Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

Use this space to discuss books you're reading or that might fit the 22nd Read Harder task.

When I saw the prompt I knew I wanted something in the horror genre set in Wisconsin, the state where I was born, so I am going with The Grip of It.

There are so many options I am not totally commiting yet, but some possibilities sitting on my shelves are are Beyond the Bedroom Wall, Gilead (a reread I have been planning before I read Jack), Twin City, The Feast of Love, The Turner House, We Need New Names, Song of Solomon, The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls (I was raised in Detroit, so I have a lot of Detroit books - also reading What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City), for another prompt).

The Babysitters Coven is set in Kansas!

I think I'm going with In Cold Blood

Patrick wrote: "I think I'm going with In Cold Blood"

Ooh that is a good book!

Highly recommend Real Life for literary fiction (set in Madison, WI) and Universal Harvester for mystery/suspense (set in Nevada, Iowa)

I'm going with the horror novel Something Wicked This Way Comes

I think I'm going with Ordinary Grace. I was surprised I have so few Midwest-based novels on my TBR!

My immediate thought was The Lager Queen of Minnesota or Kitchens of the Great Midwest.

Traci wrote: "My immediate thought was The Lager Queen of Minnesota or Kitchens of the Great Midwest."

The Lager Queen of Minnesota was really good!

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is based in Nebraska.

Kelsey wrote: "Highly recommend Real Life for literary fiction (set in Madison, WI) and Universal Harvester for mystery/suspense (set in Nevada, Iowa)"

Both of those are already on my TBR, so I will add them to the long list. So many good options here!

The Fault in Our Stars, Turtles All the Way Down, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson are all set in the Midwest and I loved all of three of them!

A few on my TBR list:
Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Land of Dreams
Only the Dead

Thinking The Round House by Louise Erdrich. It's set in North Dakota.

I just picked up the audiobook for Shotgun Lovesongs for this one

I got The Obituary Society as a kindle freebie a whole back, maybe I’ll finally read it for this prompt.

Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish is a possible nonfiction choice.

The suggestion of Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder above, reminds me that I want to reread the The Little House Collection.

Which reminded me that Ducks, Newburyport is set in Ohio and constantly references Laura Ingalls Wilder .

Lots of choices here!

I bet I could find things on my list if I do searches by state. But um.... how exactly do you define the Midwest? I'm not American, and the Wikipedia page says the Census says it is 12 states, but different groups have different definitions.... is the Census version the common understanding?

("The Census Bureau's definition consists of 12 states in the north central United States: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. "_

That census list looks right to me, Jessica.

I was going to google what counts as midwest, because as a Canadian I have a vague idea of the region but couldn't list the states offhand and didn't want to accidentally read something that was actually not the midwest at all. So thank you Jessica, you have spared me the google.

I actually have a map where I log my reading habits by location (through google maps, highly recommend trying it for that, I have gotten some truly fascinating and useful data about my reading habits this way). The data only goes back about 5-ish years, but I think I'm going to aim to either read something from a state I have no data for, or something from a state where I only have data within one city and try to make it not set in that city.

This would include Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, and maybe Wisconsin. I would also say that I would read books from Illinois but not Chicago, Minnesota but not Minneapolis, and Missouri but not St Louis.

I haven't decided what I'm going to go for yet, but I'm eager to explore a region that is sparsely represented on my map, especially since it isn't too far from home for me (I'm in Canada, but between Detroit and Toronto).

The problem with the census bureau's definition is that it hasn't been updated in like forever. There is at least one state that seems to have no home region in reality. Oklahoma. the bureau designates it as southern, but southerners say absolutely not its Midwest. Midwesterners say its southwestern which if its not midwest would be what I'd have considered it but it has nothing in common with the southwest states. I'm from the northeast so I always assumed OK was midwest, but wanted to be sure before I recommended books for this task.

So. . . if you decide OK is midwest then I highly recommend The Outsiders, Tex, Rumble Fish, That was Then This is Now, and Taming the Star Runner all by S. E. Hinton

I think of Kansas, Oklahoma, the Dakotas and Nebraska as different than the rest of those states listed, being from Michigan. More arid ranch land like eastern Colorado and Wyoming. But location wise, it seems ok to include them!

I was raised in Michigan and as an adult have lived in the Northeast, the deep South, the Mid Atlantic, and Fargo. OK is definitely not the South or the Midwest, it is Southwest all the way.

Amanda wrote: "The problem with the census bureau's definition is that it hasn't been updated in like forever. There is at least one state that seems to have no home region in reality. Oklahoma."

Poor Oklahoma!

Okay I did my look at some Listopias and here's some books I might read that were on my to-read list!
Ready Player One [Ohio; Oklahoma]
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City [Milwaukee, WI]
The Last Runaway [Ohio]
Sharp Objects [Missouri; Illinois]
In Cold Blood [Kansas]
Grave Peril, as I've read the first 2 [Chicago]
Killshot [Missouri]
Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul [Chicago]

And if anyone hasn't read The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, I heartily recommend it.

LOL. The Plains States get no love at all.

I grew up in Iowa and now live in Minnesota, so I have opinions on what is the Midwest. Anyone who fought for the Confederacy isn't (sorry Missouri). Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma are too far West to be Mid (and Oklahoma too far South). I don't really think Ohio should be because they're too far East and not Mid, but I think the East Coast doesn't want them because they don't border the Atlantic and they're not an original colony. So they're borderline.

In general, from someone who lives here, the Midwest is Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan. Maybe Ohio, maybe the Dakotas.

Bonnie G. wrote: "There are so many options I am not totally commiting yet, but some possibilities sitting on my shelves are are Beyond the Bedroom Wall, Gilead (a reread I have been plann..."

Where is the Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls set? I always thought it was set in the south. Do you think this could also fit with prompt 23?

Beach Read is also set in Michigan! Really enjoyed that one!

Kaitlyn wrote: "Bonnie G. wrote: "There are so many options I am not totally commiting yet, but some possibilities sitting on my shelves are are Beyond the Bedroom Wall, Gilead (a reread..."

It is set in Western Michigan. I don't think it seeks to demystify eating disorders, but I haven't read it so I am not sure.

Melissa wrote: "I grew up in Iowa and now live in Minnesota, so I have opinions on what is the Midwest. Anyone who fought for the Confederacy isn't (sorry Missouri). Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma are too far West ..."

As someone who has lived in missouri half my life its the midwest. I am also a member of MACURH which is the midwest affiliate of NACURH and missouri is one of the states included

Alex wrote: "Melissa wrote: "I grew up in Iowa and now live in Minnesota, so I have opinions on what is the Midwest. Anyone who fought for the Confederacy isn't (sorry Missouri). Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma a..."

Missouri-born-and-bred girl checking in. It is most definitely Midwestern.

I agree about the The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

Monica Ferris (Needlework) and Joanne Fluke (Bakery) write cozy myteries based in Minnesota.

I will probably read Twenty Years at Hull House, by Jane Addams, since I've been wanting to read that for a number of years.

Some other titles I'm considering are The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair and Sula, by Toni Morrison.

Lots of good ideas here! Some others I'm thinking about:

Little Fires Everywhere (Ohio)
God Is an Astronaut (Michigan)
Bone Gap (Illinois)
LaRose (North Dakota)
The Land of Laughs (Missouri)
A Thousand Acres (Iowa)
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (Indiana)

Also want to put in a plug for You Should See Me in a Crown (Indiana)

Side note, here's an interesting survey on what people who identify as midwesterners think counts as the midwest: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/...

I'm going to read Fences in the Woods: A Memoir of the Wisconsin Forest. http://whitefishpress.com/bookdetail....

As someone who lives in Hampshire, England (referred to as south east by anyone west of us, as south west by anyone from London and as just plain "south" by us!), it's nice to know it happens in other countries too!

I will probably go with Lila by Marilynne Robinson, set in Iowa. I read Gilead this year and loved it (although I read Home a couple of years ago and found it very slow).

Judith wrote: "As someone who lives in Hampshire, England (referred to as south east by anyone west of us, as south west by anyone from London and as just plain "south" by us!), it's nice to know it happens in ot..."

Your reply made me laugh. I grew up in Michigan, and I never knew the boundaries of the Midwest were so controversial before this discussion. (The Census list comports with my assumptions, btw. The people in Missouri and Kansas may seem just as southern than the people in Mississippi, but its still the Midwest.)

Stina wrote: "Alex wrote: "Melissa wrote: "I grew up in Iowa and now live in Minnesota, so I have opinions on what is the Midwest. Anyone who fought for the Confederacy isn't (sorry Missouri). Nebraska, Kansas a..."

I feel like Midwestern is more a state of mind. It's like the term 'Middle Class.' The definition is relative and shifting.

I'll probably be reading Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride & Prejudice, which (as far as I can tell) largely takes place in my new hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Ooh, Gilead. Can also work as intimidated to read for me.

Jane wrote: "I'll probably be reading Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride & Prejudice, which (as far as I can tell) largely takes place in my new hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio."

It does! There is a climactic scene in California, but the vast majority is in Cincinnati.

I’m going to finally read The Jungle, too! Thanks for reminding me of that one, y’all!

I think Slay qualifies. Correct me if I am wrong. It definitely features a murder in KC

This is non-fiction, but I have a community read for January that I think will fit for this prompt. Detroit: An American Autopsy

Ady wrote: "This is non-fiction, but I have a community read for January that I think will fit for this prompt. Detroit: An American Autopsy"

I was born and raised in Metro Detroit (I left Michigan IMMEDiATELY after college) and I loved this book.

Jessica wrote: "I bet I could find things on my list if I do searches by state. But um.... how exactly do you define the Midwest? I'm not American, and the Wikipedia page says the Census says it is 12 states, but ..."

As a Michigander, I generally would say: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin as Midwest states (MAYBE Iowa, but I don't usually include it). I'd label the others more Great Plains States.

As a Canadian I would offer up that books set in the prairie provinces should count as well: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba. 😉

The Prairie/Plains states are not the Midwest, If Canada is to be included as an extension of the US (which its not) Ontario would be the most geographically analogous province.