What Should I Read Next? Ep 519: Let's plan a Read the USA project
Mary Pogue, a St. Louis digital marketing strategist and avid reader, is tackling a Read the USA challenge to read a book from or set in every state. She discusses her rules, library-forward approach, love of historical fiction, and hard-to-find states on her list. The conversation highlights recommendations from Maine to Montana and strategies for finding state-specific titles.
01:03:56
Mary's Read The USA Challenge
- Mary created a Read the USA challenge to read one book set in or written by an author from each U.S. state for the country's 250th anniversary.
- She plans to count print and audiobooks, use Libby, and finish 50 state books by year-end while mood reading around them.
How To Count A State For A Multi City Book
- For a multi-location book count the primary setting toward one state's slot rather than a brief scene.
- Mary will pick the state that contains the book's main setting when a story crosses multiple states.
The Huntress Hooked Mary On Kate Quinn
- Mary named three lifelong favorites including The Huntress by Kate Quinn, which blends WWII history with modern Boston suspense.
- The Huntress introduced her to Quinn and led Mary to read many of Quinn's historical novels.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app 1 chevron_right 2 chevron_right 3 chevron_right 4 chevron_right 5 chevron_right 6 chevron_right 7 chevron_right 8 chevron_right 9 chevron_right 10 chevron_right 11 chevron_right 12 chevron_right 13 chevron_right 14 chevron_right 15 chevron_right 16 chevron_right 17 chevron_right
Intro
00:00 • 5min
Mary introduces the Read the USA challenge
05:08 • 1min
Mary's reading background and habits
06:25 • 3min
Why she started the project now
09:08 • 4min
Rules and scope of Read the USA
12:45 • 3min
Mary's book tastes and goals
16:07 • 3min
Ad break
19:13 • 6min
Three books Mary loves
25:35 • 4min
A book that didn't work: Maine Characters
29:50 • 4min
Recent reads that counted for states
33:29 • 4min
Reading priorities and library use
37:08 • 2min
States Mary still needs help with
39:24 • 6min
Recommendations for the Dakotas: Louise Erdrich
45:28 • 5min
Arizona and the Southwest options
50:11 • 7min
Montana suggestions: Larry Watson and Ivan Doig
57:09 • 3min
Kentucky reading ideas including Groundskeeping
01:00:35 • 3min
Mary's next picks and takeaways
01:03:53 • 3min
#68419
The Wild Huntress
Emily Lloyd-Jones
#99782
Trail of Lightning
Rebecca Roanhorse
#60266
Groundskeeping
Lee Cole
Lee Cole's Groundskeeping follows a young Black protagonist working at a small liberal arts college, navigating class, race, and personal ambition amid campus life.
The novel delves into contemporary social issues, including institutional power dynamics, identity, and regional culture, with scenes anchored in Louisville settings.
Cole's observational prose and character-driven plot examine how individuals are shaped by community and history.
While engaging with timely topics, the book also offers vivid place-based detail that will appeal to readers interested in Kentucky locales.
Groundskeeping received attention for its thoughtful depiction of modern American life through an intimate narrative lens.
#58013
The Secret Book of Flora Lee
Patti Callahan Henry
Patti Callahan Henry's The Secret Book of Flora Lee centers on Hazel, who was evacuated from London during World War II and separated from her younger sister.
Years later Hazel discovers a children's story she once told her sister has been published, sparking hope that her sibling may still be alive.
The novel blends historical detail about wartime Britain with a search for family and identity, combining literary mystery with emotional family drama.
Themes include memory, storytelling, and the ways trauma reverberates across decades.
Henry's accessible prose and focus on character relationships make the book appealing to readers of historical women's fiction.
#72001
The Ivory City
Emily Murphy
Emily Murphy's The Ivory City is a historical novel combining mystery and romance set against the backdrop of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
The story centers on characters navigating social intrigue and danger amid the fair's spectacle, drawing on local history and period detail.
Murphy crafts atmosphere through vivid descriptions of the city and fair, using the event's cultural significance as a dynamic setting.
The book appeals to readers who enjoy historically grounded mysteries with romantic threads and strong sense of place.
Mary Pogue notes it as a timely pick for covering Missouri in her state-reading challenge.
#76700
Yellow dirt
Judy Pasternak
Judy Pasternak's Yellow Dirt examines the history and aftermath of uranium mining on Navajo Nation lands, documenting environmental contamination and governmental neglect.
The book chronicles the health and cultural impacts on Native communities, combining investigative reporting with personal testimonies and archival research.
Pasternak exposes how Cold War and Manhattan Project demands led to long-term harm for Indigenous people and landscapes.
The narrative connects historical policy decisions to contemporary struggles for remediation and justice.
Yellow Dirt is an important work in environmental justice and Native history scholarship.
#97018
These Is My Words
Nancy E. Turner
Nancy E. Turner's These Is My Words is written as the fictional diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, chronicling her life from girlhood into adulthood on the American frontier between 1881 and 1901.
The novel captures the challenges of survival, love, and self-education amid harsh conditions, depicting frontier community life and personal growth.
Turner's use of evolving voice emphasizes Sarah's increasing literacy and agency over time.
The book is warm-hearted and accessible, appealing to readers who enjoy historical domestic narratives and strong, resilient protagonists.
It's the first in a trilogy that continues Sarah's story.
#56639
The Secret, Book & Scone Society (series)
Ellery Adams
Ellery Adams's The Secret, Book & Scone Society series follows Nora and an ensemble of friends who gather around books, baked goods, and small-town mysteries.
Each installment features a central mystery tied to local history or personal secrets, with warm community dynamics and literary references.
The series blends comfort, amateur sleuthing, and heartfelt relationships, appealing to readers who enjoy cozy mysteries with bookish charm.
Adams crafts recurring characters and town settings that develop across the series, making it suitable for binge-reading.
Mary Pogue used this series to check off North Carolina in her Read the USA project.
#57838
The Beat Queen
Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich's The Beat Queen is an early novel set in the recurring fictional town of Argus, North Dakota, contributing to the mosaic of interconnected stories in her oeuvre.
The novel blends personal drama with regional detail, focusing on characters navigating complex social and familial dynamics.
Like many of Erdrich's works, it engages with Native and settler histories, portraying layered communities and moral ambiguities.
The Beat Queen helps establish the shared universe that recurs across Erdrich's novels, linking generations and themes.
Readers of Erdrich appreciate its compassionate character work and sense of place.
#40714
Maine Characters
Hannah Orenstein
Hannah Orenstein's Maine Characters centers on two half-sisters who unknowingly share time with their father at the same lake house but never meet.
The novel explores family secrets, identity, and the complications of adult relationships against a coastal Maine backdrop.
While the setting and premise drew readers in, some have found the character development uneven.
The book aims to blend domestic drama with a sense of place, using Maine's landscape as a character in itself.
For readers seeking atmospheric women's fiction with family entanglements, the novel offers charm despite mixed critical responses.
#8321
• Mentioned in 6 episodes
The Library
Apollodorus
#6608
• Mentioned in 7 episodes
The Night Watch
Al Pasha
#8799
• Mentioned in 6 episodes
The round house
Louise Erdrich
The Round House by Louise Erdrich is a powerful novel that explores themes of identity, family, and justice.
Set on an Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota, it follows Joe Coutts, a 13-year-old boy, as he navigates the aftermath of his mother's brutal attack.
The novel delves into the complexities of tribal law and the challenges faced by Native American communities in seeking justice.
It is part of Erdrich's 'justice trilogy', which includes 'The Plague of Doves' and 'LaRose'.
#26126
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Love Medicine
Louise Erdrich
'Love Medicine' is a novel by Louise Erdrich that explores the interconnected lives of several Native American families living on a reservation in North Dakota.
The novel is structured as a series of interwoven stories, each narrated from a different character's perspective.
Through these voices, Erdrich examines themes of love, loss, identity, and the enduring power of family and community.
The novel is celebrated for its lyrical prose, its vivid characters, and its sensitive portrayal of Native American culture and experiences.
It also explores the impact of historical trauma and cultural assimilation on individuals and communities.
#109
• Mentioned in 165 episodes
Shoe Dog
Phil Knight
Shoe Dog is a memoir that chronicles the journey of Phil Knight as he builds Nike from its humble beginnings as Blue Ribbon Sports.
The book is a personal and detailed account of Knight's experiences, from his early days selling Japanese running shoes out of the trunk of his car to the global brand Nike is today.
It highlights his relentless work ethic, the challenges he faced, and the key relationships with his partners and employees that were crucial to the company's success.
The memoir also touches on Knight's personal life, including his family and the emotional struggles he encountered along the way.
#25287
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Montana 1948
Larry Watson
Narrated by adult David Hayden reflecting on the summer of 1948 in Bentrock, Montana, the story unfolds as his family's Native American housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, falls ill and reveals that David's uncle Frank, a respected doctor, has been sexually abusing reservation women.
David's father, the local sheriff, arrests Frank, leading to family conflict, Marie's suspicious death, and Frank's suicide in their basement.
The events shatter the Hayden family's prominence, force their move to North Dakota, and mark the end of David's childhood innocence while exposing racial and power dynamics.
#25303
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
The Bean Trees
Barbara Kingsolver
The Bean Trees follows the story of Taylor Greer, a young woman from rural Kentucky who sets out on a road trip to find a better life.
Along the way, she is given custody of a three-year-old girl named Turtle, who has been abused.
Taylor settles in Tucson, Arizona, where she forms a nontraditional family with her roommate Lou Ann and her son Dwayne Ray, as well as with a community of outcasts and refugees.
The novel explores themes of motherhood, friendship, resilience, immigration, and the power of chosen families.
It delves into issues such as child abuse, cultural identity, and the struggles of single mothers, highlighting the strength and support that can be found in unconventional family bonds.
#27514
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Python's Kiss
Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich's 'Python's Kiss' is a collection of short stories published after a long career of novels and other works; the pieces were written over approximately two decades.
The book includes stories that range in tone and genre, including ghostly tales and speculative or near-future pieces, reflecting Erdrich's interest in the boundaries between the ordinary and the uncanny.
Many stories arose from fragments and notebooks, sometimes taking years to complete, and showcase her characteristic focus on family, memory, Indigenous life, and moral complexity.
The collection demonstrates Erdrich's patience with form and her willingness to let stories evolve outside strict authorial control.
It adds to her body of work that often blends lyrical prose with attention to cultural and historical specificity.
#30106
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
The Mighty Red
Louise Erdrich
We hear about all different kinds of reading challenges around here, and today's guest is seeking titles to help mark the 250th anniversary of the United States.
Mary Pogue lives in St. Louis with her family, where she enjoys her work as a digital marketing strategist and her hobbies like coaching field hockey, traveling, and of course, reading.
This year, Mary's embarking on a challenge she is calling Read the USA. Her goal is to read a book set in or written by an author from every U.S. state. While Mary has made great progress already at this point in the year, she is hoping for Anne's help in picking books for a handful of states Mary has yet to visit, either in person or on the page, and is having a hard time finding options for.
Mary would be thrilled if these books could do double duty. She especially enjoys learning about each state's history and culture through works of historical fiction, and she has a preference for titles she'll find at her local library. But as you'll hear today, Mary is open to all kinds of options. Today we'll tackle her list of outstanding states and discover titles she might want to add to this reading road trip.
Find the list of the books discussed today and leave your suggestions for Mary on our show notes page at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/519.
Chapters:
03:56 Meet Mary
08:32 Mary's Read the USA reading project
16:56 The Huntress by Kate Quinn
20:44 The Secret Book of Flora Lee by Patti Callahan Henry
23:05 The Library Book by Susan Orlean
25:47 Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein
41:11 The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
44:57 The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
49:15 Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
51:22 Montana 1948 by Larry Watson
56:04 Groundskeeping by Lee Cole
57:56 What will Mary read next?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices