The books…

Journey Through America, One Story at a Time

What if you could capture the soul of every state through the pages of a perfect book? The 50 States Before 50 collection pairs each mystical fragrance with a literary companion that deepens your connection to America's hidden magic.

Every weekend is a chance to travel.

Whether you're curled up in your favorite reading chair with a cup of tea or planning your next great adventure, these carefully curated books invite you to explore the literary landscapes that shaped our nation. From Harper Lee's Alabama to Laura Ingalls Wilder's Wisconsin, each title opens a door to understanding what makes each state truly magical.

You don't need a passport or a plane ticket – just an open heart and a curious mind.

Spend Saturday morning with Steinbeck's California while wearing "Mission Bell Reverie." Let Sunday afternoon drift by with Kate Chopin's Louisiana as "The Awakening" transports you to New Orleans courtyards. Transform any ordinary weekend into an extraordinary journey of discovery.

This is travel for the soul. For dreamers who understand that the most beautiful journeys often happen in the space between what is and what could be. For anyone who's ever looked at a map and felt their heart pull toward distant places, or opened a book and found themselves completely transformed.

Because sometimes the most profound adventures happen not when we change our location, but when we change our perspective.

Let literature be your compass, fragrance your passport, and curiosity your traveling companion.

50 States Before 50: Complete Book List

Literary Companions for Your Mystical American Journey

Alabama - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Alaska - Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Arizona - Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

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

California - East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Colorado - The Shining by Stephen King

Connecticut - The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike

Delaware - The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Florida - Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Georgia - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

Hawaii - Hawaii by James Michener

Idaho - Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner

Illinois - The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Indiana - The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Iowa - The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller

Kansas - In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Kentucky - The Kentuckians by Janice Holt Giles

Louisiana - The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Maine - Pet Sematary by Stephen King

Maryland - The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Massachusetts - The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Michigan - The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Minnesota - Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

Mississippi - Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Missouri - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Montana - A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean

Nebraska - My Ántonia by Willa Cather

Nevada - Roughing It by Mark Twain

New Hampshire - The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving

New Jersey - The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

New Mexico - Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

New York - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

North Carolina - Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe

North Dakota - Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

Ohio - Beloved by Toni Morrison

Oklahoma - The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Oregon - Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey

Pennsylvania - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

Rhode Island - The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

South Carolina - The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

South Dakota - The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Tennessee - A Death in the Family by James Agee

Texas - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Utah - The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey

Vermont - Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

Virginia - The Raven and Other Poems by Edgar Allan Poe

Washington - Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

West Virginia - The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel

Wisconsin - Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Wyoming - The Meadow by James Galvin

By Genre:

Classic American Literature

  • East of Eden (California) - Steinbeck

  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Missouri) - Twain

  • Roughing It (Nevada) - Twain

  • My Ántonia (Nebraska) - Cather

  • Main Street (Minnesota) - Lewis

  • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (New York) - Irving

  • The House of Seven Gables (Massachusetts) - Hawthorne

Southern Gothic

  • To Kill a Mockingbird (Alabama) - Lee

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God (Florida) - Hurston

  • The Awakening (Louisiana) - Chopin

  • Sing, Unburied, Sing (Mississippi) - Ward

  • The Prince of Tides (South Carolina) - Conroy

  • Look Homeward, Angel (North Carolina) - Wolfe

Memoir & Autobiography

  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Arkansas) - Angelou

  • Into the Wild (Alaska) - Krakauer

Contemporary Fiction

  • The Time Traveler's Wife (Illinois) - Niffenegger

  • The Fault in Our Stars (Indiana) - Green

  • The Virgin Suicides (Michigan) - Eugenides

  • Sing, Unburied, Sing (Mississippi) - Ward

  • Little House in the Big Woods (Wisconsin) - Wilder

Award-Winning Literature

  • The Underground Railroad (Delaware) - Whitehead (Pulitzer Winner)

  • Beloved (Ohio) - Morrison (Pulitzer Winner)

  • The Round House (South Dakota) - Erdrich (National Book Award)

  • Sing, Unburied, Sing (Mississippi) - Ward (National Book Award)

Horror/Supernatural

  • The Shining (Colorado) - King

  • Pet Sematary (Maine) - King

  • The Mothman Prophecies (West Virginia) - Keel

Western/Adventure

  • Into the Wild (Alaska) - Krakauer

  • Desert Solitaire (Arizona) - Abbey

  • Angle of Repose (Idaho) - Stegner

  • A River Runs Through It (Montana) - Maclean

  • Lonesome Dove (Texas) - McMurtry

  • The Monkey Wrench Gang (Utah) - Abbey

Historical/Cultural

  • Hawaii (Hawaii) - Michener

  • In Cold Blood (Kansas) - Capote

  • The Known World (Maryland) - Jones

  • Beloved (Ohio) - Morrison

  • Cold Mountain (Vermont) - Frazier

  • The Underground Railroad (Delaware) - Whitehead

Perfect for: 📚 Book Club Planning - Monthly state-themed discussions 🎁 Gift Sets - Pair fragrance with recommended book 📱 Social Media Content - Literary quotes and author spotlights 🗺️ Travel Planning - Visit author homes and literary landmarks ✨ Complete Experience - Read while wearing corresponding fragrance

Each book deepens the mystical connection to its state's essence and adds literary depth to your olfactory journey across America.