Winter 2024

BOOK REVIEW
100 THINGS TO DO IN
AUBURN
By Ann Cipperly
100 Things to Do in Auburn, Alabama Before You Die shares
the best places to eat, explore the outdoors, take in a sporting
or cultural event, shop, or learn something new.
The author of “100 Things To Do
In Auburn, AL Before You Die,”
Connie Pearson has been traveling
and writing about places on her
blog and freelance articles since 2015.
Being homebound during the pandemic,
she was motivated to write her
first book, which was on things to do
in Huntsville and North Alabama near
her home in Hartselle. Since Connie
and her husband, Dr. Steve Pearson, are both Auburn
graduates and attend football games, she felt her
next book should be on Auburn.
The Pearsons’ first season to attend Auburn games
as a married couple was in 1971. It was the senior season
for Pat Sullivan and Terry Beasley, and they had
season tickets on the 40-yard line. For the past several
years, Dr. Pearson has been taking four of their
grandsons to at least one game every year, training
them well. They are huge Tiger fans.
Before Connie started her blog, she was a private
piano teacher, a public school music teacher, then a
Southern Baptist missionary in Ecuador. She is now
on her fourth career. The Pearsons have a big family
with three children and 15 grandchildren.
During the pandemic, it occurred
to Connie that when people began
traveling again, they would probably
start visiting sites closer to home. She
heard about the book series, “100
Things To Do Before you Die,” published
by Reedy Press. The books had
been written about big cities, but not
about Huntsville, the largest city in
Alabama. She decided to talk to the
editor about a book on Huntsville to include places
in North Alabama. She received the contract, and the
book was released in March 2022.
When Connie heard a “100 Things Tuscaloosa”
book was being written, she asked the editor about
Auburn. After she had listed several reasons, Connie
feels she received the contract after she told the editor,
“When our kids were young, we told them that
Santa Claus wouldn’t come if they said, ‘Roll Tide.’ He
said, ‘Okay. You can write the Auburn book.’”
While she wanted to include Opelika in the title,
the editor “wouldn’t budge,” but said she could
include attractions and restaurants in Lee County. A
third of the places in the book are about events and
businesses outside Auburn.
92 EAST ALABAMA LIVING