books & novels | u.s.a. |

Before and during my travels, and sometimes after, I read literary fiction or memoirs set in my destination. Sometimes I also read historical accounts. I enjoy the process of immersing myself in a place before I go, getting a feel for the culture and what defines a place. Reading ignites my imagination about a place and its inhabitants. Reading once I return home extends my travel experience.

The following list of books set in the United States is a work in process.  I invite readers to suggest additional books set in these locales in the comments below. I’m most interested in including memoir, literary fiction, historical accounts or essays, not guidebooks.  Links to Goodreads and my Star ratings (1-5) are provided for books I’ve actually read.  The books in bold green are ones I already own but haven’t yet read.

  1. Iconic American Road Trip Books
    • Non-fiction ↓
      • The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America by Bill Bryson
      • Postcards from the End of America by Linh Dinh
      • Wanderful: The Modern Bohemian’s Guide to Traveling in Style by Andi Eaton ****
      • The Cruise of the Rolling Junk by F. Scott Fitzgerald
      • American Nomads: Travels with Lost Conquistadors, Mountain Men, Cowboys, Indians, Hoboes, Truckers, and Bull Riders by Richard Grant ***
      • Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon (begins & ends in Missouri)
      • Trespassing Across America: One Man’s Epic, Never-Done-Before (and Sort of Illegal) Hike Across the Heartland by Ken Ilgunas
      • Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad
      • A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins
      • Road Trip USA: Cross Country Adventures on America’s Two-Lane Highways by Jamie Jensen
      • On the Road by Jack Kerouac ****
      • Charles Kuralt’s America by Charles Kuralt
      • Trip of the Tongue: Cross-Country Travels in Search of America’s Languages by Elizabeth Little
      • The Great American Road Trip by Eric Peterson
      • Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
      • Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck *****
      • Wild by Cheryl Strayed
      • Cross Country: Fifteen Years and Ninety Thousand Miles on the Roads and Interstates of America with Lewis and Clark by Robert Sullivan
      • The Best American Travel Writing 2000, Ed. Bill Bryson
      • The Best American Travel Writing 2015, Ed. Andrew McCarthy
      • The Best American Travel Writing 2016, Ed. Bill Bryson ***
    • Fictional road trips ↓
    • Staying at home or stay-cations ↓
      • The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere by Pico Iyer
      • This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live by Melody Warnick
  2. U.S. States (& the District of Columbia)
    1. Alabama ↓
      1. All Over but the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg
      2. Burying the Honeysuckle Girls by Emily Carpenter
      3. A Walk Through Fire by William Cobb
      4. The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton
      5. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
      6. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
      7. Hell at the Breech by Tom Franklin
      8. The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau
      9. Forrest Gump by Winston Groom
      10. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (& Ghana)
      11. Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
      12. The Castle Cross the Magnet Carter by Kia Korthron
      13. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee *****
      14. Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund
    2. Alaska ↓
      1. The Fugitive Wife by Peter C. Brown
      2. The Cloud Atlas by Liam Callanan
      3. The Memory Thief by Emily Colin (?)
      4. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
      5. The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
      6. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
      7. Into the Wild by John Krakauer
      8. The Unpassing by Chia-Chia Lin
      9. Coming Into the Country by John McPhee
      10. Alaska by James Michener
      11. The Seaplane on Final Approach by Rebecca Rukeyser
      12. My One Square Inch of Alaska by Sharon Short
    3. Arizona ↓
      1. Crossers by Philip Caputo
      2. The Song of the Lark (Great Plains Trilogy #2) by Willa Cather ***
      3. Sycamore by Bryn Chancellor
      4. The Woman Lit by Fireflies by Jim Harrison *****
      5. Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver ****
      6. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
      7. Arizona: Kicks on Route 66.  Text by Roger Naylor, Photographs by Larry Lindahl
      8. Gallatin Canyon by Thomas McGuane
      9. Dinosaurs: A Novel by Lydia Millet
      10. Inland by Téa Obreht ***
      11. Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral (Doc Holliday #2) by Mary Doria Russell
      12. The Turquoise Ledge: A Memoir by Leslie Marmon Silko ***
      13. Dories Ho! by Matt and Karen Smith
      14. Light Changes Everything by Nancy E. Turner
      15. These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy E. Turner (Arizona Territory)
    4. Arkansas ↓
      1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (also Louisiana & California)
      2. Victory over Japan: A Book of Stories by Ellen Gilchrist
      3. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Green
      4. A Painted House by John Grisham
      5. The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks by Donald Harington
      6. Elkhorn Tavern by Douglas C. Jones
      7. Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany by Charles Portis
      8. Norwood by Charles Portis (also Texas)
      9. True Grit by Charles Portis
      10. Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
      11. The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield
    5. California ↓
      1. Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
      2. The Infinite Plan by Isabel Allende ****
      3. The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende ***
      4. Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz
      5. An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender
      6. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin (& N.Y. & Nevada)
      7. The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin
      8. Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block
      9. The Tortilla Curtain by T. Coraghessan Boyle
      10. The Book of Dead Birds by Gayle Brandeis
      11. The Metaphysical Touch by Sylvia Brownrigg
      12. The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
      13. The Weight of a Piano by Chris Cander (also Soviet Union)
      14. Farm City by Novella Carpenter
      15. Telegraph Avenue: A Novel by Michael Chabon
      16. Blue Nights by Joan Didion
      17. Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion
      18. Slouching Towards Bethlehem (Essays) by Joan Dideon
      19. Where I Was From by Joan Didion
      20. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (Mike’s Kindle)
      21. The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
      22. Queen of Dreams by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
      23. House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
      24. The Circle by Dave Eggers
      25. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
      26. The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
      27. Perfidia by James Ellroy
      28. Ask the Dust by John Fante
      29. The Monk Downstairs by Tim Farrington ****
      30. White Oleander by Janet Fitch
      31. What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo (Malaysia)
      32. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
      33. The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo
      34. Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
      35. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
      36. The Party by Robyn Harding
      37. The Dirty Book Club by Lisi Harrison
      38. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
      39. A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
      40. Abandon by Pico Iyer
      41. All Fours by Miranda July
      42. Golden State by Stephanie Kegan
      43. Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes
      44. Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
      45. The Golden State by Lydia Kiesling
      46. Delayed Rays of a Star by Amanda Lee Koe
      47. The Whip by Karen Kondazian
      48. Another Side of Paradise by  Sally Koslow
      49. The Other Americans by Laila Lalami
      50. This Wicked World by Richard Lange
      51. The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin
      52. The Bad Muslim Discount (Kindle) by Syed M. Masood (San Francisco)
      53. Like Family: Growing Up in Other People’s Houses by Paula McLain (memoir) ***
      54. The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson
      55. A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
      56. The Mountains of California by John Muir
      57. Bone by Fae Myenne Ng
      58. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
      59. The Octopus: A Story of California by Frank Norris
      60. American Fantastica by Tim O’Brien
      61. There There by Tommy Orange
      62. The Library Book by Susan Orlean
      63. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond (San Francisco/Costa Rica) ****
      64. The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
      65. China Dolls by Lisa See **
      66. My Hollywood by Mona Simpson
      67. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan ***
      68. The Midnights by Sarah Nicole Smetana
      69. The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli
      70. The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding
      71. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
      72. West of Eden by Jean Stein
      73. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
      74. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck ****
      75. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck ***
      76. Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures by Emma Straub
      77. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
      78. The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan (& China) ****
      79. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan *****
      80. The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
      81. Failure to Zigzag: A Novel by Jane Vandenburgh
      82. The Physics of Sunset: A Novel by Jane Vandenburgh ****
      83. Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins
      84. The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West
      85. Homebase: A Novel by Shawn Wong
      86. Song of the Seals by Christy Yorke
    6. Colorado ↓
      1. Ill Wind by Nevada Barr (Mesa Verde)
      2. Orange Mint and Honey by Carleen Brice
      3. The Song of the Lark (Great Plains Trilogy #2) by Willa Cather ***
      4. The Magic of Ordinary Days: A Novel by Ann Howard Creel
      5. Wait Until Spring, Bandini (The Saga of Arturo Bandini #1) by John Fante
      6. Plainsong (Plainsong, #1) by Kent Haruf *****
      7. Eventide (Plainsong, #2) by Kent Haruf *****
      8. Benediction (#3) by Kent Haruf *****
      9. The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf *****
      10. Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
      11. Where You Once Belonged by Kent Haruf
      12. The Dog Stars by Peter Heller (non-fiction)
      13. The Painter by Peter Heller (& New Mexico)  *****
      14. Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country by Pam Houston
      15. The Last Chairlift by John Irving
      16. Descent by Tim Johnston
      17. The Shining by Stephen King
      18. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
      19. Long Way Gone by Charles Martin
      20. Centennial by James A. Michener
      21. The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson
    7. Connecticut ↓
      1. Brass by Xhenet Aliu ***
      2. Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg (Kindle) *****
      3. The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin ****
      4. The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
      5. The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames
      6. The Children by Ann Leary
      7. Shelter in Place by David Leavitt
      8. The Ice Storm by Rick Moody
      9. Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
      10. A Good School by Richard Yates
      11. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (& New York) ****
    8. Delaware ↓
      1. The Saint of Lost Things by Christopher Castellani ****
      2. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez (& Mexico) ****
      3. Beloved by Toni Morrison (also Ohio & Kentucky)
      4. West of Rehoboth by Alexs D. Pate
      5. Shattered: Reclaiming a Life Torn Apart by Violence by Debra Puglisi Sharp & Marjorie Preston (memoir) ****
    9. District of Columbia – Washington, D.C. ↓
      1. Breaking her Fall by Stephen Goodwin ****
      2. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (also North Carolina and Mexico) ***
      3. The Sea of Tears: A Novel by Nani Power *****
      4. That Summer’s Trance by J.R. Salamanca (& North Carolina) ****
      5. plum & jaggers by Susan Richards Shreve
    10. Florida ↓
      1. Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett
      2. With Teeth by Kristen Arnett
      3. Best State Ever by Dave Barry
      4. Digging to Indochina by Connie Brewald ****
      5. The Last Train to Key West (The Cuba Saga #3) by Chanel Cleeton
      6. When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton ***
      7. The Body in Question by Jill Climent *****
      8. The Veins of the Ocean by Patricia Engel (Colombia & Cuba) ****
      9. The Problem with Murmur Lee by Connie May Fowler (St. Augustine) ***
      10. Paper Towns by John Green (Orlando)
      11. Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh (also Virginia) ****
      12. Razor Girl by Carl Hiassen
      13. Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen
      14. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (Everglades) ****
      15. Killing Mister Watson (Shadow Country Trilogy #1) by Peter Matthhiessen (Kindle)
      16. Lost Man’s River (Shadow Country Trilogy #2) by Peter Matthiessen
      17. Bone by Bone (Shadow Country Trilogy #3) by Peter Matthiessen
      18. Ninety-Two in the Shade by Thomas McGuane
      19. Love Warrior by Blennon Doyle Melton (memoir) (?)
      20. Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen ****
      21. Cross Creek by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (Kindle) ***
      22. Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
      23. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (Tallahassee)
      24. South Florida Fodor’s Travel ****
      25. Miami ↓
        1. Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber ****
        2. Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capó Crucet *****
        3. Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel (Kindle) ****
        4. 15 Views of Miami (essay collection), ed. Jaquira Díaz
        5. Miami by Joan Didion ***
        6. Learning to Die in Miami: Confessions of a Refugee Boy by Carlos Eire ***
        7. Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia ***
        8. The Year of Dangerous Days by Nicholas Griffin
        9. Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard
        10. Miami Babylon: Crime, Wealth and Power: A Dispatch from the Beach by Gerald Posner
        11. Miami Blues by Charles Willeford
      26. Keys ↓
        1. Key West by Lynn Coleman
        2. The Road to Key West by Michael Reisig
        3. Hemingway’s Girl by Erica Robuck
    11. Georgia ↓
      1. A Childhood by Harry Crews
      2. Fodor’s: The Carolinas and Georgia
      3. The Twelve-Mile Straight by Eleanor Henderson
      4. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers ****
      5. Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller
      6. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
      7. Atlanta ↓
        1. The Temple Bombing by Melissa Fay Greene
        2. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones ***
        3. Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones
        4. The Atlas of Reds and Blues by Devi S. Laskar
        5. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
        6. Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn by Gary M. Pomerantz
        7. Peachtree Road by Anne Rivers Siddons
        8. The End of October by Lawrence Wright
      8. Savannah
        1. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt ****
    12. Hawaii ↓
      1. He Mele A Hilo by Ryka Aoki
      2. Honolulu by Alan Brennert
      3. Moloka’i (Moloka’i #1) by Alan Brennert
      4. Song of the Exile by Kiana Davenport
      5. Democracy by Joan Didion
      6. The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings
      7. From Here to Eternity by James Jones
      8. Paradise News by David Lodge
      9. Hawaii by James A. Michener
      10. Sleeping Beauties by Susanna Moore
      11. East Wind, Rain by Caroline Paul
      12. Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
      13. The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar
      14. The Color of Air by Gail Tsukiyama
      15. Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
      16. The Winds of War by Herman Wouk
      17. Wild Meat and Bully Burgers by Lois-Ann Yamanaka
    13. Idaho ↓
      1. In the Wilderness: Coming of Age in Unknown Country by Kim Barnes
      2. The Big Burn by Timothy Egan
      3. Coeur d’Alene Waters by Ned Hayes
      4. All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki
      5. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson ****
      6. Idaho: A Novel by Emily Rukovich
      7. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
      8. Iona Moon by Melanie Rae Thon
      9. Educated by Tara Westover ****
    14. Illinois ↓
      1. The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg (2005) ****
      2. Dandelion Wine by Rad Bradbury
      3. The Speed of Light by Javier Cercas
      4. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
      5. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
      6. The Fall of a Sparrow by Robert Hellenga *****
      7. The Nix by Nathan Hill
      8. The Hundred-Year House by Rebecca Makkai
      9. So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell
      10. Barn Blind by Jane Smiley ****
      11. My Name is Lucy Barton (Amgash #1) by Elizabeth Strout ****
      12. Anything is Possible (Amgash #2 – linked stories) by Elizabeth Strout *****
      13. Ruby & Roland by Faith Sullivan
      14. Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
      15. Reliance, Illinois by Mary Volmer
      16. The Eighth Day by Thornton Wilder
      17. Chicago ↓
        1. Chicago by Alaa al Aswany ****
        2. The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
        3. Alone with You in the Ether by Olivie Blake
        4. The Light of Paris by Eleanor Brown (& Paris)
        5. Make Me a City: A Novel of Chicago by Jonathan Carr
        6. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros *****
        7. Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
        8. Noon in Paris, Eight in Chicago by Douglas Cowie (+Guatemala, Mexico, Paris)
        9. The Walls Came Down by Ewa Dodd
        10. The Girl in the Photograph by Gabrielle Donnelly (starts in Chicago, but mostly in L.A.) ****
        11. Chicago: A Novel by Brian Doyle
        12. Oh, Play That Thing by Roddy Doyle
        13. The Coast of Chicago (stories) by Stuart Dybek
        14. I Sailed with Magellan by Stuart Dybek ****
        15. Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
        16. The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves (& New York) ****
        17. The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton
        18. The World in Half by Cristina Henríquez (& Panama)
        19. An American Summer: Love and Death in Chicago by Alex Kotlowitz (non-fiction)
        20. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
        21. The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo ***
        22. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai ****
        23. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger ***
        24. Ramshackle by Elizabeth Reeder
        25. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
        26. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
        27. Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life by Christie Tate
        28. Building Stories by Chris Ware
        29. The Man Who Lived Underground by Richard Wright
        30. Native Son by Richard Wright
        31. Fodor’s Chicago by Fodor’s Travel Guides ****
        32. Walking Chicago: 31 Tours of the Windy City’s Classic Bars, Scandalous Sites, Historic Architecture, Dynamic Neighborhoods, and Famous Lakeshore by Ryan Ver Berkmoes ****
    15. Indiana ↓
      1. All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers
      2. Zorrie by Laird Hunt
      3. The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf
      4. The Solace of Leaving Early by Haven Kimmel
      5. A Girl Named Zippy (Zippy #1) by Haven Kimmel (memoir)
      6. Indianapolis
        1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green ****
    16. Iowa ↓
      1. Squashed by Joan Bauer
      2. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
      3. Alice’s Tulips by Sandra Dallas
      4. The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf
      5. An Ocean in Iowa by Peter Hedges
      6. Bottomland by Michelle Hoover
      7. Gilead (Gilead, #1) by Marilynne Robinson ***
      8. Home by Marilynne Robinson
      9. Some Luck by Jane Smiley
      10. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley ****
      11. The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
    17. Kansas ↓
      1. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
      2. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
      3. The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas
      4. PrairieErth by William Least Heat-Moon
      5. Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes
      6. The Topeka School by Ben Lerner
      7. The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty *****
      8. Bleeding Kansas by Sara Peretsky
      9. The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard
      10. The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard
      11. Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult
      12. The Removes by Tatjana Soli (North Dakota. Montana. American West.) *****
      13. Pioneer Women: Voices from the Kansas Frontier by Joanna Stratton
      14. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
      15. The Unplowed Sky by Jeanne Williams
    18. Kentucky ↓
      1. Hunter’s Horn by Harriet Simpson Arnow
      2. Whiskey & Ribbons by Leesa Cross-Smith ***
      3. Eli the Good by Silas House (Kindle) – (YA)
      4. A Parchment of Leaves by Silas House
      5. The Sisters by Nancy Jensen
      6. Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver ****
      7. In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason *****
      8. Shiloh and Other Stories by Bobbie Ann Mason ****
      9. Zigzagging Down a Wild Trail by Bobbie Ann Mason ****
      10. Kinfolks: The Wilgus Stories by Gurney Norman
      11. The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett ***
      12. The Bourbon Thief by Tiffany Reisz
      13. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
      14. River of Earth by James Still
      15. Baptisms and Dogs: Stories by Brian L. Tucker
    19. Louisiana ↓
      1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (also Arkansas & California)
      2. American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey Into the Business of Punishment by Shane Bauer
      3. Audubon’s Watch by John Gregory Brown
      4. The Awakening by Kate Chopin *****
      5. Louisiana Power & Light by John Dufresne * (DNF)
      6. Welding with Children (stories) by Tim Gautreaux (& other books by this author) ****
      7. Madeleine’s Ghost by Robert Girard (also New York)
      8. Nine Women by Shirley Ann Grau ****
      9. The House on Coliseum Street by Shirley Ann Grau
      10. The Hard Blue Sky by Shirley Ann Grau
      11. Roadwalkers by Shirley Ann Grau
      12. The Condor Passes by Shirley Ann Grau
      13. Last Things by Jenny Offill (& Vermont)
      14. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
      15. The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate
      16. New Orleans
        1. The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
        2. Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen
        3. A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
    20. Maine ↓
      1. The State We’re In: Maine Stories by Ann Beattie
      2. The Guest Book by Sarah Blake
      3. Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark
      4. Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine by Ann Hood ****
      5. Cider House Rules by John Irving ****
      6. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
      7. Moon Maine by Hilary Nangle
      8. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
      9. Empire Falls by Richard Russo
      10. Pete and Alice in Maine by Caitlin Shetterly (pandemic)
      11. The Stars Are Fire by Anita Shreve
      12. Colony by Anne Rivers Siddons
      13. Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout
      14. Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout ****
      15. The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout
      16. Olive Kitteridge (Olive Kitteridge #1) by Elizabeth Strout *****
      17. Olive, Again (Olive Kitteridge #2) by Elizabeth Strout (linked stories)
      18. Oh William! (Amgash #3) by Elizabeth Strout (& New York) *****
      19. Lucy by the Sea (Amgash #4) by Elizabeth Strout (Kindle)
      20. Tell Me Everything (Amgash, #5) by Elizabeth Strout
    21. Maryland ↓
      1. A Map of Betrayal by Ha Jin (& China)
      2. Mason’s Retreat by Christopher Tilghman
      3. Baltimore ↓
        1. Walking Baltimore: An Insider’s Guide to 33 Historic Neighborhoods, Waterfront Districts, and Hidden Treasures in Charm City by Evan Balkan
        2. Charm City by Madison Smartt Bell
        3. Charm City: A Walk Through Baltimore by Madison Smartt Bell
        4. Ten Indians by Madison Smartt Bell
        5. The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton (1965-2010)
        6. The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons and an Unlikely Road to Manhood by Ta-Nehisi Coates
        7. An American Summer by Frank Deford
        8. Charm City by Laura Lippman
        9. Chesapeake by James A. Michener
        10. 111 Places in Baltimore That You Must Not Miss by Allison Robicelli
        11. The Corner by David Simon and Ed Burns
        12. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
        13. The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler ****
        14. The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler
        15. Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler ****
        16. The Beginner’s Goodbye by Anne Tyler
        17. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
        18. Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler
        19. Clock Dance by Anne Tyler ****
        20. The Clock Winder by Anne Tyler
        21. Digging to America by Anne Tyler
        22. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
        23. French Braid by Anne Tyler
        24. Morgan’s Passing by Anne Tyler
        25. Noah’s Compass by Anne Tyler
        26. A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler
        27. Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler
        28. Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler ****
        29. A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler ****
        30. Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler
    22. Massachusetts ↓
      1. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs ***
      2. Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin ****
      3. The Chalk Artist by Allegra Goodman
      4. Bodies of Water by T. Greenwood *****
      5. Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood
      6. Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman ****
      7. Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman ***
      8. Writers & Lovers by Lily King
      9. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri ***
      10. Bowlaway by Elizabeth McCracken
      11. Chances Are… by Richard Russo ****
      12. A Reckoning by May Sarton *****
      13. Claire Marvel by John Burnham Schwartz ****
      14. Love Story by Erich Segal
      15. Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella ****
      16. The Taste of Salt by Martha Southgate (& Ohio)
      17. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
      18. Boston ↓
        1. The Idiot by Elif Batuman (& Hungary)
        2. Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian
        3. Fodor’s Boston ****
        4. Something Wild by Hanna Halperin
        5. The Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healey
        6. Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray ****
        7. Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie *****
      19. Cape Cod & Provincetown ↓
        1. The Last Book Party by Karen Dukess
        2. Goodnight Stranger by Miciah Bay Gault
        3. The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
        4. The Giant’s House by Elizabeth McCracken ****
        5. Any books by Mary Oliver, the poet
          1. House of Light ****
          2. Felicity
          3. New and Selected Poems, Volume 1
          4. New and Selected Poems, Volume 2
          5. A Poetry Handbook
          6. A Thousand Mornings
          7. Upstream: Selected Essays
    23. Michigan ↓
      1. The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter ***
      2. A Relative Stranger (stories) by Charles Baxter ****
      3. The Great Leader (Detective Sunderson #1) by Jim Harrison
      4. Off to the Side: A Memoir by Jim Harrison
      5. True North by Jim Harrison ****
      6. Beach Read by Emily Henry ****
      7. Ursula, Under by Ingrid Hill
      8. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Toronto & Great Lakes Region) ****
      9. The House of Deep Water by Jeni McFarland
      10. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
      11. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett ***
      12. Pears on a Willow Tree by Leslie Pietrzyk ***
      13. The Women of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell
      14. A Mentor and her Muse by Susan Sage
      15. Act of Grace by Karen Simpson
      16. Moon Michigan by Paul Vachon ****
      17. Detroit
        1. The Dollmaker by Harriet Arnow
        2. Eight Mile High by Jim Daniels
        3. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
        4. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
        5. Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
    24. Minnesota ↓
      1. the sun collective by Charles Baxter ****
      2. Night of the Radishes by Sandra Benítez ***
      3. The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg (2004) ****
      4. Ordinary Life: Stories by Elizabeth Berg (2001) ****
      5. Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg (1994)  ***
      6. Love Among the Ruins: A Novel by Robert Clark *****
      7. Moon Minnesota by Trisha Cornell ****
      8. Virgil Wander by Leif Enger ****
      9. The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens ****
      10. The Lighthouse Road (Eide Family, #1) by Peter Geye
      11. Wintering (Eide Family, #2) by Peter Geye ****
      12. Northernmost (Eide Family, #3) by Peter Geye
      13. Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
      14. This Tender Land: A Novel by William Kent Krueger ****
      15. Rainlight by Alison McGhee
      16. In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien
      17. July, July by Tim O’Brien
      18. Northern Lights by Tim O’Brien
      19. The Things They Carried (stories) by Tim O’Brien *****
      20. Sacred Wilderness by Susan Power
      21. The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal ****
      22. The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang
    25. Mississippi ↓
      1. Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall *****
      2. Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes
      3. Jewel by Brett Lott
      4. Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
      5. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
      6. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
    26. Missouri ↓
      1. The River Wife by Jonas Agee
      2. William Stoner and the Battle for the Inner Life by Steve Almond
      3. Joy School by Elizabeth Berg
      4. The Story of Arthur Truluv (Mason #1) by Elizabeth Berg
      5. Night of Miracles (Mason #2) by Elizabeth Berg
      6. The Confession Club (Mason #3) by Elizabeth Berg
      7. Torn Away by Jennifer Brown
      8. Claire de Lune by Jetta Carleton
      9. The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton
      10. The Awakening by Kate Chopin *****
      11. Finn by Jon Clinch
      12. Mr. Bridge by Evan S. Connell
      13. Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell
      14. The Farther Shore by Matthew Eck
      15. The Tender Land: A Family Love Story by Kathleen Finneran
      16. Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg
      17. Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg
      18. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
      19. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
      20. The Twenty-Seventh City by Jonathan Franzen
      21. A Good American by Alex George
      22. Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles
      23. A Bad Day for Pretty by Sophie Littlefield
      24. The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh
      25. Juliet’s Moon by Ann Rinaldi
      26. the obituary writer by Porter Shreve
      27. The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton by Jane Smiley
      28. The Huntsman by Whitney Terrell
      29. The King of Kings County by Whitney Terrell
      30. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain *****
      31. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
      32. This is Graceanne’s Book: A Novel by P.L. Whitney
      33. Stoner by John Williams
      34. The Death of Sweet Mister by Daniel Woodrell
      35. The Outlaw Album by Daniel Woodrell
      36. Tomato Red by Daniel Woodrell
      37. Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell
      38. Woe to Live On by Daniel Woodrell
    27. Montana ↓
      1. Where the Sea Used to Be by Rick Bass
      2. Kingdomtide by Rye Curtis
      3. Perma Red by Debra Magpie Earling
      4. The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans *****
      5. The Smoke Jumper by Nicholas Evans
      6. The Center of Everything by Jamie Harrison
      7. The Ancient Minstrel: Novellas by Jim Harrison
      8. Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison
      9. The Cadence of Grass by Thomas McGuane
      10. The Removes by Tatjana Soli (North Dakota. Kansas. American West.) *****
      11. The Ploughman by Kim Zupan
    28. Nebraska ↓
      1. O Pioneers! (Great Plains Trilogy #1) by Willa Cather ****
      2. My Ántonia (Great Plains Trilogy #3) by Willa Cather ****
      3. Worth Dying For (Jack Reacher) by Lee Child
      4. The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand
      5. Nebraska: Stories by Ron Hansen
      6. Dalva (Dalva #1) by Jim Harrison *****
      7. The Road Home (Dalva #2) by Jim Harrison
      8. The Floor of the Sky by Pamela Carter Joern
      9. The Plain Sense of Things by Pamela Carter Joern
      10. Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos
      11. Goodnight, Nebraska by Tom McNeal
      12. Nebraska Off the Beaten Path by Diana Lambdin Meyer ****
      13. The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett 
      14. The Echo Maker by Richard Powers
      15. The Big Empty: Contemporary Nebraska Nonfiction Writers, ed. by Ladette Randolph and Nina Shevchuk-Murray
      16. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
      17. Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas by Mari Sandoz
      18. Old Jules by Mari Sandoz
      19. Devils in the Sugar Shop by Timothy Schaffert
      20. In the Land of Second Chances by George Shaffner (& all other novels set in Ebb, Nebraska)
      21. Moving Out: A Nebraska Woman’s Life by Polly Spence
      22. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
      23. My Nebraska: The Good, the Bad, and the Husker by Roger Welsch
    29. Nevada ↓
      1. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin (& N.Y. & California)
      2. Girl Child by Tupelo Hassman
      3. Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje
      4. A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar
    30. New Hampshire ↓
      1. The Golden Hour by T. Greenwood
      2. Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett
      3. The Cider House Rules by John Irving ****
      4. The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving
      5. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving *****
      6. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
      7. Edson by Bill Morrisey
      8. Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult
      9. Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan *****
      10. As We Are Now by May Sarton
      11. All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve
      12. Fortune’s Rocks by Anita Shreve
      13. The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve
      14. Sea Glass by Anita Shreve ****
      15. The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
    31. New Jersey
      1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
      2. Drown by Junot Díaz
      3. Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver
      4. Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
      5. 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster
      6. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
      7. Bad Haircut: Stories of the Seventies by Tom Perrotta
      8. The Lay of the Land (Frank Bascombe #3) by Richard Ford
      9. Palisades Park by Alan Brennert
      10. Paterson by William Carlos Williams
      11. The Pine Barrens by John McPhee (non-fiction)
      12. The Twenty-Seventh Letter of the Alphabet by Kim Adrian
      13. Cape May by Chip Cheek
      14. Goodbye, Columbus by Philip Roth
      15. The Plot Against America: A Novel by Philip Roth
      16. Newark
        1. American Pastoral (The American Trilogy #1) by Philip Roth
        2. Indignation by Philip Roth
    32. New Mexico ↓
      1. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
      2. American Elsewhere by Robert Bennett
      3. Red Sky at Morning by Richard Bradford
      4. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather *****
      5. The Professor’s House by Willa Cather ****
      6. Loving Pedro Infante by Denise Chavez ****
      7. The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church *****
      8. The Night Journal by Elizabeth Crook
      9. Shutter (Rita Todacheene #1) by Ramona Emerson
      10. Banana Rose by Natalie Goldberg
      11. The Painter by Peter Heller (& Colorado)  *****
      12. The Spell of New Mexico by Tony Hillerman (essays) ***
      13. A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman
      14. The Wailing Wood by Tony Hillerman
      15. Moon New Mexico: Outdoor Adventures, Road Trips, Local Culture (Travel Guide) by Steven Horak ****
      16. Moon Santa Fe, Taos, & Albuquerque by Steven Horak ****
      17. The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob (& India & Seattle)
      18. Los Alamos by Joseph Kanon
      19. The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages (Manhattan Project)
      20. Juniper Tree Burning by Goldberry Long **
      21. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli ***
      22. Cities of the Plain (Border Trilogy #3) by Cormac McCarthy ****
      23. The Last Beautiful Days of Autumn by John Nichols
      24. The Milagro Bean Field War by John Nichols
      25. The Nirvana Blues by John Nichols
      26. Georgia O’Keefe: 100 Flowers
      27. Bone Horses by Lesley Poling-Kempes
      28. The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade
      29. Night at the Fiestas (stories) by Kirstin Valdez Quade *****
      30. The Sea of Grass by Conrad Richter
      31. Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko
      32. Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
      33. Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone
      34. The Woman at Otowi Crossing by Frank Waters
    33. New York ↓
      1. In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende (& Guatemala, Chile & Brazil)
      2. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin (& California & Nevada)
      3. For Kings and Planets by Ethan Canin
      4. The Sunday Tertulia by Lori Marie Carlson **
      5. Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina by Raquel Cepeda (& Dominican Republic)
      6. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
      7. Heart, You Bully, You Punk by Leah Hager Cohen (from American Dirt)
      8. Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
      9. Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn
      10. Seeing Calvin Coolidge in a Dream by John Derbyshire **
      11. The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards ****
      12. Look at Me by Jennifer Egan
      13. Inheriting Edith by Zoe Fishman (Sag Harbor)
      14. Madeleine’s Ghost by Robert Girard (& Louisiana)
      15. The Good Husband by Gail Godwin ***
      16. Montauk by Nicola Harrison
      17. Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi
      18. What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt *****
      19. Seven Days in May by Kim Izzo (U.K.)
      20. Arabian Jazz by Diana-Abu Jaber ****
      21. Running to the Mountain: A Midlife Adventure by Jon Katz
      22. Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
      23. The People We Keep by Allison Larkin
      24. The Honey Wall by Karen Latuchie (& Vermont)
      25. You Are Here by Karin Lin-Greenberg (Albany)
      26. The Usual Rules by Joyce Maynard
      27. Thirteen Ways of Looking (a novella & three stories) by Colum McCann (& Ireland/London) ****
      28. Charming Billy by Alice McDermott
      29. The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott
      30. Shadow Baby (Adirondacks) by Alison McGhee ****
      31. The Fall of Saints by Wanjiku wa Ngugi
      32. Weather by Jenny Offill
      33. The Travelers by Regina Porter
      34. leaving by Roxana Robinson (& Boston)
      35. Everybody’s Fool by Richard Russo
      36. Nobody’s Fool by Richard Russo
      37. Light Years by James Salter
      38. Improvement by Joan Silber
      39. Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout (& Maine) *****
      40. Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
      41. Buffalo ↓
        1. Buffalo Lockjaw by Greg Ames
        2. Broke Heart Blues by Joyce Carol Oates (Willowsville, NY – 11 mi. east of Buffalo)
        3. Buffalo Gal: A Memoir by Laura Pedersen
      42. Niagara Falls ↓
        1. City of Light by Lauren Belfer
        2. The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan
        3. Cataract City by Craig Davidson
        4. Too Close to the Falls by Catherine Gildner
        5. The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates ****
        6. The Odds: A Love Story by Stewart O’Nan
        7. Inventing Niagara: Beauty, Power and Lies by Ginger Strand
      43. New York City ↓
        1. The Startup Wife by Tahmima Anam ****
        2. If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
        3. The Dakota Winters by Tom Barbash
        4. Park City: New & Selected Stories by Ann Beattie *****
        5. Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
        6. Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
        7. The Book Doctor by Esther Cohen ***
        8. Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst
        9. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
        10. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (Mike’s Kindle) (& the South)
        11. City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert ****
        12. Three Junes by Julia Glass ****
        13. Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González
        14. The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves (& Chicago) ****
        15. The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
        16. Hex by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight
        17. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss ****
        18. The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy (& Mongolia)
        19. Severance by Ling Ma
        20. The Book Borrower by Alice Mattison
        21. Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue *****
        22. Deacon King Kong by James McBride
        23. The Street by Ann Petry (Harlem)
        24. Crawling at Night by Nani Power *****
        25. Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen
        26. the light we lost by Jill Santopolo ***
        27. More Than Words by Jill Santopolo
        28. In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
        29. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith ****
        30. Joan Is Okay by Weike Wang
        31. Surrender, Dorothy by Meg Wolitzer
        32. The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright (Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Afghanistan, New York) *****
        33. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
        34. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (& New York) ****
      44. Syracuse ↓
        1. Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber
        2. Wayward by Dana Spiotta
    34. North Carolina ↓
      1. The Astronomer and Other Stories by Doris Betts ***
      2. The Secrets She Carried by Barbara Davis
      3. A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler
      4. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier **** (& Virginia)
      5. At Home in Mitford (Mitford Years #1) by Jan Karon ****
      6. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (also D.C. & Mexico) ***
      7. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
      8. The World Made Straight by Ron Rash
      9. The Hotel Alleluia by Lucinda Roy (?)
      10. That Summer’s Trance by J.R. Salamanca (& Washington, D.C.) ****
      11. If the Creek Don’t Rise by Leah Weiss
      12. In West Mills by De’Shawn Charles Winslow
      13. Fodor’s: The Carolinas and Georgia
    35. North Dakota ↓
      1. Those Days by Richard Critchfield
      2. Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich (1984) **
      3. The Beet Queen by Louise Erdrich (1985) ***
      4. The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich (1998)
      5. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich (2000)
      6. The Master Butcher’s Singing Club by Louise Erdrich (2003)
      7. The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich (2008)
      8. The Round House by Louise Erdrich (2012)
      9. LaRose by Louise Erdrich (2016)
      10. The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdrich (2017)
      11. The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich (2020)
      12. The Horizontal World: Growing Up in the Middle of Nowhere by Debra Marquart *****
      13. The Grass Dancer by Susan Power ***
      14. The Removes by Tatjana Soli (Kansas. Montana. American West.) *****
      15. Beyond the Bedroom Wall by Larry Woiwode
    36. Ohio ↓
      1. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
      2. House Under Snow by Jill Bialosky ***
      3. The Truth of the Matter by Robb Forman Dew ***
      4. Ducks, Newberryport by Lucy Ellmann
      5. Stay and Fight by Madeline Ffitch
      6. A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
      7. Beloved by Toni Morrison (Ohio and Kentucky)
      8. Sula by Toni Morrison
      9. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance (Middletown) *
      10. Cincinnati ↓
        1. Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler ****
        2. Eligible by Curtis Sittenfield ***
        3. Walking Cincinnati: 32 Tours Exploring Historic Neighborhoods, Stunning Riverfront Quarters, and Hidden Treasures in the Queen City by Katie Meyer & Danny Korman ****
        4. Fading Ads of Cincinnati by Ronny Salerno
      11. Northeastern Ohio ↓
        1. Ohio by Stephen Markley
      12. Cleveland ↓
        1. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
        2. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
        3. Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah
        4. The Taste of Salt by Martha Southgate (& Massachusetts)
    37. Oklahoma
      1. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann ****
      2. Rites: Stories by Savannah Johnston
      3. Solar Storms by Linda Hogan
      4. Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
      5. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
      6. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
      7. Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
      8. Paradise by Toni Morrison
      9. Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
      10. Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts
      11. The Honk and Holler Opening Soon by Billie Letts
      12. Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts
      13. Harpsong by Rilla Askew
      14. The Mercy Seat by Rilla Askew
      15. Strange Business by Rilla Askew
      16. Kind of Kin by Rilla Askew
      17. Fire in Beulah by Rilla Askew
      18. Cimarron by Edna Ferber
      19. August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
      20. Four Freedoms by John Crowley
      21. Shell Shaker by LeAnne Howe
      22. Marked by Fire by Joyce Carol Thomas
      23. Where the Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson
      24. The Edge of Nowhere by C. H. Armstrong
      25. Maud’s Line by Margaret Verble
    38. Oregon ↓
      1. All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung
      2. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
      3. The Memoir Club by Laura Kulpakian ***
      4. The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James
    39. Pennsylvania ↓
      1. In Sunlight, in a Beautiful Garden by Kathleen Cambor
      2. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff *
      3. Heat & Light by Jennifer Haigh
      4. The Woman in the Photo by Mary Hogan
      5. Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
      6. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (Mike’s Kindle)
      7. The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
      8. Philadelphia ↓
        1. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (Kindle)
        2. Third and Indiana by Steve Lopez
        3. Black Girl/White Girl by Joyce Carol Oates
        4. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
        5. We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride, Jo Piazza
        6. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
        7. In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner
        8. Birdy by William Wharton
      9. Pittsburgh ↓
        1. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon ****
        2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
        3. An American Childhood by Annie Dillard ****
        4. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards ****
        5. American Seoul: A Memoir by Helena Rho
    40. Rhode Island ↓
      1. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
      2. The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty (Kindle) ****
      3. The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore
      4. The Edge of Winter by Luanne Rice
      5. Finding Mrs. Ford by Deborah Goodrich Royce
      6. A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams
    41. South Carolina ↓
      1. Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
      2. The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis
      3. The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd
      4. Beach Music by Pat Conroy *****
      5. The Great Santini by Pat Conroy
      6. The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy
      7. The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy *****
      8. The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy
      9. Breaking and Holding by Judy Fogarty
      10. Sullivan’s Island (Lowcountry Tales, #1) by Dorothea Benton Frank ****
      11. Isle of Palms (Lowcountry Tales, #3) by Dorothea Benton Frank
      12. Pawley’s Island (Lowcountry Tales, #5) by Dorothea Benton Frank
      13. All the Single Ladies by Dorothea Benton Frank
      14. Plantation by Dorothea Benton Frank
      15. Grace at Low Tide by Beth Webb Hart
      16. Flies on the Butter by Denise Hildreth Jones
      17. The Memory Thief by Rachel Keener
      18. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd ****
      19. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd ****
      20. A Tangled Mercy by Joy-Jordan Lake
      21. Some Sing, Some Cry by Ntozake Shange, Ifa Bayeza
      22. These People Are Us: Stories by George Singleton ***
      23. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
      24. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
      25. Dreams of Falling by Karen White
      26. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
      27. Fodor’s: The Carolinas and Georgia
    42. South Dakota ↓
      1. A Long Way from Home by Tom Brokaw
      2. Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog, Richard Erdoes
      3. Peace Like A River by Lief Enger
      4. Starting from Scratch by Susan Gilbert-Collins
      5. The Bones of Plenty by Lois Phillips Hudson
      6. In the Spirit of Crazy Horse: The Story of Leonard Peltier and the FBI’s War on the American Indian Movement by Peter Matthiessen
      7. Dakota: A Spiritual Geography by Kathleen Norris ****
      8. Black Hills by Nora Roberts ***
      9. The Removes by Tatjana Soli (also Kansas)
      10. The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber *****
    43. Tennessee
      1. Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
      2. The Atomic City Girls by Janet Beard
      3. The Children by David Halberstam
      4. Sweet Water by Christina Baker Kline
      5. i hate to see that evening sun go down (collected stories) by William Gay
      6. The Long Home by William Gay
      7. The Good Dream by Donna VanLiere
      8. Summer in the South by Cathy Holton
      9. The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy
      10. The Lost Saints of Tennessee by Amy Franklin-Willis
      11. Rooted by Idabel Allen
      12. A Death in the Family by James Agee
      13. Southernmost by Silas House
      14. Wash by Margaret Wrinkle
      15. Memphis
        1. taft by Ann Patchett ****
      16. Nashville
        1. Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall *****
        2. Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson ***
        3. Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson
        4. all we ever wanted by Emily Giffin
        5. Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner
        6. A Place to Come To by Robert Penn Warren
        7. Fire Sermon by Jamie Quatro
        8. The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove by Susan Gregg Gilmore
    44. Texas ↓
      1. Together, Alone: A Memoir of Marriage and Place by Susan Wittig Albert
      2. Whisper Network by Chandler Baker ***
      3. Jam on the Vine by LaShondra Katrice Barnett
      4. The Way Back to Happiness by Elizabeth Bass
      5. All the Land to Hold Us by Rick Bass
      6. Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
      7. The Drowning House by Elizabeth Black
      8. Ruby by Cynthia Bond (Oprah Book Club)
      9. The Gay Place by Billy Lee Brammer
      10. The Good Daughter by Alexandra Burt
      11. Brownsville by Oscar Casares
      12. Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories by Sandra Cisneros ***
      13. The Which Way Tree by Elizabeth Crook
      14. Giant by Edna Ferber
      15. Armadillos and Old Lace by Kinky Friedman
      16. The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuña by Dagoberto Gilb (around El Paso)
      17. Goodbye to a River by John Graves
      18. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah *****
      19. The Gates of the Alamo by Stephen Harrigan
      20. Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin
      21. Playing Dead by Julia Heaberlin
      22. News of the World by Paulette Jiles ****
      23. The Color of Lighting by Paulette Jiles
      24. The Last Pilot by Benjamin Johncock
      25. The Liar’s Club by Mary Karr ****
      26. The Time It Never Rained by Elmer Kelton
      27. Home for Erring and Outcast Girls by Julie Kibler
      28. The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale
      29. Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson
      30. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (memoir)
      31. Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
      32. Lonely Planet Texas (2014)
      33. Before the Rain Falls by Camille Di Maio
      34. All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy #1) by Cormac McCarthy ****
      35. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
      36. The Baker’s Daughter by Sarah McCoy
      37. Dead Man’s Walk (Lonesome Dove prequel #1) by Larry McMurtry ***
      38. Comanche Moon (Lonesome Dove prequel #2) by Larry McMurtry
      39. Lonesome Dove (Lonesome Dove) by Larry McMurtry *****
      40. Streets of Laredo (Lonesome Dove sequel #4) by Larry McMurtry
      41. All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers by Larry McMurtry
      42. Crazy Horse by Larry McMurtry
      43. Horseman, Pass By by Larry McMurtry
      44. In a Narrow Grave by Larry McMurtry (essays)
      45. The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry
      46. Leaving Cheyenne by Larry McMurtry
      47. Moving On by Larry McMurtry
      48. Terms of Endearment by Larry McMurtry
      49. Texas by James A. Michener
      50. George Washington Gómez by Américo Paredes
      51. Getting Mother’s Body by Suzan-Lori Parks
      52. Norwood by Charles Portis (also Arkansas)
      53. Doc by Mary Doria Russell
      54. Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale by Lynda Rutledge
      55. The Sleeping Night by Barbara Samuel
      56. Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation by John Phillip Santos
      57. Strange Peaches by Edwin Shrake
      58. Lake Success by Gary Shteyngart
      59. Nothing Happened and Then It Did by Jake Silverstein
      60. Friendswood by René Steinke
      61. Stardust by Carla Stewart
      62. Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann (east Texas)
      63. Love Me Back by Merritt Tierce
      64. The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese
      65. Old Buildings in North Texas by Jen Waldo
      66. Why Stuff Matters by Jen Waldo
      67. The Promise by Ann Weisgarber
      68. Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore (Odessa, TX) *****
      69. God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State by Lawrence Wright ***
      70. Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (non-fiction)
      71. Houston
        1. Towelhead by Alicia Erian ****
      72. Austin
        1. Waterloo by Karen Olsson
        2. Migratory Animals by Mary Helen Specht ****
    45. Utah
      1. The Never Open Desert Diner by James Anderson ****
      2. Lullaby Road by James Anderson (Ben Jones #2) ****
      3. The Glovemaker by Ann Weisgarber***
      4. When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka *****
      5. Junction, Utah by Rebecca Lawton ****
      6. Basin and Range by John McPhee (non-fiction)
      7. Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer
      8. Mormon Country by Wallace Stegner
      9. Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey
      10. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
    46. Vermont
      1. Testimony by Anita Shreve ***
      2. breathing water by T. Greenwood
      3. Where I Lost Her by T. Greenwood
      4. Two Rivers by T. Greenwood
      5. The Forever Bridge by T. Greenwood
      6. The Hungry Season by T. Greenwood
      7. Last Things by Jenny Offill (& New Orleans, La.) ***
      8. The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian
      9. Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
      10. Water Witches by Chris Bohjalian
      11. The Buffalo Soldier by Chris Bohjalian
      12. The Honey Wall by Karen Latuchie (& New York)
      13. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner (& Wisconsin) *****
      14. The Late Bloomers’ Club by Louise Miller
      15. In the Fall by Jeffrey Lent
      16. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
      17. Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris
      18. Second Glance by Jodi Picoult
      19. House Rules by Jodi Picoult
      20. A Stranger in the Kingdom by Howard Frank Mosher
      21. Where the Rivers Flow North by Howard Frank Mosher
      22. Disappearances by Howard Frank Mosher
      23. Points North by Howard Frank Mosher
      24. Wandering Home by Bill McKibben
      25. Witness by Karen Hesse
      26. Go With Me by Castle Freeman Jr.
      27. All the Best People by Sonja Yoerg
      28. Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson
    47. Virginia ↓
      1. The East Indian by Brinda Charry
      2. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
      3. The House Girl by Tara Conklin
      4. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier **** (& N.C.)
      5. The Mathews Men: Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler’s U-boats by William Geroux ****
      6. Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons (?) ****
      7. On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon by Kaye Gibbons
      8. Father Melancholy’s Daughter by Gail Godwin *****
      9. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
      10. Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh (also Florida) ****
      11. Rescuing Patty Hearst: Growing up Sane in a Decade Gone Mad (memoir) by Virginia Holman *****
      12. The Known World by Edward P. Jones
      13. Happiness Falls by Angie Kim ***
      14. Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
      15. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
      16. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
      17. Feed the Hungry: A Memoir with Recipes by Nani Power ****
      18. The Good Remains by Nani Power
      19. Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield
      20. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
      21. Oral History by Lee Smith ****
      22. Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap #1) by Adriana Trigiani ****
      23. Big Cherry Hollow (Big Stone Gap #2) by Adriana Trigiani
      24. This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live by Melody Warnick
      25. Richmond ↓
        1. Razorblade Tears: A Novel by S.A. Cosby
        2. The Language of Good-bye by Maribeth Fischer *****
    48. Washington ↓
      1. The Coast of Good Intentions by Michael Byers ****
      2. The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
      3. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
      4. Seattle ↓
        1. Long for This World by Michael Byers
        2. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford ****
        3. Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford ***
        4. Bread Alone (Bread Alone #1) by Judi Hendricks
        5. The Baker’s Apprentice (Bread Alone #2) by Judi Hendricks
        6. Baker’s Blues (Bread Alone #3) by Judi Hendricks
        7. The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob (& India & New Mexico)
        8. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
    49. West Virginia ↓
      1. Alison’s Automotive Repair Manual by Brad Barkley
      2. Gloria by Keith Maillard
      3. The Stories of Breece D’J Pancake by Breece D’J Pancake
      4. Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips
      5. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls *****
    50. Wisconsin
      1. The Dive from Clausen’s Pier by Ann Packer ****
      2. A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton ****
      3. Vinegar Hill  by A. Manette Ansay ****
      4. Midnight Champagne by A. Manette Ansay ****
      5. Read This and Tell Me What It Says: Stories by A. Manette Ansay ***
      6. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner (& Vermont) *****
      7. Little Faith: A Novel by Nickolas Butler
      8. Raft of Stars by Andrew J. Graff
      9. Echoes Among the Stones by Wright
      10. The Story of Edward Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski
      11. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
      12. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond *****
      13. Moon Wisconsin by Thomas Huhti ****
    51. Wyoming
      1. Close Range (Wyoming Stories #1) by Annie Proulx
      2. Bad Dirt (Wyoming Stories #2) by Annie Proulx
      3. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
      4. All Walt Longmire books by Craig Johnson
      5. The Legend of Colton H. Bryant by Alexandra Fuller
      6. The Laramie Project by Moíses Kaufman (non-fiction)
      7. Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
      8. Open Season (Joe Pickett #1) by C.J. Box
      9. American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West by Nate Blakeslee
      10. Merle’s Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote
      11. Take Me With You by Catherine Ryan Hyde
  • *********
  1. U.S. Territories
    1. American Samoa
    2. Guam
    3. Northern Mariana Islands
    4. Puerto Rico ↓
      • Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz
      • Eccentric Neighborhoods by Rosario Ferré
      • The House on the Lagoon by Rosario Ferré (Kindle)
      • The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico by Sarah McCoy (Kindle)
      • When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago
    5. U.S. Virgin Islands ↓
      • How to Escape from a Leper Colony (stories) by Tiphanie Yanique

************

  • Memoirs or books about the general American experience, books that take place in regions, or books of short stories with various locations. ↓
    • Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America’s Wild Frontier by Stephen E. Ambrose *****
    • In the Loyal Mountains by Rick Bass *****
    • The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
    • Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder
    • One Amazing Thing by Chitra Divakaruni
    • O Careless Love: Stories and a Novella by Susan Dodd **
    • a visit from the goon squad: a novel by jennifer egan ****
    • Grace by T. Greenwood
    • Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood
    • Tortured Skins and Other Fictions by Maurice Kenny ***
    • The Long and Short of It (Series in Short Fiction) by Pamela Painter ***
    • The Overstory by Richard Powers **
    • A Ship Made of Paper by Scott Spencer
    • The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls *****
    • The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter
    • One Day: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary 24 Hours in America by Gene Weingarten
    • Apprentice to the Flower Poet Z by Debra Weinstein
    • The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
    • my only story by Monica Wood
    • A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
    • Four Corners: ↓
      • A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman
    • American West: ↓
      • Lasso the Wind: Away to the New West by Timothy Egan
      • Small World: A Novel by Jonathan Evison
      • Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier
      • Crossing Purgatory by Gary Schanbacher
      • Cruising Paradise: Tales by Sam Shepard ****
      • The Removes by Tatjana Soli (North Dakota. Montana. Kansas.) *****
      • Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
      • How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang (gift from Sarah) *
    • The Midwest: ↓
      • Open House by Elizabeth Berg (2000) ****
      • Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg (1993) *****
      • What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg (1998) *****
      • Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism by James W. Loewen
      • The Abundance by Amit Majmudar
      • The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough
    • The Southwest: ↓
      • The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border by Francisco Cantú
      • Cities of Gold: A Journey Across the American Southwest in Pursuit of Coronado by Douglas Preston
      • Flight and Other Stories by José Skinner *****
    • The South: ↓
      • Someone to Watch Over Me: Stories by Richard Bausch ****
      • All Set About with Fever Trees and Other Stories by Pam Durban ***
      • Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (Mike’s Kindle) (& Harlem, NY)
      • Waiting for the Evening News: Stories of the Deep South by Tim Gautreaux
      • The End of the World as We Know Know It: Scenes from a Life by Robert Goolrick
      • Spying on the South: Travels with Frederick Law Olmsted in a Fractured Land by Tony Horwitz
      • The Dog of the South by Charles Portis
      • The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds
      • Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads by Paul Theroux
      • the song reader by Lisa Tucker
    • Appalachia ↓
      • Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
    • The Pacific Northwest ↓
      • Heart Berries: A Memoir by Terese Marie Mailhot (& British Columbia)
    • Route 66 ↓
      • EZ 66 Guide for Travelers by Jerry McClanahan
    • Civil War ↓
      • Days Without End: A Novel by Sebastian Barry
      • I Shall Be Near to You by Erin Lindsay McCabe

Here’s a resource for finding fiction set in different locales:

* I listened to an interview with Jenny Offill on Seth Meyers in March 2020, and she said she liked to walk through the library shelves and pick out random facts to put in her novels.