Jenny (Reading Envy)’s Comments (group member since Jun 28, 2012)

Jenny (Reading Envy)’s comments from the Around the USA in 52 Books group.

I notice that the last post is April 20, 2016. Should we cross this one off and consider it done?

:)

This was a fun project!

Oh hello, dear group. I accidentally read a book set in New Mexico, which was on my list of books I didn't own yet or anything. It was The Atomic Weight of Love: A Novel by Elizabeth J. Church and my review is here.

Congratulations! I've been at it a few years but not too intentionally so I still have a few outliers. Which was your absolute favorite?

Suzanne wrote: "Yrinsyde wrote: "I finished An Untamed Land for North Dakota the other day, It was meh."

It's not easy finding good books set in North Dakota..."

I'd probably just read Louise Erdrich for ND.

I had a review copy of The Flood Girls by Richard Fifield, an easy read about recovery and amends in small-town Montana. My review is here.

Because it is a finalist for the National Book Award in the USA, I just read The Turner House by Angela Flournoy. It ended up being a good read about different generations of a family living in Detroit, so it counts for Michigan. Of course I already had a Michigan, but maybe you don't!

Suzanne wrote: "I just loved Kindred! Because of the perspective of a modern day person, it makes the life of slavery come even more alive to the reader. It still haunts me. "

I don't think it will leave me any time soon. Much like her Parable novels!

I was in antebellum Maryland with Kindred by Octavia Butler. It starts in Los Angeles in 1976, but the main character time travels to antebellum Maryland. It is horrific, heart-wrenching, and possibly the best novel about slavery I've read. Here is my review.

Thanks! I still have five states that I don't own books from so this helps.

Martha wrote: "I forgot to ask.. Is Around the USA just fiction or can we add non fiction? Like The Wright Brothers..North Carolina"

However you want to do it is up to you. Some people restrain themselves to books about a place written by people from that place but that's the most extreme. Non-fiction is fine, genre is fine, even poetry. It's nice to have some variety, in my opinion.

Wow good for you!

Just left Minnesota with Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal. It includes a covered dish, people of Scandinavian descent, and church ladies. My review is here.

Stacey wrote: "I loved Stoner - and other works by John Williams. You should read Augustus (not For the USA book list) and Butcher's Crossing (Kansas and Colorado). He is just terrific!"
You are the second person to mention Butcher's Crossing!

I visited Missouri of the first half of the 20th century with Stoner by John Williams. It was excellent, highly recommended, less than 300 pages. Not about drugs. :)

My review is here.

I was in a very cold post-apocalyptic Virginia with Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm. My review is here.

I'm in Utah with Desert Solitaire.

In 2014 I read 26 more books for this challenge but still have some states left to cover! This was a great year for southern lit, since that was another one of my goals, I'm pleased!

Florida
Continental Drift

Georgia
The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories
The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor

Illinois
The Pale King

Iowa
Lila

Kansas
Doc

Kentucky
Nathan Coulter
Ultima Thule

Massachusetts
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Mississippi
The Optimist's Daughter
Long Division

Missouri
In the Course of Human Events: A Novel

Montana
A River Runs Through It and Other Stories

New Hampshire
The Last Policeman

New Jersey
American Pastoral

North Carolina
A Land More Kind Than Home

Oregon
Geek Love

Rhode Island
The Witches of Eastwick

South Carolina
Between Wrecks

Texas
Drift: A Novel

Virginia
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

West Virginia
Hill William
In the Garden of Stone

So! The states I have left, I'm going to try to finish up in 2015. That will be Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Should be doable! I've read some books set in some of those states but never for this challenge, and I did promise myself to start fresh.

I'm in New Jersey with American Pastoral by Philip Roth.

I was in Florida and picked books set there, including:

-Continental Drift by Russell Banks, set partly in the Bahamas too. My review is here.

-Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer, book three of the Southern Reach trilogy. My review is here.

I abandoned Waterloo, one of the two books I had been considering for Texas. It is the story of politicians in Austin, and was just not very interesting.