We paired four new reads from Colorado authors with the perfect complementary experiences to bring the lit to life.

Read: Madman in the Woods by Jamie Gehring
Growing up in Montana, Gehring lived next door to Theodore J. Kaczynski—aka the Unabomber. The Littleton resident’s memoir, released in April, attempts to reconcile childhood memories of a “kind-yet-quirky” neighbor who used to eat dinner with her family with the man who would go on to kill three innocent people and injure dozens more.

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Then: Feel a thrill at the Bank Campground, a Bureau of Land Management property near Cañon City. Its 33 sites overlook the limestone cliffs of Shelf Road, a popular climbing spot that’s only an hour’s hitchhike, er, drive from ADX Florence, the prison Kaczynski called home until he was transferred late last year.

Photo courtesy of Flatiron Books

Read: Tell Me Everything by Erika Krouse
In 2002, this Boulder native worked as a private detective investigating claims of sexual assault against members of the University of Colorado Boulder football squad, which basically condoned rape as “a team bonding experience,” Krouse writes. Released in March, the memoir weaves Krouse’s emotional struggle of past sexual abuse with the developments of the case.

Then: Dig deep into the evolving history of reproductive rights during the Molly Brown House Museum’s June 2 salon: “Women’s Autonomy: My Body, My Choice?”

Read: The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara
Published in May, the Fort Collins author’s debut novel is a mythic family history set in a dystopian alternative reality. The former Wall Street Journal reporter uses the Rao clan—whose patriarch rises from India’s lowest caste to become the king of a global Silicon Valley–based empire—to explore issues involving climate change, race, class, politics, and power. Think: Succession, but with more tech.

Then: Clear your carbon conscience at the Pad Silverthorne, a hotel made of 18 upcycled shipping containers that opened in January. Immerse yourself in Rao family drama in your room (there are private suites and dorm-style accommodations, starting at $50 per night), in the co-working space, or with a local brew at the bar called, appropriately, A-Bar.

Photo courtesy of HarperCollins

Read: Being Mary Bennet by J.C. Peterson
Peterson riffs on one of the best-loved characters of all time, Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice, in this young adult page-turner. When teenager Marnie Barnes concludes she’s not a Lizzie but a tragic version of middle sister Mary—awkward and overly studious—she enlists a bestie to help her revamp her image into something cooler.

Then: Mr. Darcy takes great pleasure in a fine pair of eyes, so why not amplify your come-hither look at Lashology in the Highland, where you can get a semipermanent lash extension for $84?