Books set in Texas
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Books set in Texas
Every state has its hallmark writers. Mississippi has William Faulkner and his incomparable (fictional) Yoknapatawpha County and Missouri can lay claim to Mark Twain. The state of Maine is gifted with Pulitzer winner Richard Russo and horror icon Stephen King. Rural Pennsylvania is the playground of the much-heralded (and occasionally maligned) John Updike, and when many bibliophiles think of New Jersey, they also think of Richard Ford’s series of novels featuring recurring Everyman character Frank Bascombe. Illinois can lay claim to William Maxwell, Sandra Cisneros, and Adam Langer, among numerous others. And what reader can think of Washington State without contending with the sparkle-vampire yarns of Stephanie Meyer?
What makes authors like these inextricably associated with a particular state is not simply the matter of their having been born there or choosing to live there. The connection, from a writerly standpoint, is deeper than that—their work, nearly all of it, is set in “their” state.
Of course, there are certainly exceptions. Whether a writer sets a tale in the town where they went to college or spent part of their childhood—like Donna Tartt’s “The Secret History” and its New England arts school setting and the almost-factual small town of Jo Ann Beard’s “In Zanesville,” respectively—or crafts a story that follows a social or political theme to a location they know little about but lay narrative claim to anyway, the world is rife with books known, loved, and respected that also capture the essence of place—books where setting itself is one of the strongest characters.
Stacker compiled a list of books set in Texas from Goodreads. Whether you’re looking for a good read set in the state you call home, or you’re looking to expand your curiosity with a writer you’re already familiar with, we’ve got you covered.
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Lonesome Dove (Lonesome Dove, #1)
– Rating: 4.50 (170,631 ratings)
– Author: Larry McMurtry
– Published: January 1, 1985
– Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Westerns, Classics
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Holes (Holes, #1)
– Rating: 3.99 (1.1 million ratings)
– Author: Louis Sachar
– Published: August 20, 1998
– Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade
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All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy, #1)
– Rating: 4.01 (105,960 ratings)
– Author: Cormac McCarthy
– Published: May 11, 1992
– Genres: Fiction, Westerns, Historical Fiction, Classics
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Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
– Rating: 4.04 (57,013 ratings)
– Author: Erik Larson
– Published: August 24, 1999
– Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Biography
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23337
– Rating: 4.32 (485,512 ratings)
– Author: Stephen King
– Published: November 8, 2011
– Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Time Travel
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No Country for Old Men
– Rating: 4.12 (174,885 ratings)
– Author: Cormac McCarthy
– Published: July 1, 2005
– Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Westerns
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The Last Picture Show
– Rating: 3.99 (16,712 ratings)
– Author: Larry McMurtry
– Published: January 1, 1966
– Genres: Fiction, Classics, Westerns, Coming Of Age
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The Son
– Rating: 4.01 (33,162 ratings)
– Author: Philipp Meyer
– Published: May 28, 2013
– Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Westerns, Historical
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Like Water for Chocolate
– Rating: 3.95 (347,454 ratings)
– Author: Laura Esquivel
– Published: January 1, 1989
– Genres: Fiction, Magical Realism, Romance, Historical Fiction
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Giant
– Rating: 4.02 (3,051 ratings)
– Author: Edna Ferber
– Published: January 1, 1952
– Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, Westerns
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Living Dead in Dallas (Sookie Stackhouse, #2)
– Rating: 3.96 (246,478 ratings)
– Author: Charlaine Harris
– Published: March 26, 2002
– Genres: Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
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News of the World
– Rating: 4.09 (97,594 ratings)
– Author: Paulette Jiles
– Published: October 4, 2016
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Westerns, Historical
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Texas
– Rating: 4.10 (17,883 ratings)
– Author: James A. Michener
– Published: January 1, 1985
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Westerns
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Miss Nelson Is Missing! (Miss Nelson, #1)
– Rating: 4.30 (106,204 ratings)
– Author: Harry Allard
– Published: September 9, 1977
– Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, School
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Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream
– Rating: 4.14 (55,911 ratings)
– Author: H.G. Bissinger
– Published: January 1, 1988
– Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Football, History
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Streets of Laredo (Lonesome Dove, #2)
– Rating: 4.01 (16,123 ratings)
– Author: Larry McMurtry
– Published: January 1, 1993
– Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical
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Send More Idiots
– Rating: 3.77 (239 ratings)
– Author: Tony Perez-Giese
– Published: December 30, 2014
– Genres: Fiction, Crime, Contemporary, Mystery
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The Gates of the Alamo
– Rating: 4.06 (1,562 ratings)
– Author: Stephen Harrigan
– Published: January 1, 2000
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Westerns, Historical
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Blue-Eyed Devil (Travises, #2)
– Rating: 4.19 (35,841 ratings)
– Author: Lisa Kleypas
– Published: March 25, 2008
– Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
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Comanche Moon (Lonesome Dove, #4)
– Rating: 4.08 (14,049 ratings)
– Author: Larry McMurtry
– Published: January 1, 1997
– Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure
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Goodbye to a River: A Narrative
– Rating: 4.23 (1,340 ratings)
– Author: John Graves
– Published: January 1, 1959
– Genres: Nonfiction, History, Nature, Travel
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The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Calpurnia Tate, #1)
– Rating: 3.98 (33,529 ratings)
– Author: Jacqueline Kelly
– Published: January 1, 2009
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction
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Dead Man’s Walk (Lonesome Dove, #3)
– Rating: 3.99 (15,184 ratings)
– Author: Larry McMurtry
– Published: January 1, 1995
– Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure
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Brides of the Storm (Galveston Hurricane Mystery, #2)
– Rating: 3.96 (24 ratings)
– Author: Amanda Albright Still
– Published: September 8, 2011
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery
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Sugar Daddy (Travises, #1)
– Rating: 4.01 (42,551 ratings)
– Author: Lisa Kleypas
– Published: March 6, 2007
– Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
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Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West
– Rating: 4.16 (128,918 ratings)
– Author: Cormac McCarthy
– Published: April 28, 1985
– Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Westerns, Classics
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Terms of Endearment
– Rating: 4.15 (24,652 ratings)
– Author: Larry McMurtry
– Published: January 1, 1975
– Genres: Fiction, Classics, Romance, Contemporary
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The Four Winds
– Rating: 4.31 (453,172 ratings)
– Author: Kristin Hannah
– Published: February 2, 2021
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Historical
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Burn Down the Ground: A Memoir
– Rating: 3.74 (2,243 ratings)
– Author: Kambri Crews
– Published: February 28, 2012
– Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography
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The Simple Soul of Susan
– Rating: 4.42 (295 ratings)
– Author: Noel Branham
– Published: October 11, 2017
– Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Coming Of Age
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Restless Heart
– Rating: 3.23 (13 ratings)
– Author: T. William Phillips
– Published: June 7, 2010
– Genres: Westerns
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Echoes of the Storm (Galveston Hurricane Mystery, #1)
– Rating: 3.40 (30 ratings)
– Author: Amanda Albright Still
– Published: November 28, 2011
– Genres: Cozy Mystery
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Smooth Talking Stranger (Travises, #3)
– Rating: 4.14 (39,360 ratings)
– Author: Lisa Kleypas
– Published: January 1, 2009
– Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
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The Bottoms
– Rating: 4.18 (7,592 ratings)
– Author: Joe R. Lansdale
– Published: January 1, 2000
– Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Horror, Historical Fiction
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Aristotle and Dante, #1)
– Rating: 4.34 (474,733 ratings)
– Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
– Published: February 21, 2012
– Genres: Young Adult, LGBT, Romance, Contemporary
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Midnight Crossroad (Midnight, Texas, #1)
– Rating: 3.72 (34,435 ratings)
– Author: Charlaine Harris
– Published: January 1, 2014
– Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
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All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers
– Rating: 3.87 (3,721 ratings)
– Author: Larry McMurtry
– Published: January 1, 1972
– Genres: Fiction, Literature, Novels, Humor
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Valentine
– Rating: 3.78 (36,731 ratings)
– Author: Elizabeth Wetmore
– Published: March 31, 2020
– Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Audiobook
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How to Walk Away
– Rating: 4.08 (67,218 ratings)
– Author: Katherine Center
– Published: May 15, 2018
– Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
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Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
– Rating: 3.79 (29,731 ratings)
– Author: Ben Fountain
– Published: May 1, 2012
– Genres: Fiction, War, Literary Fiction, Contemporary
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Dumplin’ (Dumplin’ #1)
– Rating: 3.89 (83,975 ratings)
– Author: Julie Murphy
– Published: September 15, 2015
– Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction
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God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State
– Rating: 4.00 (5,721 ratings)
– Author: Lawrence Wright
– Published: April 17, 2018
– Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Travel
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Texasville
– Rating: 3.72 (4,504 ratings)
– Author: Larry McMurtry
– Published: January 1, 1987
– Genres: Fiction, Westerns, Contemporary, Novels
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Daisy’s Back in Town
– Rating: 3.75 (7,875 ratings)
– Author: Rachel Gibson
– Published: January 1, 2004
– Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
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Durable Goods (Katie Nash, #1)
– Rating: 3.83 (9,523 ratings)
– Author: Elizabeth Berg
– Published: January 6, 1993
– Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Coming Of Age, Chick Lit
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In a Narrow Grave: Essays on Texas
– Rating: 3.90 (646 ratings)
– Author: Larry McMurtry
– Published: January 1, 1968
– Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Westerns, History
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