Books set in Colorado
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 Colorado 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.
Plainsong (Plainsong, #1)
- Author: Kent Haruf
- Published: October 4, 1999
- Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Novels
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The Shining
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 28, 1977
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Classics
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The Stand
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 1, 1978
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction
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Father and I Were Ranchers (Little Britches, #1)
- Author: Ralph Moody
- Published: January 1, 1950
- Genres: Classics, Biography, Nonfiction, Childrens
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Centennial
- Author: James A. Michener
- Published: January 1, 1974
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Westerns
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Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West
- Author: Dorothy Wickenden
- Published: June 21, 2011
- Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Memoir
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Columbine
- Author: Dave Cullen
- Published: March 1, 2009
- Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, History, Crime
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The Tie That Binds
- Author: Kent Haruf
- Published: January 1, 1984
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Literature
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All Rhodes Lead Here
- Author: Mariana Zapata
- Published: April 1, 2021
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Adult
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Angle of Repose
- Author: Wallace Stegner
- Published: March 1, 1971
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classics, Westerns
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The Silver Baron's Wife
- Author: Donna Baier-Stein
- Published: September 15, 2016
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, 19th Century, Historical
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Catering to Nobody (A Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery, #1)
- Author: Diane Mott Davidson
- Published: January 1, 1990
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller
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Benediction
- Author: Kent Haruf
- Published: February 26, 2013
- Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Family, Contemporary
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The Song of the Lark (Great Plains Trilogy #2)
- Author: Willa Cather
- Published: January 1, 1915
- Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, Literature
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Ill Wind (Anna Pigeon, #3)
- Author: Nevada Barr
- Published: January 1, 1995
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime
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The Gamble (Colorado Mountain, #1)
- Author: Kristen Ashley
- Published: April 18, 2011
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Adult
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Misery
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 1, 1987
- Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense
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Breathe (Colorado Mountain, #4)
- Author: Kristen Ashley
- Published: January 1, 2012
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
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Where You Once Belonged
- Author: Kent Haruf
- Published: January 1, 1990
- Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Literature, Americana
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The Hour I First Believed
- Author: Wally Lamb
- Published: October 28, 2008
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Adult Fiction
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The Diary of Mattie Spenser
- Author: Sandra Dallas
- Published: June 1, 1997
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Westerns
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Our Souls at Night
- Author: Kent Haruf
- Published: May 26, 2015
- Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Literary Fiction
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A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains
- Author: Isabella Lucy Bird
- Published: January 1, 1879
- Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History, Biography
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Lady Luck (Colorado Mountain, #3)
- Author: Kristen Ashley
- Published: October 22, 2011
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
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Sweet Dreams (Colorado Mountain, #2)
- Author: Kristen Ashley
- Published: April 23, 2011
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
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The Dog Stars
- Author: Peter Heller
- Published: August 7, 2012
- Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Dystopia
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Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry #2)
- Author: Simone Elkeles
- Published: April 13, 2010
- Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance
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Rock Chick (Rock Chick, #1)
- Author: Kristen Ashley
- Published: December 8, 2008
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Humor
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A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the aftermath of the Columbine tragedy
- Author: Sue Klebold
- Published: February 15, 2016
- Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, True Crime, Biography
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White Fire (Pendergast, #13)
- Author: Douglas Preston
- Published: November 12, 2013
- Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense
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Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore
- Author: Matthew J. Sullivan
- Published: June 13, 2017
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Books About Books, Mystery Thriller
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Father Struck It Rich
- Author: Evalyn Walsh McLean
- Published: January 1, 1936
- Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography
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The Silver Shawl (Mrs. Meade Mysteries #1)
- Author: Elisabeth Grace Foley
- Published: October 1, 2012
- Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical, Cozy Mystery
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Theft
- Author: B.K. Loren
- Published: June 1, 2012
- Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Queer, LGBT
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High Wide and Lonesome
- Author: Hal Borland
- Published: January 1, 1956
- Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, History, Biography
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Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville, #1)
- Author: Carrie Vaughn
- Published: November 1, 2005
- Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves
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The Parting Glass (Mrs. Meade Mystery, #2)
- Author: Elisabeth Grace Foley
- Published: August 11, 2013
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery
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In the Heart of the Rockies: A Story of Adventure in Colorado
- Author: G.A. Henty
- Published: January 1, 1895
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Adventure, Fiction, Westerns
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Lone Star Trouble
- Author: Autumn Piper
- Published: September 13, 2009
- Genres: Westerns, Romance, Erotica, Erotic Romance
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Dark Ride
- Author: Angela Smith
- Published: August 7, 2018
- Genres: Romantic Suspense
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Trouble Won't Wait
- Author: Autumn Piper
- Published: July 3, 2009
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Fiction
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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
- Author: Barbara Kingsolver
- Published: May 1, 2007
- Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Memoir, Gardening
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Affliction (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #22)
- Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
- Published: July 2, 2013
- Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires, Fantasy
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The Death of an Heir: Adolph Coors III and the Murder That Rocked an American Brewing Dynasty
- Author: Philip Jett
- Published: September 26, 2017
- Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History, Crime
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Bellwether
- Author: Connie Willis
- Published: March 1, 1996
- Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Romance
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Hummingbird
- Author: LaVyrle Spencer
- Published: January 1, 1983
- Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Westerns
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Prejudice Meets Pride (Meet Your Match, #1)
- Author: Rachael Anderson
- Published: April 18, 2014
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit
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Billy Summers
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: August 3, 2021
- Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Horror, Mystery
- Read more on Goodreads