The Americana Series Monthly Challenge – September 2022: Rhode Island
ForumMystery and Suspense Extra!
Melde dich bei LibraryThing an, um Nachrichten zu schreiben.
1bhabeck
Each month, we will visit a different state in the United States of America for the Monthly Reading Challenge in the Mystery & Suspense Extra! Group. This month, we travel back to the east coast to – Rhode Island.
The Americana Series Monthly Challenge – September 2022: Rhode Island
History
Rhode Island, officially the State of Rhode Island, is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it is the second-most densely populated after New Jersey. It takes its name from the eponymous island, though most of its land area is on the mainland. Providence is its capital and most populous city.
Native Americans lived around Narragansett Bay for thousands of years before English settlers began arriving in the early 17th century. Rhode Island was unique among the Thirteen British Colonies for being founded by a refugee, Roger Williams, who fled religious persecution from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to establish a haven for religious liberty. He founded Providence in 1636 on land purchased from local tribes, creating the first settlement in North America with an explicitly secular government. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations subsequently became a destination for religious and political dissenters and social outcasts, earning it the moniker "Rogue's Island".
Reflecting its status as a hub of relative tolerance and free thought, Rhode Island was the first colony to call for a Continental Congress in 1774 and the first to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown on May 4, 1776. After the American Revolution, during which it was heavily occupied and contested, Rhode Island became the fourth state to ratify the Articles of Confederation on February 9, 1778. Favoring a weaker central government, it boycotted the 1787 convention that drafted the United States Constitution, which it initially refused to ratify; it was the last of the original 13 states to do so, on May 29, 1790.
Important industries in Rhode Island's past included toolmaking, costume jewelry, and silverware. An interesting by-product of Rhode Island's industrial history is the number of abandoned factories, many of which are now condominiums, museums, offices, and low-income and elderly housing. Today, much of Rhode Island's economy is based on services, particularly healthcare and education, and still manufacturing to some extent. The state's nautical history continues in the 21st century in the form of nuclear submarine construction. The headquarters of Citizens Financial Group, the 14th largest bank in the United States, is in Providence. The Fortune 500 companies CVS Caremark and Textron are based in Woonsocket and Providence, respectively. FM Global, GTECH Corporation, Hasbro, American Power Conversion, Nortek, and Amica Mutual Insurance are all Fortune 1000 companies based in Rhode Island.
Geography
Rhode Island covers an area of 1,214 square miles (3,144 km2) within the New England region of the Northeastern United States and is bordered on the north and east by Massachusetts, on the west by Connecticut, and on the south by Rhode Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. It shares a narrow maritime border with New York State between Block Island and Long Island. The state's mean elevation is 200 feet (61 m). It is only 37 miles (60 km) wide and 48 miles (77 km) long, yet the state has a tidal shoreline on Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean of 384 miles (618 km) – approximately 14% of its total area.
Rhode Island is nicknamed the Ocean State, a reference to its ~400 miles (640 km) of coastline and the large bays and inlets. It is mostly flat with no real mountains, and the state's highest natural point is Jerimoth Hill, 812 feet (247 m) above sea level. The state has two distinct natural regions. Eastern Rhode Island contains the lowlands of the Narragansett Bay, while Western Rhode Island forms part of the New England upland. Rhode Island's forests are part of the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.
Narragansett Bay is a major feature of the state's topography. There are more than 30 islands within the bay; the largest is Aquidneck Island, which holds the municipalities of Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth. The second-largest island is Conanicut, and the third is Prudence. Block Island lies about 12 miles (19 km) off the southern coast of the mainland and separates Block Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean proper.
Cumberland, Rhode Island is the only place on earth that cumberlandite has been found. It’s high in iron and titanium and very magnetic, often mistaken for debris from a meteor.
Fun Facts
Many industry magnets from the early 20th century, such as the Asters and Vanderbilts, had “summer cottages” in Newport Rhode Island. These huge mansions can still be toured or seen from a walk along the Cliff Walk. (One such person was the owner of Rough Point, Doris Duke, whose money may have helped her get away with murder. She was the richest woman in the world when she “accidentally” ran over Eduardo Tirella, who was in town to sever ties with Duke. No inquiry was even made into the death, although she suddenly made many monetary donations around town. She had also stabbed a previous lover with a butcher’s knife.)
The only nuclear explosion to ever happen in the U.S. outside of a controlled environment happened in Wood River, R.I. in 1964 when a worker at United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems mistakenly put too much uranium solution in a tank, resulting in an explosion as well as their death. The worker was the only casualty.
Block Island has its very own ghost ship, which has haunted islanders ever since a deadly wreck there in 1738. Some say the passengers and crew seek revenge against locals who failed to help them as the boat went down. According to legend, a local mass grave contains their bodies.
Mr. Potato Head was named as the official “family-travel ambassador” of Rhode Island in 2000. It makes sense with the Hasbro headquarters located in Pawtucket. He was also the first toy to be advertised on television.
Next time you’re in Exeter, visit the graveyard to check out the grave of a suspected vampire, Mercy Brown. It’s said that when her body was exhumed two months after her death, she had moved inside of the coffin and her heart showed no signs of decay. They did the only rational thing. They burned the heart and fed the ashes to her sick brother.
Fashioned after the Sistine Chapel, Woonsocket’s St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church is home to one of the largest fresco collections in North America. Members of the congregation were the models for the paintings.
The Rhode Island Red is an American breed of domestic chicken. It is the state bird of Rhode Island. It was developed there and in Massachusetts in the late nineteenth century, by cross-breeding birds of Oriental origin such as the Malay with brown Leghorn birds from Italy. It was a dual-purpose breed, raised both for meat and for eggs; modern strains have been bred for their egg-laying abilities.
It’s called the Plantation State. One might expect that moniker to refer to a southern state, but, since “Providence Plantations” is in the official state name, that nickname goes to Rhode Island. As the term plantation is typically associated with the dark specter of slavery in the U.S., several legislators voted to remove it from the official state name in 2010. Rhode Island was a major part of triangular transatlantic slave trade in the 18th century, shipping rum from its distilleries to Africa to trade for slaves and turning southern cotton into cloth; slavery was the “economic lifeblood” of the state for decades, as modern writers have noted. However, 78 percent of voters opposed the name change.
Notable Residents
It was an early incubator for alternative facial hair. Ambrose Burnside, the Civil War general who became the namesake of sideburns, was the governor of Rhode Island from 1866 to 1869. He lived in the state for almost 30 years.
Several notable entertainers grew up in Rhode Island. Debra Messing, Viola Davis, James Wood, Meredith Vera and Pauly D of Jersey Shore fame spent their childhoods in the Ocean State.
The state has birthed several famous writers. H.P. Lovecraft was born in Providence, and except for a brief and unhappy sojourn in New York, lived there for most of his life. Many of his stories take place in Providence, where he reportedly frequented the same private library as Edgar Allan Poe. Other native Rhode Islanders include Pulitzer Prize winners Cormac McCarthy and Jhumpa Lahiri. Mystery writers from Rhode Island include: Bruce DeSilva, Vanessa Lillie, Christopher Dacey and Claremary Sweeney.
In honor of RHODE ISLAND, read a Mystery/Suspense book (any sub-genre will do!) that satisfies one or more of the following:
• A Mystery/Suspense book with "Red," "Water," "Potato," "Toy," or "Island" in the title OR has a picture of a chicken, a man with sideburns/facial hair or a body of water on the cover;
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Rhode Island OR includes a character who participated in a war in a primary role OR has a character who is a ghost OR has a most of the story set on the water/on a boat/ship; and
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in RHODE ISLAND.
Happy Reading ❤
The Americana Series Monthly Challenge – September 2022: Rhode Island
History
Rhode Island, officially the State of Rhode Island, is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it is the second-most densely populated after New Jersey. It takes its name from the eponymous island, though most of its land area is on the mainland. Providence is its capital and most populous city.
Native Americans lived around Narragansett Bay for thousands of years before English settlers began arriving in the early 17th century. Rhode Island was unique among the Thirteen British Colonies for being founded by a refugee, Roger Williams, who fled religious persecution from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to establish a haven for religious liberty. He founded Providence in 1636 on land purchased from local tribes, creating the first settlement in North America with an explicitly secular government. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations subsequently became a destination for religious and political dissenters and social outcasts, earning it the moniker "Rogue's Island".
Reflecting its status as a hub of relative tolerance and free thought, Rhode Island was the first colony to call for a Continental Congress in 1774 and the first to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown on May 4, 1776. After the American Revolution, during which it was heavily occupied and contested, Rhode Island became the fourth state to ratify the Articles of Confederation on February 9, 1778. Favoring a weaker central government, it boycotted the 1787 convention that drafted the United States Constitution, which it initially refused to ratify; it was the last of the original 13 states to do so, on May 29, 1790.
Important industries in Rhode Island's past included toolmaking, costume jewelry, and silverware. An interesting by-product of Rhode Island's industrial history is the number of abandoned factories, many of which are now condominiums, museums, offices, and low-income and elderly housing. Today, much of Rhode Island's economy is based on services, particularly healthcare and education, and still manufacturing to some extent. The state's nautical history continues in the 21st century in the form of nuclear submarine construction. The headquarters of Citizens Financial Group, the 14th largest bank in the United States, is in Providence. The Fortune 500 companies CVS Caremark and Textron are based in Woonsocket and Providence, respectively. FM Global, GTECH Corporation, Hasbro, American Power Conversion, Nortek, and Amica Mutual Insurance are all Fortune 1000 companies based in Rhode Island.
Geography
Rhode Island covers an area of 1,214 square miles (3,144 km2) within the New England region of the Northeastern United States and is bordered on the north and east by Massachusetts, on the west by Connecticut, and on the south by Rhode Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. It shares a narrow maritime border with New York State between Block Island and Long Island. The state's mean elevation is 200 feet (61 m). It is only 37 miles (60 km) wide and 48 miles (77 km) long, yet the state has a tidal shoreline on Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean of 384 miles (618 km) – approximately 14% of its total area.
Rhode Island is nicknamed the Ocean State, a reference to its ~400 miles (640 km) of coastline and the large bays and inlets. It is mostly flat with no real mountains, and the state's highest natural point is Jerimoth Hill, 812 feet (247 m) above sea level. The state has two distinct natural regions. Eastern Rhode Island contains the lowlands of the Narragansett Bay, while Western Rhode Island forms part of the New England upland. Rhode Island's forests are part of the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.
Narragansett Bay is a major feature of the state's topography. There are more than 30 islands within the bay; the largest is Aquidneck Island, which holds the municipalities of Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth. The second-largest island is Conanicut, and the third is Prudence. Block Island lies about 12 miles (19 km) off the southern coast of the mainland and separates Block Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean proper.
Cumberland, Rhode Island is the only place on earth that cumberlandite has been found. It’s high in iron and titanium and very magnetic, often mistaken for debris from a meteor.
Fun Facts
Many industry magnets from the early 20th century, such as the Asters and Vanderbilts, had “summer cottages” in Newport Rhode Island. These huge mansions can still be toured or seen from a walk along the Cliff Walk. (One such person was the owner of Rough Point, Doris Duke, whose money may have helped her get away with murder. She was the richest woman in the world when she “accidentally” ran over Eduardo Tirella, who was in town to sever ties with Duke. No inquiry was even made into the death, although she suddenly made many monetary donations around town. She had also stabbed a previous lover with a butcher’s knife.)
The only nuclear explosion to ever happen in the U.S. outside of a controlled environment happened in Wood River, R.I. in 1964 when a worker at United Nuclear Corporation Recovery Systems mistakenly put too much uranium solution in a tank, resulting in an explosion as well as their death. The worker was the only casualty.
Block Island has its very own ghost ship, which has haunted islanders ever since a deadly wreck there in 1738. Some say the passengers and crew seek revenge against locals who failed to help them as the boat went down. According to legend, a local mass grave contains their bodies.
Mr. Potato Head was named as the official “family-travel ambassador” of Rhode Island in 2000. It makes sense with the Hasbro headquarters located in Pawtucket. He was also the first toy to be advertised on television.
Next time you’re in Exeter, visit the graveyard to check out the grave of a suspected vampire, Mercy Brown. It’s said that when her body was exhumed two months after her death, she had moved inside of the coffin and her heart showed no signs of decay. They did the only rational thing. They burned the heart and fed the ashes to her sick brother.
Fashioned after the Sistine Chapel, Woonsocket’s St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church is home to one of the largest fresco collections in North America. Members of the congregation were the models for the paintings.
The Rhode Island Red is an American breed of domestic chicken. It is the state bird of Rhode Island. It was developed there and in Massachusetts in the late nineteenth century, by cross-breeding birds of Oriental origin such as the Malay with brown Leghorn birds from Italy. It was a dual-purpose breed, raised both for meat and for eggs; modern strains have been bred for their egg-laying abilities.
It’s called the Plantation State. One might expect that moniker to refer to a southern state, but, since “Providence Plantations” is in the official state name, that nickname goes to Rhode Island. As the term plantation is typically associated with the dark specter of slavery in the U.S., several legislators voted to remove it from the official state name in 2010. Rhode Island was a major part of triangular transatlantic slave trade in the 18th century, shipping rum from its distilleries to Africa to trade for slaves and turning southern cotton into cloth; slavery was the “economic lifeblood” of the state for decades, as modern writers have noted. However, 78 percent of voters opposed the name change.
Notable Residents
It was an early incubator for alternative facial hair. Ambrose Burnside, the Civil War general who became the namesake of sideburns, was the governor of Rhode Island from 1866 to 1869. He lived in the state for almost 30 years.
Several notable entertainers grew up in Rhode Island. Debra Messing, Viola Davis, James Wood, Meredith Vera and Pauly D of Jersey Shore fame spent their childhoods in the Ocean State.
The state has birthed several famous writers. H.P. Lovecraft was born in Providence, and except for a brief and unhappy sojourn in New York, lived there for most of his life. Many of his stories take place in Providence, where he reportedly frequented the same private library as Edgar Allan Poe. Other native Rhode Islanders include Pulitzer Prize winners Cormac McCarthy and Jhumpa Lahiri. Mystery writers from Rhode Island include: Bruce DeSilva, Vanessa Lillie, Christopher Dacey and Claremary Sweeney.
In honor of RHODE ISLAND, read a Mystery/Suspense book (any sub-genre will do!) that satisfies one or more of the following:
• A Mystery/Suspense book with "Red," "Water," "Potato," "Toy," or "Island" in the title OR has a picture of a chicken, a man with sideburns/facial hair or a body of water on the cover;
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Rhode Island OR includes a character who participated in a war in a primary role OR has a character who is a ghost OR has a most of the story set on the water/on a boat/ship; and
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in RHODE ISLAND.
Happy Reading ❤
2bhabeck
Brenda's Americana Challenge - September 2022: Rhode Island
1 of 3 Complete
In honor of RHODE ISLAND, read a Mystery/Suspense book (any sub-genre will do!) that satisfies one or more of the following:
• A Mystery/Suspense book with "Red," "Water," "Potato," "Toy," or "Island" in the title OR has a picture of a chicken, a man with sideburns/facial hair or a body of water on the cover;
Never Run by Blake Pierce; body of water on the cover; finished 9/7/22; 2.5 stars
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Rhode Island OR includes a character who participated in a war in a primary role OR has a character who is a ghost OR has a most of the story set on the water/on a boat/ship; and
Murder at Marble House by Alyssa Maxwell; takes place in Newport, RI; Finished 9/--/22; -- stars
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in RHODE ISLAND.
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave; Finished 9/--/22; -- stars
1 of 3 Complete
In honor of RHODE ISLAND, read a Mystery/Suspense book (any sub-genre will do!) that satisfies one or more of the following:
• A Mystery/Suspense book with "Red," "Water," "Potato," "Toy," or "Island" in the title OR has a picture of a chicken, a man with sideburns/facial hair or a body of water on the cover;
Never Run by Blake Pierce; body of water on the cover; finished 9/7/22; 2.5 stars
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Rhode Island OR includes a character who participated in a war in a primary role OR has a character who is a ghost OR has a most of the story set on the water/on a boat/ship; and
Murder at Marble House by Alyssa Maxwell; takes place in Newport, RI; Finished 9/--/22; -- stars
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in RHODE ISLAND.
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave; Finished 9/--/22; -- stars
3Carol420
Carol Explores Rhode Island
🏫- ★
3/3 - Done 9/9
🏫1. A Mystery/Suspense book with "Red," "Water," "Potato," "Toy," or "Island" in the title OR has a picture of a chicken, a man with sideburns/facial hair or a body of water on the cover.
Into The Water - Paula Hawkins - 4★
🏫2. A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Rhode Island OR includes a character who participated in a war in a primary role OR has a character who is a ghost OR has a most of the story set on the water/on a boat/ship
The Haunting of Witterwick House - John Hennessy - 5★
🏫3. A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in RHODE ISLAND.
The Sacred Well Murders - Susan Rowland - 3★ (S &R)
4gaylebutz
I’m going to read A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear.
It includes a character that participated in a war in a primary role.
It includes a character that participated in a war in a primary role.
5Andrew-theQM
Andrew goes to Rhode Island
• A Mystery/Suspense book with "Red," "Water," "Potato," "Toy," or "Island" in the title OR has a picture of a chicken, a man with sideburns/facial hair or a body of water on the cover;
The Island of Lost Girls by Alex Marwoood
Read :
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Rhode Island OR includes a character who participated in a war in a primary role OR has a character who is a ghost OR has a most of the story set on the water/on a boat/ship; and
TBD
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in RHODE ISLAND.
One Moonlit Night by Rachel Hoare
• A Mystery/Suspense book with "Red," "Water," "Potato," "Toy," or "Island" in the title OR has a picture of a chicken, a man with sideburns/facial hair or a body of water on the cover;
The Island of Lost Girls by Alex Marwoood
Read :
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Rhode Island OR includes a character who participated in a war in a primary role OR has a character who is a ghost OR has a most of the story set on the water/on a boat/ship; and
TBD
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in RHODE ISLAND.
One Moonlit Night by Rachel Hoare
6Olivermagnus
I completely missed last month. I had company for 3 weeks and then put my Michigan home on the market. We accepted an offer yesterday so, hopefully, my reading time will improve in September.
In honor of RHODE ISLAND, read a Mystery/Suspense book (any sub-genre will do!) that satisfies one or more of the following:
• A Mystery/Suspense book with "Red," "Water," "Potato," "Toy," or "Island" in the title OR has a picture of a chicken, a man with sideburns/facial hair or a body of water on the cover;
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Rhode Island OR includes a character who participated in a war in a primary role OR has a character who is a ghost OR has a most of the story set on the water/on a boat/ship; and
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in RHODE ISLAND.
In honor of RHODE ISLAND, read a Mystery/Suspense book (any sub-genre will do!) that satisfies one or more of the following:
• A Mystery/Suspense book with "Red," "Water," "Potato," "Toy," or "Island" in the title OR has a picture of a chicken, a man with sideburns/facial hair or a body of water on the cover;
• A Mystery/Suspense book that takes place in Rhode Island OR includes a character who participated in a war in a primary role OR has a character who is a ghost OR has a most of the story set on the water/on a boat/ship; and
• A Mystery/Suspense book where the author's FIRST and LAST initial (no middle initials or names) can be found in RHODE ISLAND.
7Sergeirocks
Fell of Dark - Reginald Hill 4★s (Picture of a body of water on the cover)
Sycamore Gap - LJ Ross 4★s (Author’s initials in RHODE ISLAND)
Blood Alone - James R. Benn 4.5★s (Main characters are soldiers in WWII)
Sycamore Gap - LJ Ross 4★s (Author’s initials in RHODE ISLAND)
Blood Alone - James R. Benn 4.5★s (Main characters are soldiers in WWII)
9Andrew-theQM
>4 gaylebutz: Love the Maisie Dobbs Series.
10gaylebutz
Done - A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear - 3.5 ★
It includes a character that participated in a war in a primary role.
It includes a character that participated in a war in a primary role.
Anmelden um mitzuschreiben.
