Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

A challenge I am doing this year from our local library (Baltimore County) said to read a book written by a Maryland author. It was actually easy to find several Maryland authors including: Tom Clancy, Nora Roberts (aka J.D. Robb), Laura Lippman, Anne Tyler, and Dashiell Hammett. Though Edgar Allen Poe is buried in Baltimore he is actually more appropriately labeled a Virginian.

Bearing in mind that many authors move during their lifetimes (Mark Twain was born in Missouri, spent time in Nevada, traveled in Europe, spent his later years in Connecticut, and spent summers in his later life with relatives in New York.), I set out to try to identify authors for each of the 50 states. I did assign those who moved to one state and you could easily argue a different state for many of those. Since the point here is to find NEW to me authors, it would have defeated my purpose to use the same author for several states and it seems to me cheating to assign an author to a state where he spent very little time just because I need someone for that state.

I had a great deal of difficulty finding authors for some states!

Since we have so many people here from different places - My question is - What authors would you say were born and/or spent significant time in your state (or country)? It can be difficult to choose one state for some (e.g., Laura Ingalls Wilder). I assigned her to South Dakota since several of her books were set during that part of her lifetime when she was there even though she was living in Missouri when they were published.

For Virginia we've got David Baldacci, Patricia Cornwell, VC Andrews, Deanna Raybourn and Thomas Jefferson :)

For Indiana, I can think of Kurt Vonnegut Jr and John Green, off the top of my head.

I associate with several states. :D

For Wyoming, there's C.J. Box (I was never a fan, but there he is anyway) or children's author Patricia McLaughlin.

For West Virginia, there's S.G. Redling for fiction, or if you like military/aviation non-fiction, Chuck Yeager has co-written his autobiography and contributed to several other related works.

For Ohio, I'd say John Scalzi, since that's where he's been for the most famous part of his career. Mary Doria Russell also lives in Ohio. They both could also be for Illinois, though. :)

For New Hampshire, the obvious ones are mostly poets: Robert Frost, (although he did live in Vermont as well) ee cummings, Alice B Fogel, Jane Kenyon and more.

If you prefer NH prose, there's Jodi Picoult, or John Irving, who was born here, although none of the states get to claim him currently, since he moved to Canada. :)

J.D. Salinger should probably count for New York, since he did his writing there, but he retired to NH. :)

Marilyn wrote: "What authors would you say were born and/or spent significant time in your state (or country)?"

In most countries (maybe not in city-states) there are probably numerous authors one could list.

Tytti wrote: "Marilyn wrote: "What authors would you say were born and/or spent significant time in your state (or country)?"

In most countries (maybe not in city-states) there are probably numerous authors one..."

I can think of many for England, Ireland, Scotland, France, and Russia. I would be hard pressed to name a Bulgarian author and at one time I actually spoke Bulgarian. I am always looking to expand my horizons so I'll gladly take all the recommendations I can get. And I wouldn't want to leave people out of the conversation just because they are not US-centric.

But the problem is that if that's the only criterion, I could probably list dozens of authors who have lived in my country (but I won't because I am lazy), and we are only a country of 5.5 million people. So I would need to know what kinds of authors and books you are looking for so I can limit the number to only a few authors. Countries are not like US states.

Tytti wrote: "But the problem is that if that's the only criterion, I could probably list dozens of authors who have lived in my country (but I won't because I am lazy), and we are only a country of 5.5 million ..."

I don't think she's really asking for every single major author, just the top few that spring to mind. Some US states are home to millions, too, so it seems comparable to me.

I'm from New Jersey (9 million people live in NJ), and the first few authors I think of are: Judy Blume, Richard Price, Harlan Coben, Mary Higgins Clark (and her daughter, too, I guess: Carol Higgins Clark), Junot Díaz, Philip Roth and Janet Evanovich.

I live in New York now. I'm not even going to try to list authors from NY, since there are so many associated with NYC. Patti Smith was born in NJ, but I guess she's more associated with NY now. And I'm guessing Colson Whitehead is from NY. Okay, so I listed two!

ETA: Oh! oh! L. Frank Baum is from NY up near me!

Nadine wrote: "TI don't think she's really asking for every single major author, just the top few that spring to mind. Some US states are home to millions, too, so it seems comparable to me."

But it's not the same, that IS very US centric thinking, because all countries have their own, different cultures and literary circles. If she were asking a few authors from the town/area I live in, that would be closer to being comparable. As I said, there really are numerous national authors that "spring to mind".

State=\= country but I see what you're going for
Some notable Canadian authors (mostly Ontario although I'm from NS, and also some could be claimed legitimately by other countries (ex Emma donoghue born in Ireland but lives in Canada)
Emma Donoghue
Margaret Atwood
Malcolm Gladwell
L.M. Montgomery
Alice Munro
Robert Munsch
Miriam Toews

Tytti wrote: "But the problem is that if that's the only criterion, I could probably list dozens of authors who have lived in my country (but I won't because I am lazy), and we are only a country of 5.5 million ..."

I don't think she's looking for recommendations per say. It's more that she's just trying to start a discussion about what authors may be well known from your area. You don't have to list hundreds of authors who may be from your country. If you happen to know of one or two from near where you are from, you could mention those if you wanted to participate in the discussion.

Virginia is also home to Donna Andrews and Katherine Paterson, who is the author of one of my favorite childhood books, Bridge to Terabithia.

Tytti wrote: "But the problem is that if that's the only criterion, I could probably list dozens of authors who have lived in my country (but I won't because I am lazy), and we are only a country of 5.5 million ..."

Keep in mind that although an author may have lived in lots of places, IF you are going to assign that author to ONE place you need to figure out WHICH one place makes the most sense and not assign him/her to every place. The point is to expand the reading list and using the same author in 5 or more locations doesn't expand. For instance, Hemingway was certainly an American, born in Illinois, but he lived much of his adult life in Europe and Cuba and died in Idaho. IF I only consider the US, I would probably assign him to Illinois; if I take a world view I would choose Cuba. It is certainly up to debate.

Nadine wrote: "Tytti wrote: "But the problem is that if that's the only criterion, I could probably list dozens of authors who have lived in my country (but I won't because I am lazy), and we are only a country o..."

There are lots of authors associated with both New York and California. It is much more difficult to name an author from Delaware, Rhode Island, Montana, Wyoming, etc.

Mississippi authors include: Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Oprah Winfrey, John Grisham, Greg Iles, Nevada Barr, Donna Tartt.

Actually, Nevada Barr should be taken off my list, I think. She wasn't born there and she doesn't live there right now. She lived there, though, and is considered a "Mississippi writer" by many.

Betty wrote: "Actually, Nevada Barr should be taken off my list, I think. She wasn't born there and she doesn't live there right now. She lived there, though, and is considered a "Mississippi writer" by many."

And that is exactly the problem I've seen. It's a shame we can't ask each author which one state he/she would claim. I love getting more names of authors to try. Have you ever heard of Hamlin Garland? Apparently, in his time he was a very well known author and today no one knows about him. His best known work was A Son of the Middle Border. I discovered him when I was looking for an author from Iowa! But he also lived in South Dakota when it was being homesteaded, then in the east, and later in Chicago.

I can name a few author from my province, Québec who are exported and translated:

- Dany Laferriere
- Michel Tremblay
- Bryan Perro

Marilyn wrote: "Keep in mind that although an author may have lived in lots of places, IF you are going to assign that author to ONE place you need to figure out WHICH one place makes the most sense and not assign him/her to every place."

Well authors rarely change the language with which they are writing, and some authors don't always move to another country simply because they want a change. Besides, I would most certainly assign Hemingway to USA, no matter where he lived, and pick a real Cuban author who would probably be writing in Spanish to represent Cuba. Picking a quintessential American author like Hemingway isn't really expanding your reading list, at least not from my international POV.

And if one doesn't need recommendations, one can just google and get a list of authors from a specific country. Here is a list of Bulgarian authors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of... So I am just saying that you probably won't get many international answers if you are not more specific.

Thank you so much to Sara, Mike, Sanasai, Nadine, Tara, Cindy, Betty, and Fannie for your suggestions. I can't believe I had forgotten about Eudora Welty. I have read lots of Mary Higgins Clark, Janet Evanovich, Donna Ball, Patricia Cornwell plus some from J.D. Salinger, William Faulkner, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Robert Frost, Margaret Atwood, L.M. Montgomery, Jodi Picoult, and Katherine Paterson. I already had Tennessee Williams, John Irving, and L. Frank Baum on my list for 2017. I am currently working on my plan for a 2017 challenge of at least one author for each of the 50 states and some states are really a challenge. I love the suggestions you have made and I will be adding some Canadians to the other challenges I am doing.

I know that Ann Rule is from Seattle, Washington.

In my country (the UK), the list is rather too long to detail here, but in Yorkshire, the area of the UK I live in, the list includes:
Charlotte Bronte, Anne Bronte, Emily Bronte, Kate Atkinson, Joanne Harris, Margaret Drabble, AS Byatt, Barbara Taylor Bradford, JB Priestley, Susan Hill, Barry Hines, Winifred Holtby, Alan Bennett, James Herriot, David Peace, George Gissing, John Braine, Arthur Ransome, Edith Sitwell, Bruce Chatwin, Keith Waterhouse

whilst poets and playwrights include:
Ted Hughes, WH Auden, Andrew Marvell, Ian MacMillan, Alan Ayckbourn, John Godber (Philip Larkin is also well known for his Yorkshire connections, as is Sylvia Plath).

How many of these are know beyond the UK I don't know, but they are all pretty famous here.

BTW, I've set up a challenge for myself, not of authors in states, but books set in states: one book per state, no duplicate authors, all adult novels (i.e. no non-fiction), no books I've previously read (although I've an alternative list that includes these). I'd be happy to post a list if it was of interest/help (and am just completing one based on English counties).

Will wrote: "In my country (the UK), the list is rather too long to detail here, but in Yorkshire, the area of the UK I live in, the list includes:
Charlotte Bronte, Anne Bronte, Emily Bronte, Kate Atkinson, Jo..."

Yes, there are lots of UK authors! I would love to see your list of books set in the 50 states! Have you already identified all 50 books or are you still trying to decide in some cases?

For Michigan, there's:

Elmore Leonard
Jim Harrison
Jeffrey Eugenides
Loren D. Estleman
Ernest Hemingway (lived in Michigan for a time)
Audrey Niffenegger
Mitch Albom

You can also check The Home State folder. A lot of suggestions there for authors whose books take place in a specific state because it's their home.

For Illinois, some with at least a connection, off the top of my head: Ernest Hemingway, Ray Bradbury, Audrey Niffenegger, President Obama, Scott Turow, Jen Lancaster, Studs Terkel, Jean Auel, Phillip K. Dick, David Mamet, Jonathan Franzen, Michael Crichton, Veronica Roth, Gwendolyn Brooks, Upton Sinclair, Carl Sandburg...I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch.

Marilyn wrote: "A challenge I am doing this year from our local library (Baltimore County) said to read a book written by a Maryland author. It was actually easy to find several Maryland authors including: [author..."


I can contribute with some from Denmark, Norway, Sweden. (Though others might prefer other mentions...) I think these will be the ones most non-scandinavian people will have a chance of actually knowing.

Denmark:
[author:Søren Kierkegaard|6172]
Søren Kierkegaard
Hans Christian Andersen
Adam Oehlenschläger
Karen Blixen
Jussi Adler-Olsen

Sweden:
Astrid Lindgren
Jan Guillou
Stig Larsson
Fredrik Backman
Jonas Jonasson

Norway:
Henrik Ibsen
Jo Nesbø

For New York there are many and you can find a list here:

http://www.nyslittree.org/

Some noted author who lived in NY are:

James Baldwin
Dororthy Parker
Mary McCarthy
Willa Cather
Edgar Allen Poe
Gertrude Stein

I live in VA but I'm from NH so I'm gonna go with anything JD Salinger

Off the top of my head:
Louisa May Alcott (born in Philadelphia, later moved to MA)
Jennifer Weiner (born and lives in Philadelphia)

Edgar Allen Poe lived in Philadelphia for a bit.

So I am still working on this project, hoping to come up with a new list for 2017 though I will be repeating some of the authors of great classics such as Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, and Louisa May Alcott.

I am still working to incorporate all the suggestions I have received above. Thank you so much for those!

I am still searching for more authors! In particular those from: Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Vermont, but others as well. Remember my objective is to identify more authors and assign each author to the ONE state he/she best represents and yes, which state is up for debate.

IF you would like to see the lists I have thus far check the "Bookshelves" at this challenge page

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Will wrote: "In my country (the UK), the list is rather too long to detail here, but in Yorkshire, the area of the UK I live in, the list includes:
Charlotte Bronte, Anne Bronte, Emily Bronte, Kate Atkinson, Jo..."

I'm curious. Why no non-fiction? I had to read a book SET in Pennsylvania this year for one of my challenges. I found The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough an amazing account of that disaster.

The main two authors I think of for New Mexico are Michael McGarrity and Tony Hillerman.

For HI, I'm currently reading a book by Toby Neal and she was raised and lives in HI.

Marilyn wrote: "... I am still searching for more authors! In particular those from: Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Vermont, but others as well
..."

Surely Maine is Stephen King!

If someone can recommend a good author from Kentucky that would be much appreciated.

Erin wrote: "If someone can recommend a good author from Kentucky that would be much appreciated."

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

She has written other things but this is the one I have read and I was very impressed! A Baptist minister takes his wife and four daughters to the Belgian Congo in 1959 for a one year mission, but before the year is up, the politics of the Congo changed dramatically. He is warned by many to leave the country immediately. He decides with no input from his wife or the girls to remain. The story follows what happens to each of them.

Thank you Marilyn.

I just finished Flight Behaviour by Kingsolver which was also quite good. A small town becomes the site of a monarch migration discovered by a housewife on a sheep farm. The bible people think it's a miracle but a scientist comes to study them and he feels it's a very bad sign biologically speaking. It's a personal (first person) story about the woman who found them but it also has a lot of insight into how different backgrounds and experiences can cause us to react to information in different ways.

Thank you Tara! Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Robards are my top picks.

Depending on what kind of genre you like, Jan Watson is a great Kentucky author. Her stories are set in Eastern Ky and central Ky, in the 1800 and 1900s.

Thank you Lauren! I haven't decided on a genre yet.

I have enjoyed these Utah authors:
Brandon Sanderson
Edward Abbey
Shannon Hale
Terry Tempest Williams

Also from Michigan:
Sue Harrison
Cari Noga
S.K. Balk
Me!

I know it's half a world away, but if anyone wants good Australian authors, some of my favourites are:
Kate Morton
Matthew Reilly
(most of the books these 2 above write aren't set in Australia)
Kate Grenville
Di Morrissey
Judy Nunn
Fiona McIntosh
Dawn Barker
Kathryn Fox
Liane Moriarty

I could go on, but will stop there!

Thanks for the suggestions, Kathryn. I love reading about other places in the world. I wondered: my daughter has a couple friends in Australia and sometimes there are language issues - mostly slang, I think - so do you think the Australian authors might be confusing? I'm in Chicago and as American midwestern as you can get. lol. Thanks!

Robin wrote: "Thanks for the suggestions, Kathryn. I love reading about other places in the world. I wondered: my daughter has a couple friends in Australia and sometimes there are language issues - mostly slang..."

my friend in Australia often uses slang I don't know, but I've never run into it in a book by an Australian author (well, those few that I've read anyway)

Robin wrote: "Thanks for the suggestions, Kathryn. I love reading about other places in the world. I wondered: my daughter has a couple friends in Australia and sometimes there are language issues - mostly slang..."

There might be some slang, Robin, (probably most likely in dialogue, if anywhere), but I don't think it would be too hard to figure out. Or be crucial to the point of the story. Because I can read American authors, and normally understand what they're talking about, with just a few exceptions. And as Nadine said, we don't necessarily write how we talk! Because that would be bad grammar and full of abbreviations!!

I don't think the authors I've listed use extensive slang - or I probably wouldn't like to read them myself!!

Marilyn wrote: "So I am still working on this project, hoping to come up with a new list for 2017 though I will be repeating some of the authors of great classics such as Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingw..."


Florida- Zora Neale Hurston

Maine- Stephen King

South Carolina- Pat Conroy

The worst dialect books I've read are American ones lol you guys have such a range of crazy slang depending on where you are!