Horse racing, Bluegrass, Moonshine and More
If you’re not from Kentucky or a neighboring state, do you know much about the place and its people beyond stereotypes? I challenge you to get to know them through the pages of books.
If you think one of the books on the list below doesn’t belong, let me know your thoughts. Or if you’d like to add a book of your own, submit your suggestion. The book doesn’t need to be explicitly about the state, only clearly set in it and written by someone who actually lived there — ideally someone still living so we get a feel for the contemporary state of things.
Books are in no order of preference. That they are on this list is not a reflection of my personal taste or even that I’ve read them — I want you to find what works for you.
The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker, literary fiction
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson, historical fiction
My Bluegrass Baby by Molly Harper, romance
Purchase via Bookshop (only MP3 version available here)
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards, fiction
That Distant Land by Wendell Berry, short stories
Purchase via Bookshop to support independent bookstores.
Purchase via Amazon? Links coming soon.
Photo credit: Erick Zajac