Hi Jane, There's is a great whodunit series by Nevada Barr that features a woman park ranger who works at different national parks for each book. Not only are they well-written but you really get the feel for the park as well. I think there was one set in Colorado in the caverns (?). Have fun.

Gail: Death By Chocolate was unasumming fun. You mean there's an Aspen series?

Kalena:Goldie's Catering (Where everything is just right)is supposed to based in a fictional town in Colorado. Many of the books make reference to Colorado. I wouldn't call it an Aspen series though.

I just got through a good one. <BR>I thought it was a medical book because it was written by a doctor. Boy, was I suprised. <BR>It's called The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss. <BR> <BR>Pretty funny and all that fancy rymin'.

I love all these books topics... I can go from here to Amazon to check the suggestions out. How about the Laura Ingalls Wilder books for the girl at heart? You can visit a house she lived in in DeSmet, South Dakota. We just got back from a trip to South Dakota, and I kept picturing the stories of hers that I had read.

Jane -- I forgot to mention a great book about South Dakota. It is not fiction, but it reads like it! It is called "Dakota" by Kathleen Norris. It is actually a set of essays, stories, and observations about life on the prairie -- the people, the weather, the geography, the towns, the schools, the churches, etc. I loved it.

I loved Giants in the Earth about Norwegian immigrants to the Dakota territory. Some people think it's a bit depressing (had a book club discussion) but many of us thought it was so poignant.

These suggestions are all so great! I never thought I could aqquire a reading list so long of this area. I am going to check out all of these on Amazon. Hopefully may library may have some of them. <BR> <BR>To Jenny: Did you go to the Ingall's house? I had thought about reading some of the books but knowing me, I would have rearrainged our trip to make sure to see the house and I don't think my husband would be as interested. If you went, what did you think?

We went to the house- about an hour off I-90, takes about an hour for the official tour. The drive is pretty, and it's the straightest, most desolate state highway I've come across. I read all the books as a child, so I loved it, but my husband was a little bored. I wouldn't rearrange my whole trip for it, but it might be worth it if you're going that way anyway.

I love Willa Cather books. I recently read One Of Ours - not her best known work but I thought it was great. My Antonia and O Pioneers are about immigrants to Nebraska and their struggles to survive harsh conditions. One of Ours is about the same type of people but a few generations down the line and in either Wyoming or Colorado (can't remember) and no longer struggling. Takes place during WWI. Very interesting.

I loved Giants in the Earth too!

The boble. No, the bible.

Dubya, <BR> <BR>I'm assuming that you (unlike Bush) didn't graduate from Harvard Business School?

LOVED Kent Haruf's Plainsong (and Lonesome Dove!). And how could you all forget Wallace Stegner! Angle of Repose, Crossing to Safety, etc. Also, try Jane Smiley's All True Adventures of Lydie Newton -very different than her other books and enjoyable, even with its faults.

East of the Mountains by David Guterson.<BR><BR>Its kind of dark, based in Pacific Northwest. Its about a lonely retired doctor who's wife passed away a few years prior and has been diagnosed with cancer. He goes hunting with his dogs and intends on commiting suicide in the woods. Many thoughts, memories and incidents happen on the trip. I actually listened to it on tape in the car and really enjoyed it. Made me want to visit the area and, yikes, maybe even hunt.