Last month, the book blog Omnivoracious kicked off its “Books of the States” project, which highlights essential books and authors from each state in the union. In his introduction to the series, editor Tom Nissley explains the strategy: “We’re going to use the clunky structure of the electoral college to build a map of our own, a reader’s map of the United States.”
Every weekday, the Omnivoracious blog editors endeavor to post a new state, nominating as many books as that state has electoral votes (i.e. Delaware gets three; California, a whopping 55). Readers are invited to weigh in via the comments section. Once all states are tackled and all suggestions have been accounted for, the blog will post a final list of the 538 essential state-centric books.
Books qualify as state representatives either by their setting (e.g. Winesburg, Ohio) or the origins of the author (Kurt Vonnegut represents Indiana). So far, the list contains a good mix of fiction and nonfiction, and Nissley encourages suggestions spanning “history, kids’ books, art books, anything you can make a case for. We’re relying on your local expertise.”
It’s worth noting that while the editors began with the goal of 51 consecutive daily posts, the entries gradually petered out with the last one posted on October 27. Perhaps they were distracted watching another electoral map unfold? Whatever the status of the project, it’s fun to see what they’ve come up with so far.
(Thanks, Maud Newton.)