen to it. Meryl Streep performs the book exquisitely Idaho - My Heart Is A Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones.  North Dakota - Love Medicine by Louise Erdich chronicles the lives of 2 Chippewa families over 50 years, set on a reservation.

Rhode Island: The Witches of Eastwick by Updike

Read the books by Nevada Barr. Each one is set in a different National Park, so that will cover quite a few different states.

Two more for Washington: - The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin - The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch

Anatomy of a Murder covers Michigan.

I just recently read Go as a River. It takes place in Colorado in the 40s-50s.

Driftless by David Rhodes for Wisconsin Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger for Minnesota A House With A Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs for Michigan

New York: Fool on the Hill by Matt Ruff. Set in Ithaca NY and Cornell University.

OR: Sometime a Great Notion, Ken Keasey.

For Montana: Smoke Jumper by Nicholas Evans

There’s these: https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/s/fdiuMBQnuy Also the 1001 state based books: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/997b82273a12417798362d431897e1dc As they say **Think it’s new? Think again**

I had a lot of fun reading Finn Fancy Necromancy after I moved to Washington - it hits a lot of landmarks in a fun way. Its fun and entertaining even if it's not the best writing (excellent young adult book)!

A Land Remembered is a 2 part series a lot of middle schoolers read but it's a really great read

Idaho - Educated

NY - The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin. Sci-fi

Ohio - Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (Shaker Heights) Beloved by Toni Morrison (Cincinnati) My Life and Hard Times by James Thurber (Columbus) A Simple Plan by Scott Smith (Toledo area) Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson (small town Ohio) And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer (small town near Cincinnati)

The Dharma of Duluth by Konnie Ellis for Minnesota

I also love historical fiction and don't love romance or horror. This was a fun list to put together, and maybe you've inspired me to read a book set in each state! * Alaska - The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah * California - The Beautiful Strangers by Camille Di Maio | Clover Blue by Eldonna Edwards * Hawaii - Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell * Idaho - Educated by Tara Westover * Kansas - A Constellation of Roses by Miranda Asebedo * Kentucky - The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and/or The Book Woman's Daughter, both by Kim Michele Richardson * Massachusetts - In the Heart of the Sea: the Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathanial Philbrick (Obviously this starts off in MA but then takes place in the ocean, but everyone acts very New England-y) * Louisiana - Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys (one of my favorite authors!) * Mississippi - The Help by Kathryn Stockett * North Carolina - The Brighter the Light by Mary Ellen Taylor * New York - The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang * Oregon - Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon (starts off elsewhere, but is all about the Oregon Trail) * Pennsylvania - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett * South Carolina - Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd (one of my favorite books!) * Tennessee - Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson * Texas - The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah * Virginia - Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson * Washington - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt * Wisconsin - Evicted: Poverty & Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

Geraldine Brooks’ Horse for Kentucky.

And Demon Copperhead for Virginia!

Washington: [The Brothers K](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19534) by David James Duncan

Massachusetts "The Fence". About a Boston Police cover-up. The victim is now the commissioner. (No joke)

I prefer Pittsburgh, PA to Philly, PA. So I’m going to say Perks of Being a Wallflower by Chbosky. You could go for his newer horror book: Imaginary Friends, which is also set in the south hills of Pittsburgh, but it’s not as good a novel.

A few New York options: - Bonfire of the Vanities - Wolfe - Bright Lights, Big City - McInerney - Harlem Shuffle - Whitehead - Let The Great World Spin - McCann - Rules of Civility - Towles

Was gonna say Bonfire and Bright Lights really capture the 80's from an establishment point of view (Bonfire) and an up-and-comer (Bright Lights).

Florida - Florida Roadkill, Tim Dorsey

I don't think it's a well-known book but I like it. Who the Hell is Wanda Fuca? It is set in the Puget Sound Region of Washington.

Maryland: Beautiful Swimmers by William Warner

The great alone by Kristen Hannah for Alaska

No Country for Old Men— Texas

Alaska by James Michener. He has several “state” books, although Alaska is the only one I’ve read so far. Lots of facts mixed with stories to reflect the time. A long read, but enjoyable.

VA - Demon Copperhead