This guest post is from Verity, who lives in the UK, and reads a book set in every US state plus DC every year. I was super curious, so I asked her about it. Yes, I know, I’m nosy.
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Hello, my name is Verity and I like writing cheques my reading brain doesn’t like cashing. Let me explain.
I like to read romance and cozy crime. I have a terrible habit of finding a series I like and then binging the lot. I have an even worse habit of re-listening to my favourite murder mysteries and Terry Pratchett books while I walk to and from the office instead of listening to something new. I have an entire skinny Ikea Billy bookcase double stacked with books waiting to be read (and an overflow pile in front of it) as well as a kindle account groaning with purchases and proofs (thanks NetGalley).
And every year I decide it’ll be a good idea to do a reading challenge.
It’ll help me get the backlog down, I tell myself.
It’ll give me direction and purpose in my reading.
Right? Right? Wrong. Oh, so wrong.
It started with Book Riot’s Read Harder challenge one year, but really I just want to read books that have resolutions (preferably happy ones) and not literary fiction or sad books. Hence the romance. And mystery.
So every year, for the last five years, I’ve challenged myself to read a book set in each state of the US plus Washington, DC. I think I started because I saw someone else doing it and did a rough count in my head of how many series I read already were in different states, got to about a dozen and thought “Oh that’ll be easy”.
Reader: it was not.
50 is a lot of states. (Ed. note: Yes, it is.)
I print out a map to stick in my journal and colour in, and I chose a colour to be the theme.
I have lofty goals like not using an author more than once, or counting rereads as long as I haven’t used them in the challenge before. Every year I think I’ll be better this year, that I only need to do four or five a month, that I’ll happen across most of the states naturally in the course of my reading and it won’t end up in a mad rush at the end of the year.
But every year those goals fall by the wayside and at the start of December I realise I have about a dozen states still to do. And it’s always the same few that cause me trouble.
- They often have Ms and Is in their names.
- Often they’re states which feature in a lot of Very Old School romances set in the Old West that I really don’t want to read (but I will if it’s a choice between completing the list and not, even though I’ll hate every moment of it).
There are a tonne of books set in New York, Chicago, and LA. There aren’t so many set in Louisville, Milwaukee and Albuquerque. Really the only rule I’ve ever stuck to is that it has to be 51 different books. Doesn’t matter if a book’s about a road trip from Minneapolis to Boise, I can only use it once.
And that’s why this December my reading included:
- a middle grade adventure novel set in North Dakota (Codename Zero by Chris Rylander) ( A | BN | K | AB )
- a novella length nonfiction pamphlet about Ernest Hemingway and Sun Valley (Hemingway and Sun Valley: The Making of an Icon) ( A )
- and a memoir about evangelical Christianity in middle America in the immediate aftermath of the 2016 election. (God Land by Lyz Lenz) ( A | BN | K | AB )
And she has other series that are set in Kentucky (The Real Estate Rescue series, starting with Flippin’ Out) ( A ) and Michigan (Darling Deli series, starting with Pastrami Murder)! ( A | BN )
And cozy crime tends to do me better than romance no matter how hard I try – all those series about business owners finding bodies as they go about their business in small towns do lend themselves to what (as a Brit) I think of as “the states in the middle”.
There seems to be a sad dearth of romances set in small towns that aren’t in in-land California or upstate New York. Or the Pacific North West. Although each year there seems to be one state where a bunch of authors have decided to set their romances. One year it was South Carolina. Another it was Maine.
There’s also a big problem of romances set in generic towns – or a nonspecific spot in “New England”.
If this is my chance to get my message to romance authors – and it well might be. I know you’re out there, so here is my plea:
Please be specific – tell me which state you’re setting your book in. Just pick one. I’m a Brit, I won’t know if you’re missing some crucial detail for authenticity about daily life in Ohio. Maybe mention a buckeye, or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That’ll do. And if your state of choice can be named in the blurb – or at least somewhere in the kindle sample – I will love you for it. “Charlie has just moved back to the small town she grew up in to take over her family’s farm. But it means she’ll have to face her past with the town’s new mayor/sheriff/librarian/deli owner Bowen. He’s the reason she left Iowa/Wisconsin/ Indiana/Arkansas in the first place.”
And if it’s a state that not many other people are setting books within, I’m a loyal customer. I’ve got money and I’m willing to spend it (especially in the last quarter of the year) and so I’ll come back every year for the rest of the series.
- Ashley Herring Blake’s Bright Falls series covered me for Oregon for three years.
- Sarah Morgan’s O’Neil Brothers series did the same thing with Vermont.
- Kansas is Beverly Jenkins’s any year she blesses us with a new Blessings book. And she’s saved my bacon on some of the Cowboy-y states more than once – this year it was Louisiana (Rebel).
If you’re writing about a global pop sensation and her romance with an NFL star, don’t invent a team that plays in San Antonio or Sacramento, choose Louisville or Columbus.
If you’re writing a romance about a winter sports star, maybe base them in Park City not Lake Tahoe?
And even though it gets harder every year, I’ll be trying again 2025 – so if you’re currently scanning Taylor Swift songs for a title for your next romance, think of me and set “How You Get The Girl” in Concord or Wilmington. Help me make 2025 the year I get this reading challenge thing nailed…
Readers Note: Verity finished her 2024 reading challenge at 11.21pm on Sunday 29 December 2024, fully 40 hours earlier than she finished the challenge in 2023. As such she sees it as a triumph and has already printed her map out again for 2025.
What massive reading challenges have you undertaken? Have you read books set in all 50 states?
Oh, I love this! I *love* reading challenges.
I do the Book Riot Read Harder every year, and I also do the Free Black Women’s Library Reading Challenge (here’s the instagram post for this year’s challenge – https://www.instagram.com/thefreeblackwomenslibrary/p/DEc-S-Uunbe/).
One of my partners got me the Little Inklings reading journal for Christmas last year, and it includes a bunch of challenges, so I’ve been doing those, too. One is to read a book that starts with every letter of the alphabet – I just need J, Q, R, X, Z and a number. I’m currently reading Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland, and will be reading Queen Demon by Martha Wells when it comes out in October, so I’m doing pretty well there. And then there are six pages of other challenges – cover elements, genres, settings, etc.
I’m also doing the full Trans Rights Readathon challenge this year – I read the five core categories during the readathon but I’m trying to make it all the way through the rest of them before the end of the year.
Reading challenges are a delight. Good luck finding those tricky states this year!
I have an Ohio book for you – though it’s an urban fantasy series. T.A White’s AILEEN TRAVERS series is set in Columbus.
This is a fun idea, especially for expanding your reading parameters in order to meet the goal.
Good luck!
This is a great challenge, and I wish I was the kind of reader who could do stuff like this.
Now I’m trying to think of one romance that I’ve read from each state, but stuck on Alabama so not off to a great start. I can think of several from Alaska, off the top of my head. Of course, I can’t bring myself to log my reading because it feels like turning something I do to relax into a chore *and* I have the worlds worst memory. I mostly have vague impressions about most of the books I’ve read. So this would turn into 50 HABO exercises.
I read a m/m Sherlock Holmes fic set in Alaska that was rewritten as a m/f book and published and I read both. Possibly featuring a wilderness pilot or something similar? A more recent contemporary with a moose playing a leading role? Maybe one of the Adriana Anders books or were those all Antarctica?
There’s a M/M romance group on Goodreads that I’m not a part of myself, but they clearly have a 50 state challenge going on. Searching Lists with just a state name will usually bring up a list they’ve done like https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/108263.M_M_Romance_Books_Set_in_North_Dakota
for each state.
searching by state also got me lists like https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/189172.Queer_Books_Set_in_Alabama
You’ll get a lot of kindle related books on goodreads, but i figure with titles/author names then you can check Kobo or any other ebook site to see if there’s availability there too. And the nice thing about the goodreads lists is that they’re reader made, so it’s not dependant on the state being in the title like some other places.
(picking all queer examples here because we have entered pride month, and because a lot of the others don’t have a lot of romance/cozy on them)
I love this!! These may already be on Verity’s and other readers’ lists for an all-states challenge, but here are few state recs:
Virginia: Chick Magnet, Emma Barry; Georgie All Along, Kate Clayborn
Missouri: I’ll Have What He’s Having, Adib Khorram
Oklahoma: The Truth According to Ember, Danica Nava
Arizona: Birding With Benefits, Sarah T. Dubb
Erin Hahn has you covered for both Wisconsin and Michigan.
Also I read a lot of mm romance and between hockey romance (Ari Baran, Avon Gale), Roan Parrish, and several series by Annabeth Albert, I’ve read a lot of books set somewhere other than the usual settings.
Many years ago, Janet Dailey wrote a series of 50 romances — one set in each state. I read them before her plagiarism became an issue.
The 10 Anna Pigeon mysteries by Nevada Barr are set in national parks and cover different states.
Aaron Elkins covered several states in his Gideon Oliver (forensic anthropologist) mysteries – Washington, Alaska, Nevada, and Hawaii. With his wife Charlotte, he wrote the Lee Ofstead (pro golfer) mysteries set in California, New Mexico, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and Hawaii.
Oops! – The Gideon Oliver Make No Bones is set in Oregon, not Nevada.
Jennie Crusie is always good for Ohio. Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series is mostly set in Atlanta, but the most recent ones are set in Wilmington NC. Karl Hiassen for Florida. Now you’ve got me thinking about more of them, and not just in the US. UK counties/shires, French departments?
My rom-com Swan Cove series is set in Maine (to help with those pesky Ms) – start with Hottie on Her Shelf about a librarian!
I have a suggestion for an Ohio set mystery. Amanda Flower has started a series using the Wright Brothers sister Katherine as the amateur sleuth. The first one is set in Dayton and it’s called “To Slip the Bonds of Earth”. The second one comes out later this month and looks like it’s primarily set in St. Louis, so you could use that for Missouri.
The Campers and Criminals cozy mystery series by Tonya Kappes is set in Kentucky. There are 40 books in the series, and it’s in development to become a tv show on the Hallmark Channel. And the three books in Abby Collette’s Ice Cream Parlor cozy mysteries are set in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Both of these series are beloved by one of our mystery-loving library patrons, so I hope this helps!
Just wanted to mention Vivien Chien’s Noodle Shop Mysteries. They are set in Fairview Park, OH (western suburb of Cleveland). In case you still need ideas for Ohio. I think her books are a lot of fun – just enough correct geography, etc. for this Cleveland native to enjoy, without getting too didactic about it all.
My only reading challenge for the last few years has been to meet the goal I’ve set on Goodreads for number of books read. I include nonfiction (cookbooks, memoirs, etc.) as well as all the romance and mystery. I love the idea of reading a book set in each of the 50 states and DC, especially if mysteries are included.
Keep up the good work!
For purposes of this challenge, I would imagine the current trend of people having state names would make romances with titles like FINDING MONTANA, PROTECTING GEORGIA, or LOVING DAKOTA a bit confusing.
Here are recommendations for both NC and SC based books:
NC – Virginia Kantra’s Dare Island series – all are located around NC Outer Banks area.
SC – Kathleen Brook’s Shadows Landing serie – based on a fictional small town just inland from Charleston.
You can’t go wrong with either of these authors!!
Oooh I got you for Arkansas – Joan Hess has a mystery series set there, I don’t remember how many books there are but quite a few.
Cozy mystery series in small towns:
Sofie Kelly’s Magical Cats series, set in Mayville, Minnesota
Sofie Ryan’s Second Chance Cat series, set in North Harbor, Maine
Donna Andrews’ Meg Ryan series, set (mostly) in Caerphilly, Virginia
These are not cozies, but they are good.
Craig Johnson’s Longmire series, set mostly in and around Durant, Wyoming
Tony Hillerman’s Chee and Leaphorn novels, set mostly on Navaho reservation lands in New Mexico and Arizona
Yes, I do this too, although I’m not toooo bothered if I don’t get all the states. I’m in the UK too
@ Laurel K, I remember the Janet Daily series from when I borrowed, er stole, my mom’s books as a kid.
I’m published in short story anthologies, and I’ve written romance stories set in Delaware and Maryland. Sadly, they’re either out of print or not available in ebook to make it easy for a Brit.
@Verity, thanks for this very enjoyable post! I did the summer bingo here last year as well as one (not nearly as fun) through my public library. Those are typically the only challenges I do.
Love this:! Some recs for Ohio:
Some of the Seanan McGuire Incryptod books are partially set in Ohio .
There’s a detective series where the PI is named Milan Yakovich that’s fun.
Little fires everywhere – the author is from a Cleveland suburb, and set the story there.
Sarah MacLean’s new book this year (These Summer Storms) can take care of Rhode Island! I, like Sarah MacLean, am from Rhode Island and I so rarely read books that take place there, so I’m excited to see how it goes!
What fun! For New Mexico, I have the Reluctant Psychic series, which starts with A Stone Cold Murder, and for Arizona, The Accidental Detective series, which starts with Something Shady in Sunshine Haven. Mysteries, as you could probably guess.
Ky – Kathleen Brooks Forever Bluegrass series is set near Lexington and is so amazing!
I love the idea of this challenge. In addition to US states, it would be possible to do, say, countries in a certain region or X number of books set in capital cities, etc.
I like more open-ended challenges b/c I’m one of those people who has to be in the right mood for a particular book.
Ohio,
Les Roberts has a great mystery series about PI Milan Jacobich set in Cleveland and the surrounding area. Should keep you going for years if you enjoy them. Not really cozies though. Reviewers often talk about Cleveland becoming a character in its own right in his books.
https://jsydneyjones.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/clevelands-finest-the-milan-jacovich-novels-of-les-roberts/
I’ve never seen a romance set in Albuquerque! But recently read two mystery/procedurals with supernatural elements by Ramona Emerson, “Shutter” and “Exposure”. Not cozy by any means, but pretty engaging. I’d also recommend Ana Castillo’s “So Far From God”, a feminist novel of Chicana sisters in the Albuquerque area.
I LOVE reading challenges. I loved them when I was a kid doing summer library challenges and I love them now.
As an adult I started with the first Ripped Bodice book bingo (thank you SBTB for publicizing it), got hooked and slowly expanded until this year where I’m doing 5 on StoryGraph.
Challenges this year:
Queer your year – Laura Sackton
Read Harder – Book Riot
Trans Rights Readathon
Bisexual books forever
Decolonize your reading shelf
And I’ll probably do the SBTB book bingo too!
Also, the site LGBTQ Reads, run by Dahlia Adler, is invaluable for identifying books for challenges.
There are a few pages that list regions / states
YA (not specifically romance but many are romances)
https://lgbtqreads.com/young-adult/ya-by-state-province/
Romance
https://lgbtqreads.com/romance/us-set-romances-by-region/
This is delightful.
I rarely do reading challenges, but this makes me want to try this one!
Verity, huge props for you doing this considering you don’t even live in the US.
People have already mentioned a lot of the things I’d suggest, but if you’re willing to read a romance series that’s not super cozy but also not super dark, there’s the Wind River mysteries by Margaret Coel set on an Arapaho reservation in Wyoming. Very interesting set of main characters (a white priest and an Arapaho attorney) and delve deep into cultural issues. They sometimes have parts set in the Dakotas or Colorado (I think). Mainly on the reservation though.
And of course, there’s Tony Hillerman’s series for Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah (I think.)
I’d love to do something similar for the UK but I’m not sure what division of land would make the most sense. England, Wales, Scotland and both parts of Ireland seems too easy. But doing every county in England seems like a lot. Maybe by region?
For cozy mysteries set in Montana, there’s a whole series written by someone who actually lives in Montana, so they don’t make me cringe nearly as much as some: https://www.lesliebudewitz.com/food-lovers-village-mysteries/