photo credit: jmenard48

Well, I can scarcely believe this, but South Dakota is the final state in this series!! 

photo credit: trialsanderrors

I began this series on January 31st, inspired by Melanie Jones series in the Columbia Spectator.  My original plan was to post Jones’ pick and then agree or disagree.  When Jones took the summer off, I decided to continue on my own… 

Fortunately, as my series started to come to a close (and my inspiration began to wane), Omnivoracious also started a similar — albeit more ambitious — series, choosing one writer per electoral vote per state.

So, who did I choose for my final representative?  Serendipitously, this writer was one of the very first who brought me to love writing.  I remember reading the Little House on the Prairie series as my family drove across the country, and Laura Ingalls Wilder taught me to love the vast countryside of the great plains.

photo credit: interplanetary shoes

So, readers, which of Wilder’s books was your favorite?  Little House in the Big Woods?  Farmer Boy?  On the Banks of Plum Creek? 

I’ll admit, I loved the entire series… and can’t pick just one.  But if you can, drop me a comment!

Curious about who represented the states we’ve done so far?

Photo by marxchivist

First, from Melanie Jones:

Alabama: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (check out my To Kill A Mockingbird Sample Kit!)

Michigan: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides

Alaska: The Man Who Swam With Beavers by Nancy Lord

Arizona: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

North Dakota: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

Vermont: The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Hawaii: Heads by Harry by Lois-ann Yamanaka

Georgia: Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones

Massachusettes: Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

Oregon: Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey

Wyoming: At Close Range by E. Annie Proulx

Washington: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

And I happily borrowed the collective wisdom of Omnivoracious for

• Delaware: Marisa de los Santos (and W.D. Snodgrass, Robert Montgomery Bird, Jonathan Kellerman… they are choosing an author for every electoral vote…)
• New York: Check out the list of literary greats — wow…
• Rhode Island‘s little giants…
• Indiana‘s sweeping greatness…
• Maine‘s unknown gems…
• Illinios‘s literary lovelies…
• Mississippi‘s masters…

And I went out on my own for…

Florida: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Nora Zeale Hurston

Minnesota: In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien

Wisconsin: When Madeline Was Young by Jane Hamilton

Louisiana: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells (Jones’ pick) and The Awakening by Kate Chopin (my pick)

Colorado: Plainsong by Kent Haruf

Maryland: Anything by Anne Tyler

Georgia: Awakening by Kate Chopin

Ohio: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Arkansas: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Virginia: John Grisham

Idaho: Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

North Carolina: Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons

Tennesee: Run by Ann Patchett

New Jersey: Anything by Janet Ivanovich

Texas: Anything by Elmer Kelton

Connecticut: The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx

Montana: The Big Sky by A.B. Guthrie

Utah: Edward Abbey

South Carolina: Pat Conroy

Iowa: Wallace Stegner

Pennsylvania: John Updike and James Michener

Missouri: Mark Twain

New Hampshire: Robert Frost

Kentucky: Robert Penn Warren

California: John Steinbeck

New Mexico: Tony Hillerman

Oklahoma: Joy Harjo

Welcome back!