Hey Keith

A couple of suggestions:

Head west of Chicago, Interstate 80 toward Iowa. There are a couple of good bookstores before you reach the Iowa border, or about 2-3 hours west of Chicago. The rooms are cheap, too.

I highly recommend Iowa City, Coralville area. Good bookstores with gloryholes. Big college in town, too. Also, cheap to places to stay.

good crusing from a friend in Texas ( not a wasteland!)