Around the World in 80 Books discussion

No time frame, just a goal to visit all 50 states, plus DC. Starting with my reads as of 2022.

1. Alabama: A Redbird Christmas
2. Alaska: Into the Wild
3. Arizona: The Stand
4. Arkansas: All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir
5. California: Lessons in Chemistry
6. Colorado: The Bride Collector
7. Connecticut:
8. Delaware:
9. Florida: Their Eyes Were Watching God
10. Georgia: Gone with the Wind
11. Hawaii:
12. Idaho: Educated
13. Illinois: Dark Matter
14. Indiana: Turtles All the Way Down
15. Iowa: The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
16. Kansas: The Queen's Gambit
17. Kentucky:
18. Louisiana: Broken Bayou
19. Maine: Orphan Train
20. Maryland:
21. Massachusetts: The Scarlet Letter
22. Michigan: Firekeeper’s Daughter
23. Minnesota: The Sentence
24. Mississippi: Whistling Past the Graveyard
25. Missouri: Enemy Women
26. Montana: The Whistling Season
27. Nebraska: The Lincoln Highway
28. Nevada:
29. New Hampshire: A Prayer for Owen Meany
30. New Jersey: Gone for Good
31. New Mexico: Upgrade
32. New York: Pride
33. North Carolina: The Notebook
34. North Dakota:
35. Ohio: The Bluest Eye
36. Oklahoma: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
37. Oregon: Crying in H Mart
38. Pennsylvania: Bossypants
39. Rhode Island:
40. South Carolina: The Violin Conspiracy
41. South Dakota:
42. Tennessee: Nothing to See Here
43. Texas: The Four Winds
44. Utah:
45. Vermont:
46. Virginia: Hidden Figures
47. Washington: Where Did You Go Bernadette
48. West Virginia:
49. Wisconsin:
50. Wyoming:
51. Washington D.C.: Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
State New Hampshire
Read February 2022
Rating 4 Stars
1/50

Educated by Tara Westover
State Idaho
Read March 2022
Rating 5 stars
This book is staying with me. One of my most recommended books this year (so far)
2/50

Where Did You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
State Washington
Read March 2022
Rating 3 1/2 stars
3/50

Pride by Ibi Zoboi
State New York
Read March 2022
Rating 3 1/2 to 4 stars

A modern day Pride and Prejudice
4/50

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
State Iowa
Read April 2022
Rating 3 stars
5/50

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land
State: Washington, revisit
Read April 2022
Rating 2 1/2 stars

The writing is probably better then I rated, but I did not like the author (memoir)

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
State: Virginia
Read May 2022
Rating 4 stars
6/50

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
State: Illinois
Read June 2022
Rating 4 stars
7/50

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
State: Maine (and others)
Read June 2022
Rating 3.5 stars
8/50

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
State: Oregon
Read July 2022
Rating 4.5 stars
9 out of 50+1

Upgrade by Blake Crouch
State: New Mexico (could work for multiple)
Read July 2022
Rating 4.5 stars
10 out of 50+1

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
State: Minnesota
Rating 3.5
11 out of 50+1

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
State: Texas
Rating 5 stars
12 out of 50+1

Gone for Good by Harlan Coben
State: New Jersey
Rating 3.5 stars
13 out of 50 +1

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
State: South Carolina
Rating 4.5 stars
14 out of 50+1

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
State: Indiana
Rating: 5 stars
15 out of 50+1

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
State: Nebraska (also works for New York)
Rating: 4.5 stars
16 out of 50+1

The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
State: Montana
Rating: 3.5 stars
17 out of 50+1

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
State: California
Rating: 4 stars
18 out of 50+1

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
State: Massachusetts
Rating: 4 stars
19 out of 50+1

The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker
State: Colorado
Rating 4 stars
20 out of 50+1

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis
State: Kansas
Rating: 4 stars
21 our of 50 +1

Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
State Mississippi (also Tennesee)
Rating 4 stars
22 out of 50 + 1

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
State: Alabama
Rating: 3 stars
23 out of 50+1

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
State Tennessee
Rating: 4.5 stars
24 states out of 50+1

Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles
State: Missouri
Rating 2 stars
25 states

I read 25 states in 2022, my goal for 2023 is to complete the rest.

This may not happen as I will be having some major life changes in 2023, including moving overseas (US to North Africa) which will mean leaving many books behind and limited access to libraries.

Bossypants by Tina Fey
State: Pennsylvania
Rating 3.75 stars (audio added that last bit)
26 states out of 50+1

The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison
State: Ohio
Rating 3 stars
27 out of 50 +1

All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir by Beth Moore
State: Arkansas
Rating: 5 stars
28 out of 50+1

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl
Washington DC
Rating 3.5 stars
29 out of 50+1

This probably fits better under Virginia but I had already read that state and since DC was mentioned at least 3 times as places he played and went to I thought it would work here as well.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Florida
Read in 2023 but posting in 2024.

Good book and I am glad to have read this classic.

30 out of 50+1

My goal for 2024 is to finish up the states. I thought I was going to in 2023 but didn't do planning well enough. Hopefully finishing this year.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Georgia
Rating 4.5. Almost perfect but I struggled with the racism.

31 out of 50+1

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
North Carolina


Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
Oklahoma

33 out of 50+1

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Alaska (and other states)

34 states out of 50

Broken Bayou by Jennifer Moorhead
Louisiana

35 states out of 50

The Stand by Stephen King
Arizona

This book has many different settings throughout the USA. I am using one of the settings to fill a state I haven't gotten to yet.

36 states out of 50

Firekeeper’s Daughter Angeline Boulley
Michigan

37 out of 50