Wake Up. Read a book in the morning. Start with the 50-state book tour.
Are you a person who loves reading but reading a book at night puts you to sleep? I may have a solution for you. Check out what Averi Clements discovered when she read every morning for 7 days. “Books make some people’s eyes tired, but for me, they’re like caffeine. So, what would happen if instead of blaring alarms and endless mugs of coffee, I tried reading in the morning to wake up my sleepy brain?”
In case you need some books to read, you can join the 50-state book tour.
You may find a good book from one of these states.
Maryland
What’s unique about this state?
- The United States Naval Academy was founded on October 10, 1845, at Annapolis.
- In 1830 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company built the first railroad station in Baltimore.
- During revolutionary times Rockville was known as Hungerford’s Tavern, the name of its most familiar landmark. One of the first calls to freedom from British rule was heard at the tavern in 1774.
Maryland’s good read is Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler.
This Baltimore based novel centers on three siblings grappling with the impending death of their perfectionist mother. It’s an emotionally wrought examination of recollection and the complexities of a family that is equal parts poignant and humorous.
Massachusetts
What’s unique about this state?
- 552 original documents about the Salem witch trials of 1692 have been preserved and are still stored by the Peabody Essex Museum.
- Boston built the first subway system in the United States in 1897.
- Although over 30 communities in the colonies eventually renamed themselves to honor Benjamin Franklin. The Massachusetts Town of Franklin was the first and changed its name in 1778.
Massachusetts’ good read is Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
Walden is an undisputed classic in American literature. Working in a small cottage in 1845 on Walden Pond in Concord Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau laid down a series of startling ruminations on life, nature, and contentment.
Michigan
What’s unique about this state?
- Although Michigan is often called the “Wolverine State” there are no longer any wolverines in Michigan.
- Sault Ste. Marie was founded by Father Jacques Marquette in 1668. It is the third oldest remaining settlement in the United States.
- Elsie is the home of the world’s largest registered Holstein dairy herd.
Michigan’s good read is Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenics.
Jeffrey Eugenides’ controversial examination of an intersex Greek man named Cal Stephanides is a thought-provoking exploration of gender identity, sexuality, race relations, and the immigrant experience. List on Oprah’s Book Club also won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2002.
Minnesota
What’s unique about this state?
- Minnesotan baseball commentator Halsey Hal was the first to say ‘Holy Cow’ during a baseball broadcast.
- The Mall of America in Bloomington is the size of 78 football fields — 9.5 million square feet.
- Minnesota Inventions: Masking and Scotch tape, Wheaties cereal, Bisquick, HMOs, the bundt pan, Aveda beauty products, and Green Giant vegetables.
Minnesota’s best read is Main Street by Sinclair Lewis.
Main Street tells the story of Carol Milford, who moves to the small community of Gopher Prairie, Minnesota after college. Her efforts to bring culture and reform to the town are met with disdain and bigotry. Published in 1920, Lewis’s novel shattered the literary myth of happy small-town life with satirical precision.
