The United States of Books
by Gus Jones, Fiction Department, Central Library
One of the creative library assistants in the Fiction Department saw an idea in the September 4, 2015, issue of Entertainment Weekly and thought it would be perfect to replicate as a department display. It is called The United States of Books.
For each state, Entertainment Weekly picked “the one work of fiction that best defines each state in the union.” The associated article provides a short description of the novels and usually includes how it relates to the state. For example, the novel chosen to represent Alabama is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It is described as follows:
It’s very interesting to discover which novels are considered by Entertainment Weekly to define each state. Please stop by the Fiction Department to enjoy the display and spend some time browsing the shelves to find a novel that defines a state in the union. Here are a few of the novels chosen for southern states.
One of the creative library assistants in the Fiction Department saw an idea in the September 4, 2015, issue of Entertainment Weekly and thought it would be perfect to replicate as a department display. It is called The United States of Books.
For each state, Entertainment Weekly picked “the one work of fiction that best defines each state in the union.” The associated article provides a short description of the novels and usually includes how it relates to the state. For example, the novel chosen to represent Alabama is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It is described as follows:
Forget the dubious sequel. Lee’s exceptional work is a perfectly contained miracle about the struggle for justice in a system built to deny it. From Birmingham to Tuskegee, Alabama was a burning center of racial conflict, and this novel takes place right on the outskirts of that crucible.
It’s very interesting to discover which novels are considered by Entertainment Weekly to define each state. Please stop by the Fiction Department to enjoy the display and spend some time browsing the shelves to find a novel that defines a state in the union. Here are a few of the novels chosen for southern states.
- Arkansas – True Grit by Charles Portis
- Georgia – Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
- Kentucky – In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason
- Louisiana – The Awakening by Kate Chopin
- Mississippi – The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
- North Carolina – Jim the Boy by Tony Earley
- South Carolina – The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
- Tennessee – A Death in the Family by James Agee
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