Mimi’s Comments (group member since Oct 14, 2009)

Mimi’s comments from the Challenge: 50 Books group.

I can't believe how fast time has gone by !!!!! Here's my update on my states list!!!!
1. Love Walked In -- Marisa De Los Santos ---- Delaware
2. Riders of the Purple Sage -- Zane Grey -- Pennsylvania
3. One for the Money -- Janet Evanovich -- New Jersey
4. Between, Georgia -- Joshilyn Jackson -- Georgia
5. The End of Reason -- Ravi Zacharias -- Georgia
6. The Hunger Games -- Suzanne Collins --Connecticut
7. Uncle Tom's Cabin -- Harriet Beecher Stowe -- Connecticut
8. Our Town -- Thornton Wilder --- Connecticut
9. Chasing Shakespeares -- Sarah Smith --- Massachusetts
10. The Stolen Child -- Keith Donohue -- Maryland (still reading)

Miki wrote: "Hi Mimi! I think your idea is a really great one. I think sometimes books can be used as a kind of free passport to places/cultures you wish you could go to, but can't. I have a few suggestions fro..."

I definitely agree with your statement about books transporting you to other places you wish you could go !!!!
Thanks for the wonderful suggestions for Virginia :) I had to smile and giggle a bit when I saw Spencer's Mountain listed. I was teased mercilessly in junior high because my last name was Walton and the show was on tv at the time !!!
Happy Reading!!

Rock wrote: "Firstly, I like to thank you for completely losing the last two days of my life. Interesting idea. I am writing from a vineyard in the hills just out of Adelaide in Australia. So I am under somewha..."

Thanks so much for the suggestions! Some states were difficult :) I'll look into these!

Connie wrote: "Anna wrote: "I've actually spent a lot of time researching these authors, as the more i look the more i find that it's actually hard to find authors born in raised in some states. and then it seems..."

Thanks for the suggestions!! I had marked Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides to read. :) My husband read it recently and loved it!

Leighann wrote: "I honestly can't comment on any of these (I don't think I've read any of them...), but if anyone is still looking for Wisconsin authors, my local library has a list of them here. Their definition o..."

Thanks for the help!!!! I'll check it out :)

Adrianna wrote: "#6 2-12-10 ( 4.5/5*) ~School library~
This book was truly amazing. I'm at a loss for words on how to describe how this made me feel; an intriguing read with a..."

I loved this book too! I also loved his other, the Book Thief!

Y'all have some great ideas to add to my reading journal :) I've been keeping a reading journal since 2004 when I started trying to read 50 books a year. I record my thoughts about the book and sometimes quotes from the book that really meant something to me. I also keep a writing journal that is separate from my book journal. The writing journal is for my private thoughts, spiritual insights, blessings, rantings,etc... Please post how you like the new journal you ordered :) I'll check out your site:)

I thought I'd give an update here of how my reading is coming along :) So far I have read:
Love Walked In by Marissa de los Santos (Delaware)--- I loved this one :)

Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey (Pennsylvania)-- I liked this one more than I thought that I would :) It also was my first to read on my brand new Kindle!!

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich (New Jersey) I liked this one and will probably pick up another.

Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson (Georgia)I liked this one as well. The more I've thought about it the more symbolism I've discovered in the story.

Happy Reading!!

Here are my latest books toward my goal of reading a book by an author from each state !
2. Love Walked In by Marissa de Los Santos --loved it!
(Delaware)
3. Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey -- liked it and was my first experience reading on a Kindle :)
(Pennsylvania)
4. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich--- liked it
(New Jersey)
5. Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson -- liked it
(Georgia)

Jane wrote: "I recommend the Left Behind series by Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins unless Christianity offends you. Its intense suspense and an excellent serious. It explains Christianity really well, too. B..."

If you liked this series, you might try a similar trilogy called The Christ Clone Trilogy by James BeauSeigneur. I enjoyed this trilogy more than the Left Behind series. I believe the first book is entitled, In His Steps.

Samara wrote: "That is a great idea!!! Hope you dont mind if I follow. If you need some ideas for NM, which is where I am originally from,Tony Hillerman is always a great choice. Also Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Si..."

Thanks for the suggestions!! And no, I don't mind at all!!! The more the merrier!!!!!:)

Michelle wrote: "I used to read a lot. And then I decided to be an English major.

I would like to be able to walk into a bookstore and not feel shame about the books I have bought in the past and left to gather d..."

I feel your pain -- I've been there :) You'll find your way again :)

Connie wrote: "Mimi wrote: "So I finished 2009 with 24 books. I have a VERY ambitious plan for 2010!! I plan to read a book by an author from each state.
1. Have A Little Faith by Mitch Albom -- This book was s..."
I really enjoyed Have A Little Faith :)

So I finished 2009 with 24 books. I have a VERY ambitious plan for 2010!! I plan to read a book by an author from each state.
1. Have A Little Faith by Mitch Albom -- This book was started in 2009 but I didn't finish until New Year's Day so I'm going to count it for this year. I really enjoyed the book and I wish I had purchased it instead of borrowed. Too many things I wanted to underline, highlight etc...
So following this post all book posts will be on my state list!

Thanks Arlene! I was hoping to find some local authors and you provided!!! I'll have to add them to my list :)

My books are chosen for 2010!! Took me the better part of 2 weeks but my challenge to read a book by an author from each state is ready to go :) Yay!! My list is under the discussion --An author from each state --for curious minds that WANT to KNOW!!!

Warning** I apologize ahead of time. This message is long but a promise is a promise. Here is my list in statehood order. Authors were born there, lived most of their life there or were identified to the place in some way. I gave myself a couple of choices in case availability at the library was limited. I also chose books based on what I had at home and what I had not read. I also included extra authors in case others were joining me in this challenge and my choices were not to their liking. Thanks for your help !! Have Fun!!!
50 Authors / 50 States Book Challenge 2010
1. Delaware:
Marisa De Los Santos: Love Walked In
Maribeth Fisher: The Language of Goodbye
2. Pennsylvania
Zane Grey: Riders of the Purple Sage
James Michener: Tales of the South Pacific
Alice Sebold
3. New Jersey
Janet Evanovich: One for the Money
Peter Benchley: Jaws
Walt Whitman
4. Georgia
Joshilyn Jackson: Between, Georgia
Margaret Mitchell: Gone With the Wind
Ravi Zacharias, Flannery O’Connor, Olive Ann Burns
5. Connecticut
Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games
Harriet Beecher Stowe: Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Thornton Wilder: Our Town
6. Massachusetts
Sarah Smith: Chasing Shakespeares
Nathaniel Hawthorne: The House of the Seven Gables
Anita Shreve: Sea Glass
John Updike, Dennis Lehane, Louisa May Alcott
7. Maryland
Keith Donohue: The Stolen Child
Anne Tyler: Breathing Lessons
8. South Carolina
Pat Conroy: Beach Music
Sue Monk Kidd: Where the Heart Waits
James Dickey
9. New Hampshire
Jodi Picoult: My Sister’s Keeper
John Irving: A Prayer for Owen Meaney
Dan Brown, Robert Frost
10. Virginia
Lauren Winner: girl meets God
Ian Caldwell: The Rule of Four
William Styron, Tom Wolfe, Edgar Allan Poe
11. New York
Betty Smith: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Frank McCourt: Angela’s Ashes
Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver and Priscilla Warner: The Faith Club
J.D. Salinger, James Fenimore Cooper, Michael Chabon, Lorrie Moore
12. North Carolina
Lee Smith: On Agate Hill
Charles Frazier: Cold Mountain
Clyde Edgerton: The Bible Salesman
Jan Karon, Orson Scott Card, Kaye Gibbons
13. Rhode Island
Jhumpa Lahiri: The Namesake
Chris Van Allsburg: Jumanji
HP Lovecraft, David Lafleche
14. Vermont
Chris Bohjalian: The Double Bind
Donna Tartt: The Secret History
15. Kentucky
Robert Penn Warren: All the King’s Men
Sue Grafton: A is for Alibi
16. Tennessee
Robert Hicks: A Separate Country
Ann Patchett: Bel Canto
Tony Earley
17. Ohio
Mary Doria Russell: The Sparrow
Christopher Moore: Practical Demonkeeping
Toni Morrison
18. Louisiana
John Kennedy Toole: A Confederacy of Dunces
Rebecca Wells: The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder
Kate Chopin, James Lee Burke, Walker Percy
19. Indiana
Meg Cabot: Size 12 is Not Fat
Booth Tarkington: The Magnificent Ambersons
James Whitcomb Riley
20. Mississippi
Robert Dalby: Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly
William Faulkner: As I Lay Dying
Eudora Welty
21. Illinois
Eileen Favorite: The Heroines
Saul Bellow: Humboldt’s Gift
Elizabeth Berg, Scott Turow, Ernest Hemingway
22. Alabama
Gin Phillips and Fannie Flagg: The Well and the Mine
Rick Bragg: Ava’s Man
Harper Lee
23. Maine
Stephen King: The Stand
Richard Russo: Empire Falls
Barry B. Longyear
24. Missouri
Robert Heinlein: Job: A Comedy of Justice
Mark Twain: A Tramp Abroad
Laurell K. Hamilton
25. Arkansas
Maya Angelou: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee: Character Makes a Difference
26. Michigan
Jeffrey Eugenides: Middlesex
Elmore Leonard: LaBrava
Mitch Albom, Warren Wiersbe
27. Florida
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings: The Yearling
Carl Hiassen: Hoot
Tom Corcoran, Paul McElroy, Zora Neale Hurston
28. Texas
Larry McMurtry: Lonesome Dove
Rick Riordan: The Lightning Thief
Sandra Cisneros: The House on Mango Street
Tim O’Brien, Becky Freeman, Beth Moore
29. Iowa
Bill Bryson: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
Wallace Stegner: Angle of Repose
30. Wisconsin
Jane Hamilton: The Book of Ruth
Craig Thompson: Blankets
Stephen Ambrose, Danielle Trussoni
31. California
Anne Lamott: Traveling Mercies
Ray Bradbury: Dandelion Wine
32. Minnesota
Robert Pirsig: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Louise Erdrich: The Plague of Doves
Tim O’Brien, Garrison Keillor, Lois Bujold, Sinclair Lewis
33. Oregon
Ken Kesey: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Ursula LeGuin: The Telling
Jean Auel: Shelters of Stone
34. Kansas
William Inge: Picnic
Laura Moriarty: The Center of Everything
35. West Virginia
Pearl S. Buck: The Good Earth
Ann Pancake: Strange as this Weather has Been
Davis Grubb
36. Nevada
David Eddings: Pawn of Prophecy
Charles Bock: Beautiful Children
37. Nebraska
Willa Cather: My Antonia
Nicholas Sparks: The Wedding
Ron Hansen: Atticus
38. Colorado
Kent Haruf: Eventide
Connie Willis: Doomsday Book
Donita K. Paul, Richard J. Foster
39. North Dakota
Louis L’Amour: Under the Sweetwater Rim
Carla Kelly: One Good Turn
40. South Dakota
Laura Ingalls Wilder: The First Four Years
Paul Goble: The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
Black Elk
41. Montana
A.B. Guthrie: The Way West
Christopher Paolini: Eragon
Joanna Weaver: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World
42. Washington
Sherman Alexie: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part time Indian
Neal Stephenson: Quicksilver
Frank Herbert, Janette Rallison, Kirby Larson
43. Idaho
Marilynne Robinson: Gilead
Frank Peretti: House
44. Wyoming
Annie Proulx: The Shipping News
Patricia MacLachlan: Sarah, Plain and Tall
George Clayton Johnson, CJ Box
45. Utah
James Dashner: The Maze Runner
Richard Paul Evans: The Looking Glass
Edward Abbey
46. Oklahoma
Billie Letts: The Honk and Holler Opening Soon
Ralph Ellison: The Invisible Man
William Bernhardt, Carolyn Hart
47. New Mexico
Cormac McCarthy: The Road
Tony Hillerman: Dance Hall of the Dead
48. Arizona
Stephanie Meyer: Twilight
Barbara Kingsolver: Pigs in Heaven
Barbara Park, Jennifer Ward
49. Alaska
Sarah Palin: Going Rogue
Sue Henry: Degrees of Separation
50. Hawaii
Kate Elliot: Kings Dragon
Lois Ann Yamanaka: Blu’s Hanging
Kirby Wright: Punahou Blues
Bonus:
Washington D.C.
Martha Grimes: The Lamorna Wink
George Pelecanos: The Night Gardener
Andrew Sean Greer: The Confessions of Max Tivoli

Sherri wrote: "In Florida there is an author (who I happen to know personally) that writes the Treasure Coast Mysteries and one other book called Spirit Chaser. His name is Paul McElroy. I havn't read the TCM's y..."
Thanks for the suggestion!! I'll check him out :)

Tiffany wrote: "Mimi wrote: "Tiffany wrote: For Washington, I was going to suggest something by Sherman Alexie..."

Any particular title by him or any will do? Thanks for the suggestion :)

You know, professional ..."

Thanks for the suggestion! I checked him out and looked at The Absolutely True diary of a Part-Time Indian. The other one sounds really interesting as well.!

Molly wrote: "Connie wrote: "I would find a different author for CT. Not sure who though..."

You could use Mark Twain. When he lived in Hartford, CT (where his unique home there is now a museum) he wrote The..."

Thanks for the suggestions!!