One of the many joys of travel is that it allows us to break away from our busy schedules and gives us more time to read. How often have you saved a special book (books, in my case) to read on vacation, on the beach, on the flight? Reading and travel are a natural go-together.
Author and RVer, Brad Herzog takes the irresistible pairing a step further on his blog You Are Here. In “Great Books, State by State,” Mr. Herzog writes not just about reading on the road, but about “the wonders of reading the right books in the right locales.”
He goes on to list 50 books for 50 states, citing both the obvious (“A River Runs Through It” for Montana, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” for Missouri) and the obscure (“American Pastoral” for New Jersey, “My Sister’s Keeper” for Rhode Island). Even with the more tenuous links, it’s not much of a stretch to see how location plays a part in the story. Reading a novel while traveling its setting can only improve the experience of each.
“As long as there have been travelers, there have been attempts to put the experience into words. But sometimes what has already been written can improve the ride,” he writes in the earlier post, “Pages and Places,” which inspired this list.
To see the entire list, please visit: GREAT BOOKS, STATE BY STATE.
Away with Words 
A very cool idea for a reading list – thanks for posting it!
I’m glad to have come across this post! I’m working on a travel-writing project right now, this is well-timed. Thanks!
I have a friend who did this. He wanted to read Roger Zelazny’s entire Amber series from beginning to end, so he took it with him on a long trip to Europe. I’m sure that now, whenever he reads any of the series, he remembers that trip as well.
Yes, good point! There are definitely some books that remind me of the trip I was on when I read them.
I agree that holidays are a time for reading for me. It is when I usually “catch up” on all the reading I’ve missed throughout the year. Of course, in my current situation, reading anything other than legal stuff has just not been possible, but hopefully on my NEXT holiday I can travel to a sunny beach location with a sci-fi trilogy or two and relax!
I’ve always thought about a literary road trip – Jane Austen in England or Robert Frost in New England. Thanks for the book tip – will make planning easier.
Reblogged this on Carrie's Bookshelf and commented:
I used to subscribe to the “Away with Words” blog. I wish the author was still contributing to it. I enjoy travel even though I’m unable to do much in that department, so I read about a lot of different places. I saved this entry for future use, and I thought readers might like it as well.