Hey there! Welcome to the Reading Road Trip Day 7! This fabulous blog event is coordinated by the amazing Britta from I Like These Books and Hafsah from IceyBooks.
I am BEYOND excited to share with you the wonders of MY state, Maryland! I am honored to have been chosen to represent Maryland. So, I hope you enjoy my post!
What's so great about Maryland?
- MD is one of the thirteen original colonies; it is the seventh state
- MD is the most democratic state in the USA
- The Baltimore Ravens (MD's football team) won the Superbowl in the seasons of 2000 and 2012!
- MD hosts the Pimlico race, one of the three races of the Triple Crown
- MD was one of the border states in the Civil War
- MD has Johns Hopkins University (HOLLA! I'll be a freshman there in August!), a top-15 university in the USA
- MD is the fifth greenest state in the USA (yay environment!)
- Baltimore, MD's largest city, used to be known as The City That Reads
Classic Maryland Foods!
(edited to add this section, because I'm clearly without a brain if I can talk about Maryland without mentioning Maryland foods)
- Blue crabs! From the Chesapeake Bay! So like, crab cakes. Crab dip. Steamed crabs. That sort of thing. I kind of don't like crabs (I know, I'm a disgrace to Maryland)
- Oyster... stuff. Oyster stew. Steamed oysters. I don't really like oysters either.
- Chicken. Okay, this one is really general, but one of the most known Perdue farms is in Maryland! Plus, there are a ton of privately owned poultry farms all over Maryland.
- Pit beef (sandwiches). Oh, yeah.
- BERGER COOKIES! The best cookies in the world!
- Smith Island Cake (the official dessert of Maryland)
(Smith Island Cake)
Maryland Slang!
The most distinct slang of Maryland comes from Baltimore - or "Balmar", I should say. Check this out:
- Hon is the most famous Baltimorese word, and it's an endearment
- Pavement ("payment") is the substitute for "sidewalk"
- O's is short for the Orioles (we're in Birdland, people!)
- Down the ocean typically means going to Ocean City
- Ok/Kay is used a lot in the beginning of sentences, but this might not just be a Maryland thing
- Wash can be pronounced "warsh"
- Carry can be pronounced "curry"
- Maryland can be pronounced "Murland"
I don't use most of those words/phrases/connotations in my speech, but I hear them all the time!
Famous Maryland People (NOT including authors):
- Spiro Agnew, 39th Vice President (with Nixon)
- Benjamin Banneker, scientist
- Frederick Douglass, abolitionist
- John Wilkes Booth, assassinated Lincoln (yikes...)
- John Dickinson, lawyer, officer during the American Revolution
- Babe Ruth, baseball player
- Harriet Tubman, abolitionist,
- Roger B. Taney, 5th Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court
Well-Known Maryland Authors (Historic):
- Francis Scott Key (Oooo, didn't know he was an author? YUP!)
- Upton Sinclair (The Jungle)
- Leon Uris (Exodus)
- Edgar Allan Poe (Okay, he WROTE in Maryland, but he was born in Massacusetts)
- Tom Clancy (Clear and Present Danger)
Well-Known Maryland Authors (Modern):
(Author websites/blogs and books' Goodreads links provided)
**She lives in Florida, but she was born in Maryland!
Well-Known Maryland Bloggers:
(Blog links provided!)
- ME! (Couldn't help myself)
And now, for the giveaway!
Okay, so there are a ton of books set in Maryland, and even more books by Maryland authors. But I thought I'd give away a book that is one of my all-time favorites, AND recently got a new cover!
Recognize this beauty? Check out my review (and the old cover) HERE.
The Dark Light by Sara Walsh
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
Summary (from Goodreads):
Mia is torn between two guys—and two worlds—in this epic, romantic fantasy.
Mysterious lights have flickered above Crownsville for as long as Mia can remember. And as far as she’s concerned, that’s about the only interesting thing to happen in her small town.
That is, until Sol arrives. Mia’s not one to fall for just any guy, but she can’t get Sol—or the brilliant tattoo on his back—out of her mind.
Then Mia’s brother goes missing, and Mia’s convinced that Sol knows more than he’s sharing. But getting closer to Sol means reevaluating everything Mia once believed to be true. Because Sol’s not who Mia thought he was—and neither is she.
The Giveaway:
Grand Prize: A paperback pre-order of The Dark Light by Sara Walsh, a mini-poster with the original cover of The Dark Light, and a bookmark with the original cover of The Dark Light! Open to anyone as long as The Book Depository ships to your country!
Second Prize: A mini-poster with the original cover of The Dark Light, and a bookmark with the original cover of The Dark Light! Open to anyone!
PLEASE read the rules in the Rafflecopter before entering!
