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EW's United States of Books: 50 Books for 50 States

The September 4, 2015 print version of Entertainment Weekly has an interesting feature by Keith Staskiewicz and Isabella Biedenharn on “The United States of Books.”
“Which novel captures the true spirit of Iowa? How about Texas? Or Rhode Island? Here, EW picks the one work of fiction that best defines each state in the union.”
Is it any surprise that John Updike was chosen as the author whose novel best represents the spirit and character of Pennsylvania?
In choosing Rabbit, Run as the book that captures the spirit of Pennsylvania, the authors write, “Updike’s most famous work, the first of his Rabbit Angstrom novels, follows a former high school basketball star after he abandons his pregnant wife and child, taking suburban Pennsylvania ennui to a terrifying precipice.”
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To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
1
Harper Lee
Julie of the Wolves (Jean Craighead George)
Julie of the Wolves
2
Jean Craighead George
Animal Dreams (Barbara Kingsolver)
Animal Dreams
3
Barbara Kingsolver
True Grit
True Grit
4
Play It as It Lays (Joan Didion)
Play It as It Lays
5
Joan Didion
Plainsong (Kent Haruf)
Plainsong
6
Kent Haruf
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
7
Elizabeth George Speare
The Book of Unknown Americans
The Book of Unknown Americans
8
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
9
Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
Gone With the Wind
10
Margaret Mitchell
The Descendants (Kaui Hart Hammings)
The Descendants
11
Kaui Hart Hammings
Housekeeping (Marilynne Robinson)
Housekeeping
12
Marilynne Robinson
Maud Martha (Gwendolyn Brooks)
Maud Martha
13
Gwendolyn Brooks
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
14
Shoeless Joe (W P Kinsella)
Shoeless Joe
15
W P Kinsella
Doc
Doc
16
In Country
In Country
17
The Awakening (Kate Chopin)
The Awakening
18
Kate Chopin
Empire Falls, by Richard Russo
Empire Falls, by Richard Russo
19
The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler
The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler
20
The Wapshot Chronicle
The Wapshot Chronicle
21
Once Upon a River
Once Upon a River
22
Betsy-Tacy Books
Betsy-Tacy Books
23
The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner)
The Sound and the Fury
24
William Faulkner
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
25
Mark Twain
A River Runs Through It (Montana)
A River Runs Through It (Montana)
26
My Antonia (Willa Cather)
My Antonia
27
Willa Cather
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thompson)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
28
Hunter S. Thompson
A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
A Prayer for Owen Meany
29
John Irving
Independence Day (Richard Ford)
Independence Day
30
Richard Ford
House Made of Dawn (N. Scott Momaday)
House Made of Dawn
31
N. Scott Momaday
Drown, Junot Diaz
Drown, Junot Diaz
32
Jim the Boy (Tony Earley)
Jim the Boy
33
Tony Earley
Love Medicine (Louise Erdrich)
Love Medicine
34
Louise Erdrich
Winesburg, Ohio (Sherwood Anderson)
Winesburg, Ohio
35
Sherwood Anderson
The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
The Grapes of Wrath
36
John Steinbeck
Geek Love (Katherine Dunn)
Geek Love
37
Katherine Dunn
Rabbit, Run (John Updike)
Rabbit, Run
38
John Updike
Spartina
Spartina
39
The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy
The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy
40
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