The Evergreen State

Is there a book you love and feel does a great job of highlighting its Washington setting? Send your suggestions and please don’t forget to tell me why you think that book is a good choice for this state. It doesn’t need to explicitly be about the state, only clearly set in it and written by someone who actually lived there. I have a bias towards books written by authors who are still living so that we can reflect more on today’s reality but I won’t turn down a classic if you make a good argument for it!

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.

Before the Wind by Jim Lynch, fiction

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Bread Alone by Judith Ryan Hendricks, fiction / chick-lit

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Citizen Vince by Jess Walter, crime novel

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The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelly Estes, historical fiction

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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, historical fiction

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The Inn at Rose Harbor by Debbie Macomber, romance

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The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie, short story

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Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson, historical fiction

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When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz, romance / suspense

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Where’d you go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, fiction / humor

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Purchase via Amazon? Links coming soon.

Photo credit: Erick Zajac