This Is the Most Popular Book Set in Your State
Here’s a bit of information that bibliophiles would instantly place in the need-to-know category: a breakdown of the best book set in each state. Aside from offering us a general glimpse of who’s reading what and where, this unique map is very likely to start some major interstate smack talk among book lovers who deem their reading tastes as superior to everyone else’s.
Online marketplace NetCredit commissioned the study, which compiled Goodreads data to determine the best book set in every state. But it gets better: the study also used Kindle data to pull the most highlighted quotes from each book, which may or may not serve as a cheat code for those who want to sound like they read a popular title without actually having done so.
So, which titles are most popular in each state? Here are few states and their respective popular books:
In California, the book-ish types apparently can’t get enough of John Steinbeck’s classic “Of Mice and Men.”
On the scarier end of the spectrum, Coloradans have taken a particular liking to one of the most notable horror novels of all time: Stephen King’s “The Shining.” This chilling line is the book’s most popular quote: “She had never dreamed there could be so much pain in a life when there was nothing physically wrong.”
In Delaware, Chuck Palahnuik’s “Fight Club” landed at the top of the most popular book. According to NetCredit, various real-life fight clubs have cropped up across The First State. Amazon Kindle revealed the most highlighted quote to be “It’s only after you’ve lost everything,” Tyler says, “that you’re free to do anything.”
Readers in Florida are collectively enthralled with Zora Neale Hurston’s 1937 novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” a Harlem Renaissance-era work set in the state’s central and southern region. Meanwhile, Anne Rice’s “Interview with the Vampire” tops the list in Louisiana.
Coincidentally (or not), Marilynne Robinson’s PEN/Hemingway Award-winning novel “Housekeeping” (set in Idaho) is the Gem State’s top book. Continuing the trend is the top title in Kansas: “The Wizard of Oz,” which goes to show that there’s no place like home, especially when it’s the backdrop of one of the most iconic American literary works. Fittingly enough, the book’s most highlighted quote is:
“No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.”
If you want to get caught up on all these books, feel free to use the study as a very valid excuse to continue your book hoarding habit. Get started by checking out the complete list on NetCredit.