Hello all. I'm moving to Texas after graduation, and am looking for recommendations for books (preferably non-fiction, but I'm open to anything) on Texas history, culture or society. Also, I'd love to read about someone else's experiences living in Texas after moving from some place quite different (in my case, NJ). Thanks in advance!

What part of Texas? There are differances between east and west, north and south. It's a big place

It really depends on where you are moving. San Antonio where I live has a museum dedicated to Texas History and its kind of fun to walk through.

Things vary a lot in the state. The Cowboy hat wearing Texans with the y'all accents from TV and movies are really not very common, but if you are moving to Dallas you will see them.

I had a trip to Hawaii once as part of my job. There were people from the company in every state there and the lady in charge roomed me with a guy from Minnesota, because she thought I was from the midwest. Apparently South Texas and the Midwest are very similar or something.

Texas Wit and Wisdom by Wallace O. Chariton is a humorous book about Texas culture.

Any of the TX History books by Dr. Archie McDonald are good. He's one of the foremost Texas historians.

Edited to Add:

Another great book is Molly Ivins Can't Say That Can She? This is a hilarious book about Texas Politics from the liberal perspective. Most of TX is conservative, especially Deep East Texas. This is an area of the state where you must take your hat off and put your hand over your heart if you see a TX flag waving, or they just might execute you.

I can tell you right now that you'll have problems adjusting to sense of size and the temperature.

First, if you don't have a car, get one. You really can't live and operate in Texas without one. Second, if your does not have air conditioning, sell it in NJ and buy a new one here. You will not be able to live without air conditioning, and your car will not sell here if it doesn't have it.

Thanks for the advice and general suggestions. I am moving to the Rio Grande Valley where I'll be teaching middle school social studies--though I'm not sure of what my exact assignment will be yet (I am doing it through Teach for America). 7th grade apparently is Texas history, so that's one reason I have to start reviewing things from a Lone Star perspective.

Seventh grade is Texas history. Which part of the Rio Grande Valley? Up near El Paso or down near Brownsville? The two areas are vastly different. Being that close to Mexico, it'll be a huge help if you speak Spanish. In fact, I'd almost say it's a nessessity.

The Rio Grande Valley is a bit depressed socio-economically, so be prepared for that. Summers will be very hot, almost brutally so by New Jersey standards. Expect July, August and September to be one long string of 100 degree days. Winters should be mild, unless you live out near El Paso. The deserts out there don't hold heat very well, and you can expect to see plenty of freezing nights -- but the funny thing about the deserts are that they heat up well during the day and cool off at night. Fluctuations of 40 degrees or more between day and night is not uncommon.

I'll be near McAllen (closer to Brownsville). I'm aware of the heat, and I'm going to be investing in a few more pairs of shorts in the near future (among other things).

As a Houstonian I always saw Galveston as little more than somewhere to go for a weekend trip. "Issac's Storm" by Erik Larsen was a really intresting look at the island before and after the storm of 1900.