# Books about living in a small town. Help finding a book. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944 "2008-11-29T17:39:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/1 "2008-11-29T17:39:19Z")
Somewhere out there, I read a review for a book ( probably from an independent flyer I picked up this summer.) and all I remember about the review is, If you live in a small town or want to live in a small town, this book captures it perfectly. I cannot remember the title, author or sex of author. I am fairly certain it is fiction. It has been tickling my brain for weeks and all my amazon searches are coming up dry. I know this is vague… ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/2 "2008-11-29T18:05:13Z")
[Plainsong?](http://www.amazon.com/Plainsong-Kent-Haruf/dp/0375705856) ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/3 "2008-11-29T18:16:56Z")
Was the book kinda dark and gritty? Meth dealers and murder and incest and such? If so, the book might have been _Knockemstiff_ by Donald Ray Pollock. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/4 "2008-11-29T18:30:11Z")
_Gilead_? Kind of a long shot, I guess, but you should read it anyway. 🙂 It’s a pastor in a small town writing letters to his young son who he knows will grow up without him. ---
**Author:** ![Surok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Surok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surok)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/5 "2008-11-29T20:27:04Z")
[A Girl Named Zippy](http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Named-Zippy-Growing-Mooreland/dp/0767915054/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227990319&sr=8-2) by Haven Kimmel? Haven’t read it, but something in your post made me wonder if this could be it. Almost certainly not, but oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/6 "2008-11-29T20:44:36Z")
Possibly one of these? [ul] [li]_If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska_ by Heather Lende[/li][li]_Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time_ by Michael Perry[/li][li]_Small Town Bound_ by John Clayton[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/7 "2008-11-30T14:41:46Z")
I don’t think it was dark and gritty. I am thinking it was more pastoral and pleasant. This is going to drive me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/8 "2008-11-30T15:11:42Z")
I assume you meant a small town in the United States. You might need a different book for, say, a small town in India, but for the U.S. even after 75 years there is no better picture of small town life than Sinclair Lewis’ **Main Street**. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/9 "2008-11-30T15:50:06Z")
If it was reviewed somewhat recently, Richard Russo’s latest (last year) is _Bridge of Sighs_ and is definitely about living in a small town. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/10 "2008-11-30T17:17:41Z")
Not Main Street or Bridge of Sighs. I have, however, made note of them for future reading. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/11 "2008-11-30T17:42:00Z")
I’ve sent an email to the indy store up in Traverse City that I went to in July groveling for help or linky goodness. If anything comes of this, I’ll keep you posted. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/12 "2008-11-30T17:42:55Z")
The Jan Karon books? I’ve never read them, but I think they are set in a small town. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/13 "2008-11-30T19:31:27Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > The Jan Karon books? I’ve never read them, but I think they are set in a small town. The town is Mitford & yeah, pastoral (in both senses of the word) and pleasant describe the series. But given SU’s non-religious bent, I’m not sure it would be them. You’re not thinking of Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon books, are you? ---
**Author:** ![kurilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea5d25/32.png) [@kurilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kurilla)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/14 "2008-11-30T23:53:42Z")
Might [this](http://www.amazon.com/Moving-Small-Town-Guidebook-America/dp/0684802236/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228089132&sr=1-3) be it? _Moving to a Small Town_ by Frank Levering and Wanda Urbanksa ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/15 "2008-12-01T02:58:51Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > The town is Mitford & yeah, pastoral (in both senses of the word) and pleasant describe the series. > > But given SU’s non-religious bent, I’m not sure it would be them. > > You’re not thinking of Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon books, are you? It’s not Lake Wobegon or any of the Jan Karon ( I’ve read a couple of those.) It wasn’t any major writer out there, I think, or the name would have stuck with me. I did get an email back from the store and when they get a chance they will put their heads together and see what they can come up with. I’m fairly certain it isn’t Moving to a Small Town. I am certain it is fiction. It if isn’t fiction, then it is one of those nonfiction small town charming kinda books. Not a Help Book. That book looks interesting, though. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/16 "2008-12-01T03:29:24Z")
Not exactly about small town living, but critically acclaimed and set in small town settings - An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England: > **[Amazon.com: An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England: A Novel:...](https://www.amazon.com/Arsonists-Guide-Writers-Homes-England/dp/1565125517)** > > Amazon.com: An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England: A Novel: 9781565125513: Clarke, Brock: Books ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/17 "2008-12-01T13:16:01Z")
Maybe one of **Gail Frazer** ’s _Lumby_ books? [The Lumby Lines](http://www.amazon.com/Lumby-Lines-Gail-Fraser/dp/B00164CMPU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228137252&sr=8-3) is the first one. They’re good fun! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-living-in-a-small-town-help-finding-a-book/474944/18 "2009-01-03T14:58:17Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > Possibly one of these? > > [ul] > [li]_If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska_ by Heather Lende[/li][li]_Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time_ by Michael Perry[/li][li]_Small Town Bound_ by John Clayton[/li][/ul] **Population: 485** came in from the library yesterday and I am totally and completely in love with this book. Thank you!