Read Across America

MSU Library Curates a “Read Across America” Themed Reading List

January 27, 2026

In recognition of the United States’ 250th anniversary, MSU Library is celebrating the rich voices that have shaped and reflected American life. We have curated a reading list to highlight the many perspectives that embrace our nation’s shared history and lived experience.

The list celebrates the theme “Read Across America: Voices, Stories, and Landscapes” from the MSU Library Open House that took place on January 12, 2026. The event drew over 300 members of the MSU and local communities for an evening of food, music, and conversation. To get attendees in the spirit of the event, the library’s staircase was adorned with posters featuring books that explore the many stories, people, places, and journeys that span our vast country.

“From Indigenous traditions to immigrant experiences, from rural outposts to urban cityscapes, from journeys by bus, train, car, and foot, selected titles represent a cross-section of the American experience,” said Outreach and Communications Librarian and the Open House’s lead organizer Jan Zauha. “In all eras of American history, our writers stand as witnesses and interpreters of the on-going American experiment.”

The library will keep the “Read Across America” theme alive throughout 2026 so look for events and displays throughout the year.  For the 2026 spring semester, our Bobcat Browse Featured collection in the library atrium showcases books set in every state and territory. For more information, visit the library’s event page or contact Zauha at jzauha@montana.edu.

Below is a list of titles inspired by our staircase display. If there’s a title you’d like to recommend that celebrates the diversity of American voices and depicts our nation’s enduring spirit of exploration and curiosity, click here to make your suggestion. Books will be added to Bobcat Browse, MSU Library’s popular reading collection.

Open a cover and begin your literary road trip around the US. Need help? Ask a librarian or search for a title in our collection. https://ask.lib.montana.edu/

  • “Anywhere But Here” by Mona Simpson (1986)
  • “Blue Highways” by William Least Heat Moon (1982)
  • “The Price of Salt (Carol)” by Patricia Highsmith (1952)
  • “Democracy in America” by Alexis de Tocqueville (1835-1840)
  • “Driving on the Rim” by Thomas McGuane (2010)
  • “Eddie Would Go” by Stuart Holmes Coleman (2002)
  • “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” by Tom Wolfe (1968)
  • “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” by Hunter S. Thompson (1972)
  • “Florida Roadkill” by Tim Dorsey (1999)
  • “Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck (1939)
  • “How Much of These Hills is Gold” by C Pam Zhang (2020)
  • “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain (1864)
  • “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison (1952)
  • “James” by Percival Everett (2024)
  • “Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (1985)
  • “Lost in My Own Backyard” by Tim Cahill (2004)
  • “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville (1851)
  • “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac (1957)
  • “Ride with Me, Mariah Montana” by Ivan Doig (1990)
  • “The Road to Tender Hearts” by Annie Hartnett (2025)
  • “Sing, Unburied, Sing” by Jesmyn Ward (2017)
  • “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston (1937)
  • “Travels with Charley” by John Steinbeck (1962)
  • “Two Years Before the Mast” by Richard Henry Dana (1840)
  • “The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead (2016)
  • “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert M. Pirsig (1974)