CT Books, Movies, People, & Stories

Connecticut Books, People, & Essays

I probably shouldn’t have ever begun reading and writing about Connecticut books. It’s just one of those lists that I can’t possibly “finish” in any meaningful way. But that’s fine, I don’t mind. If you’re is into books, I also review non-Connecticut hiking books and the Modern Library Top 100 Books of the 20th century. Good times.

Better times are the CTMQ&A series of interviews. Which isn’t very extensive I’m afraid. And who doesn’t love a good essay about a particular Connecticut town or area? These are just those things I “had” to write that didn’t really fit anywhere else.

All links below go to my reviews.

Jump to:

Connecticut Books
Connecticut Movies
Connecticut People and CTMQ&A’s
Connecticut Town Essays

Connecticut (and “Connecticut”) Books

Fiction

Berger and Mitry Series, David Handler

The Cold Blue Blood
The Hot Pink Farmhouse
The Bright Silver Star
The Burnt Orange Sunrise
The Sweet Golden Parachute
The Sour Cherry Surprise
The Shimmering Blond Sister
The Blood Red Indian Summer
The Snow White Christmas Cookie
The Coal Black Asphalt Tomb
The Lavender Lane Lothario

(Alphabetically by author’s last name)

New Haven Noir, Edited by Amy Bloom
Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo
My Brother Sam Is Dead, James & Christopher Collier
Unexpectedly, Milo, Matthew Dicks
American Beauty, Edna Ferber
The Sportswriter, Richard Ford
Reckless, Andrew Gross
Ring in the Dead, J.A. Jance
I Know This Much Is True, Wally Lamb
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L’Engle
Dingley Falls, Michael Malone
Carrie Welton, by Charles Monagan
The Ice Storm, Rick Moody
Fish in a Tree, Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Last Night at the Lobster, Stewart O’Nan
The Night Country, Stewart O’Nan
Living at Night, Mariana Romo-Carmona
Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut (Nine Stories), JD Salinger
Lost in Place, Mark Salzman
Old Newgate Road, Keith Scribner
Masters of Illusion, Mary-Ann Tirone Smith
Swimming with Bridgeport Girls, Anthony Tambakis
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Mark Twain
The Complete Humorous Sketches and Tales of Mark Twain, Charles Neider (ed.)
Harvest Home, Thomas Tryon
Lady, Thomas Tryon
The Other, Thomas Tryon
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong
The Night Before, Wendy Walker

Children’s (Alphabetically by title here on down)

America the Beautiful: Connecticut, Zachary Kent
The Boxcar Children Series, Gertrude Chandler Warner
Connecticut, Nancy Furstinger
The Courage of Sarah Noble, Alice Dalgliesh
Ferryboat, Betsy and Giulio Maestro
Good Night Connecticut, Christina Vrba and Anne Rosen
The Invisible Island, Dean Marshall
It’s My State! Connecticut, Michael Burgan
The Legend of Hobbomock, Jason J. Marchi
N is for Nutmeg, Elissa D. Grodin
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Elizabeth George Speare

Hiking & Outdoors

50 Hikes in Connecticut, Mary Anne Hardy
Short Nature Walks in Connecticut, Eugene Keyarts
Afoot in Connecticut, Eric D. Lehman
Connecticut Walk Book, CFPA
Connecticut Waterfalls: A Guide, Russell Dunn
Going Outside in Connecticut, DEEP
Great Day Trips to Connecticut’s Critical Habitats, Robert Craig
Greening Connecticut Cities and Towns, Ricard & Dreyer
Hidden in Plain Sight, David K. Leff
A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm, Edwin Way Teale
A Shared Landscape, by Joseph Leary
Spooky Trails and Tall Tales in Connecticut, Stephen Gencarella
Traprock Ridge, Eric Larson

History

Barkhamsted Lighthouse, Kenneth Feder
The Berlin Turnpike, Raymond Bechard
The British Raid on Essex, Jerry Roberts
The Brittle Thread of Life, Mark Williams
The Circus Fire, Stewart O’Nan
Connecticut Beer, Will Siss
Connecticut Created Cars, Paul Pellerin
Connecticut Disasters, Ellsworth Grant
Connecticut Firsts, Faude & Friedland
A Connecticut Journey, Ellsworth S. Grant
Connecticut Mining, John A. Pawloski
Connecticut Pirates and Privateers, Wick Griswold
Connecticut Rock ‘n Roll, Tony Renzoni
Connecticut Town Greens, Eric D. Lehman
Connecticut Valley Tobacco, Dunlap and Hellerman
Connecticut Vanguards, Eric D. Lehman
Connecticut Witch Trials, Cynthia Wolfe Boynton
Connecticut’s Fife and Drum Tradition, James Clark
Connecticut’s Old Timbered Crossings, Michael C. De Vito
Creating Connecticut, Walter W. Woodward
The Devil’s Rooming House, M. William Phelps
Dr. Mel’s Connecticut Climate Book, Mel Goldstein
Early Connecticut houses, Norman M. Isham and Albert F. Brown
Empire of Pain, Patrick Radden Keefe
Free the Beaches, Andrew W. Kahrl
Frog Hollow: Stories from an American Neighborhood, Susan Campbell
Goodspeed’s Folly, TM Jacobs
The Great Escape of Edward Whalley and William Goffe, Chris Pagliuco
Guide to Historic Hartford, Daniel Sterner
The Hartford Whalers, Brian Codagnone
Hidden History of Connecticut, Wilson Faude
Hidden History of Middlesex County, Kathleen and Robert Hubbard
Hidden history of New Haven, Kathleen and Robert Hubbard
History of Connecticut’s Deadliest Tornadoes, Robert Hubbard
A history of Connecticut food, Eric D. Lehman and Amy Nawrocki
A history of the Connecticut River, Wick Griswold
A History of Connecticut Wine, Eric D. Lehman
Hitting the Jackpot, Brett Fromson
Homegrown terror, Eric D. Lehman
How the States Got Their Shapes, Mark Stein
Imagination and Innovation, John Cech
It Happened in Connecticut, Diana McCain
Lake Compounce, Lynda Russell
Lime Rock Park, Edited by Gordon Kirby
Literary Connecticut, Eric D. Lehman and Amy Nawrocki
Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and Courage, Jeff Benedict
Lost Hartford, Wilson Faude
Mapping the Nutmeg State Through History, Diana Ross McCain
The Miracle of Connecticut, Ellsworth S. Grant
The Nutmeg Mafia, John William Tuohy
The Old Leather Man, DeLuca and Longley
On This Day in Connecticut History, Gregg Mangan
One of Windsor, Beth M Caruso
A Professor, A President, and A Meteor, Cathryn Prince
Remembering Fairfield, Connecticut, Rita Papazian
Rivers of America: The Housatonic, Chard Powers Smith
Saint of Circumstance, Sheila Weller
Smoke, Fire and Angels, Mark Robinson
Speaking Ill of the Dead Jerks in Connecticut, Ray Benedict
Spies of Revolutionary Connecticut, Mark Allen Baker
The Story of Connecticut, Lewis Mills
Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell
Where Water Meets Land, Bruce Clouette
Wicked Hartford, Steve Thornton
The Wordy Shipmates, Sarah Vowell

Memoirs

Eric Sloane collection
Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN, Miller and Shales
Everybody’s Scene, Chris Daily
The Fermented Man, Derek Dellinger
Girls of Tender Age, Mary-Ann Tirone Smith
The Glass House, Paul Goldberger & Philip Johnson
God and Man at Yale, William F. Buckley, Jr.
The Kitty, Shawn Flynn
Legendary Connecticut, David Philips
A Naturalist Buys An Old Farm, Edwin Way Teale
Newtown: An American tragedy, Matthew Lysiak
Nobody’s Fool, Bill Griffith
Nudism Comes to Connecticut, Susan Schade
Orange is the New Black, Piper Kerman
State by State: Connecticut, Rick Moody
Stone by Stone, Robert Thorson
Sufferings in Africa, Capt. James Riley
Turning the Tables, Teresa Giudice

UConn Basketball Books

UConn Basketball Pre-2000
UConn Basketball 2000-2010
UConn Basketball 2011-2020
UConn Basketball Post 2021

Photography/Coffee Table Books

America the Beautiful: Connecticut, Jordan Worek
American Wood & Metal Planes, Andrew D’Elia
Barns of Connecticut, Markham Starr
Connecticut Architecture: Stories of 100 Places, Christopher Wigren
Connecticut: Chartered for progress, Richard Urban
A Connecticut Christmas, Caryn B. Davis
Connecticut Coast Town by Town Illustrated History, Diana Ross McCain
Connecticut Pictorial History: The Hartford Courant at 250
The Connecticut River From the Air, Jerry Roberts and Tom Walsh
The Connecticut Shore, Edmund Delaney
Greater Hartford Memories, The Hartford Courant
Litchfield Style, Annie Kelly and Tim Street-Porter
Mystic Seaport, Mystic Seaport, Inc
Picture Book of Old Connecticut, Sam Tuttle
Private Gardens of Connecticut, Jane Garmey and John M. Hall
Tobacco Sheds Of the Connecticut River Valley, Darcy Purinton
Treasures of Southeastern Connecticut, The Day

Travel Guides & Cookbooks

The Diane Smith Canon

Positively Connecticut
Absolutely Positively
Connecticut Christmas in Connecticut
Summer in Connecticut
Seasons of Connecticut
A Connecticut Christmas

American Cookery, Amelia Simmons
25 Ski Tours in Connecticut, Stan Wass
100 Things to do in Hartford Before You Die, Chip McCabe
Connecticut 169 Club, Martin Podskoch
Connecticut A la Carte, Melinda Vance
Connecticut Beautiful, Wallace Nutting
Connecticut by Bicycle, Frederick John Lamp
Connecticut Curiosities, Susan Campbell
Connecticut: A Guide To Its Roads, Lore, and People, FWP
Connecticut Farms and Farmers Markets, Eric D. Lehman & Amy Nawrocki
Connecticut Icons, Charles Monagan
Connecticut Lore, Zachary Lamothe
Connecticut Made, Cynthia Parzych
Connecticut Miscellany, Wilson Faude
Connecticut: Off the Beaten Path, Cindi D. Pietrzyk
Classic Diners of Connecticut, Garrison Leykam
Fairfield County Chef’s Table, Kundrat & Webster
Fishing the Connecticut River for Striped Bass
Food Lovers’ Guide to Connecticut, Patricia Brooks
Great Day Trips in the Connecticut Valley of the Dinosaurs, Brendan Hanrahan
Great Day Trips to Discover the Geology of Connecticut, Greg McHone
Hidden Corners of New England, David Yeadon
Insiders’ Guide to Connecticut, Eric D. Lehman
The Lighthouses of Connecticut, Jeremy D’Entremont
More Connecticut Lore, Zachary Lamothe
Pizza in New Haven, Colin M. Caplan
Roadfood, Jane and Michael Stern
The Signs of Connecticut, Thomas Fatone
Traveler’s Guide to Western New England and the CT River Valley, Tim Mulligan
Weird US, Moran and Sceurman
Yankee’s New England Adventure, Edited by Eric D. Lehman

Connecticut Movies

A very challenging list, as many of these can’t be found easily. But here goes…
Skip to Documentaries
Skip to Christmas Movies
Skip to Horror Movies

All Good Things (2010)
Alien Siege (2018)
The American Poop Movie (2006)
Amistad (1997)
Another Earth (2011)
Arthur and the Invisibles (2006)
Auntie Mame (1958)
Away We Go (2009)
The Baby-Sitters Club (1995)
Blackmale
Blended
The Big Bad Swim (2006)
Birds of America (2008)
Boomerang!
Bristol Boys (2006)
Bringing Up Baby
Call Jane (2022)
Chang Can Dunk
Clara’s Ghost
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
A Delicate Balance
Diamond Ruff
Dinner With Friends
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
Everybody Wins
Far From Heaven (2002)
Filiberto
Final (2001)
Founders Day
Gentleman’s Agreement
Good Fences
The Good Nurse
The Green
Grown Ups 2 (2013)
Happiness for Beginners
Hearts in Atlantis
Hello, I Must Be Going
Homecoming
The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit
Ice Princess
The Ice Storm (1997)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Inscrutable Americans
It Happened to Jane
Jacknife (1989)
Kaleidoscope
The Lady and the Tramp
The Lady Eve
The Land of Steady Habits
The Lifeguard (2013)
Listen to Your Heart
Little Pink House
The Long Days of Summer
Loving
Mame
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
The Man in the Net
Man on a Swing
Marshall
Martha Marcy May Marlene
The Missing Girl
Mistress America
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
Mr. Deeds
Murder in a Small Town
My Six Loves
Mystic Pizza (1988)
A New Wave
Northern Shade
Old Dogs
Officer Down
Other People’s Money
The Other Woman (2014)
Outside Providence (1999)
Parrish (1961)
Party Dress (short)
Pawn
PCU (1994)
Pep
Perception
The Perfect Date (2019)
Pistol Wavin’ New Haven
Pistol Whipped
The Preppie Connection (2015)
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
Promises in the Dark
Puzzle
Rachel Getting Married
Rachel, Rachel (1968)
Reckless
Reservation Road
Reuben, Reuben
Revolutionary Road
Riding in Cars with Boys
Righteous Kill
Rising Star (2013)
Series 7: The Contenders
Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero (2018)
Sherman’s Way (2008)
A Simple Favor (2018)
Sleepers (1996)
The Six Wives of Henry Lefay
The Skullerton
The Skulls (2000)
Spring Forward
Stanley & Iris
Stateside (2004)
The Stranger
Strangers on a Train
Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl
The Swimmer
Taking a Shot at Love (2021)
Tara Road
Tempting Fate
Thoroughbreds
Too Young to Marry
The Tunnel of Love
Valley of the Dolls
The Vicious Kind
The Visitor
War of the Worlds (2005)
We Need To Talk About Kevin
When Every Day Was the Fourth of July
The Wife
Wishin’ and Hopin’
Wives and Lovers
Whirlygirl
The Women (2008)
Yours, Mine & Ours

Documentaries

Arming America
A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story
Lime Rock Park
Murder in Greenwich (2002)
Pizza, A Love Story (2019)
Powder Ridge (2023)
Wordplay (2006)

Christmas Movies

The 12 Days of Christmas Eve
Broadcasting Christmas
Christmas at the Carousel (2021)
Christmas at Pemberley Manor
Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane
Christmas Caper (2007)
Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
Christmas in Connecticut (1992)
The Family Stone
The Ghost of Christmas Always
The Holiday Fix-Up
Holiday for Heroes
Holiday Inn (1942)
Holiday in Harlem (2021)
My Adventures with Santa (2019)
Next Stop, Christmas (2021)
The Noel Diary
One Royal Holiday
The Ref (1994)
Rediscovering Christmas
Romance at Reindeer Lodge
Soul Santa (2021)
Sugar Plum Twist
A Very Merry Toy Store (2017)
A Very Nutty Christmas (2018)
You, Me, and the Christmas Trees

Horror Movies

Animal
The Battery
Beetlejuice (!998)
Beneath
Camp Hell
Candlewood
The Conjuring (2013)
The Devil’s Mercy (2007)
Disconnected
Friday the 13th Part 2
Galactic Gigolo (1987)
Giving Up Forever
The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (2013)
#Horror (2015)
The Horror of Party Beach
The House of the Devil
House of Dust (2014)
I Spit on Your Grave
The Innkeepers (2011)
Intermedium
The Last House on the Left (1972)
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death
The Midnight Game
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone
My Soul to Take
Orphan: First Kill
The Other (1972)
The Other Side of the Tracks (2008)
Psychos in Love (1987)
The Quiet (2005)
A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
Revenge of the Stepford Wives (1980)
She Came From the Woods
Stalker’s Prey 3: A Predator Returns
The Stepford Children
The Stepford Husbands
The Stepford Wives (1975)
The Stepford Wives (2004)
Violent Night

Connecticut People and CTMQ&A’s

I’d love to do more of this, but I just don’t have the time.

Brush With Fame: Jim Calhoun

CTMQ&A: Rohan Freeman
CTMQ&A: Ed Silva of Lasting Brass Brewing
CTMQ&A: Matt Westfall of NEB/Counter Weight Brewing
CTMQ&A: Zack Adams of Fox Farm Brewing

Connecticut Town Essays

Berlin: So Many Quetions
Bethlehem: Christmas Town
Bozrah: A Love Story
Bridgewater: Connecticut’s Last Dry Town
The Canaan Conundrum
Darien: Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous
Georgetown: What’s Up With That?
Glastonbury: Border Town
Greenwich is iNsAnE
Farmington: Connecticut’s Strangest Town?
Harwinton: One of a Kind
West Haven: The Case for Consolidation
Windsor vs. Wethersfield