The Spirit of America
If you think one of the books below doesn’t belong here, 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.
At Blackwater Pond by Mary Oliver, poetry
Purchase via Bookshop (only audio)
The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand, fiction / chick-lit
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay, horror
Loom by Therese Soukar Chehade, literary fiction
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane, mystery
Nantucket Nights by Elin Hilderbrand, fiction / chick-lit
Secret Harmonies by Andrea Barrett, fiction
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, fiction
Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand, fiction / chick-lit
Purchase via Bookshop to support independent bookstores.
Purchase via Amazon? Links coming soon.
Photo credit: Erick Zajac