100 Best Arkansas Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

1

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

5.0

Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in

Recommended by Richard Branson, Bianca Belair, and Julia Enthoven.

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

Bianca Belair

For #BlackHistoryMonth I will be sharing some of my favorite books by Black Authors 5th Book: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings By: Maya Angelou Another autobiography classic that will be hard to not find on any must- read book list! https://t.co/mGRG76lLRn [source]

Julia Enthoven

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is beautifully written, and I really enjoy the voice of the protagonist and think it’s sad and fascinating to read about her time in history. [source]

Cover unavailable

2

True Grit

Charles Portis

4.9

True Grit is his most famous novel--first published in 1968, and the basis for the movie of the same name starring John Wayne. It tells the story of Mattie Ross, who is just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shoots her father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150 in cash money. Mattie leaves home to avenge her father's blood.

Recommended by Andy Borowitz.

Andy Borowitz

I urge everyone who wants a good laugh to read it. Plus it’s very short – a good quality in a comic novel. [source]

3

A Painted House

John Grisham

4.8

"The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday, early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with three weeks to go, and the season looked hopeless. The cotton, however, was waist-high to my father, over my head, and he and my grandfather could be heard before supper whispering words that were seldom heard. It could be a "good crop."
Thus

4

The Stand

Stephen King

4.6

Stephen King’s apocalyptic vision of a world blasted by plague and tangled in an elemental struggle between good and evil remains as riveting and eerily plausible as when it was first published.

A patient escapes from a biological testing facility, unknowingly carrying a deadly weapon: a mutated strain of super-flu that will wipe out 99 percent of the world’s population within a few weeks. Those w

Recommended by Harry Khachatrian.

Harry Khachatrian

@redsteeze great book though [source]

5

The Lions of Little Rock

Kristin Levine

4.6

Two girls separated by race form an unbreakable bond during the tumultuous integration of Little Rock schools in 1958

Twelve-year-old Marlee doesn't have many friends until she meets Liz, the new girl at school. Liz is bold and brave, and always knows the right thing to say, especially to Sally, the resident mean girl. Liz even helps Marlee overcome her greatest fear - speaking, which Marlee neve

6

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain

4.6

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (or, in more recent editions, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written throughout in vernacular English, characterized by local col

Recommended by Richard Branson, Walter Isaacson, Daniel Pink, and 3 others.

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

Walter Isaacson

Author

Read this book. [source]

Michael Voss

I enjoy nearly everything Mark Twain ever wrote, but my favorite is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This novel showcases Twain at the top of his game in terms of acerbic wit, sharp societal observations and the use of regional dialects - for which he initially garnered great criticism, before the passage of time enabled critics to understand and acknowledge its authenticity. [source]

7

The Witness

Nora Roberts

4.6

Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man's seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever.

Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated

8

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake

Jenny Wingfield

4.5

Every first Sunday in June, members of the Moses clan gather for an annual reunion at “the old home place,” a sprawling hundred-acre farm in Arkansas. And every year, Samuel Lake, a vibrant and committed young preacher, brings his beloved wife, Willadee Moses, and their three children back for the festivities. The children embrace the reunion as a welcome escape from the prying eyes of their fathe

9

They Called Us Enemy

George Takei

4.5

A graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon -- and America itself.

Long before George Takei braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father's -- and their entire family forced f

Recommended by Ted Coiné.

Ted Coiné

I can't wait to buy @GeorgeTakei's new book! Great @NewsHour interview just now. George, you're a national treasure. [source]

10

Where Things Come Back

John Corey Whaley

4.5

Just when seventeen-year-old Cullen Witter thinks he understands everything about his small and painfully dull Arkansas town, it all disappears. . . .

In the summer before Cullen's senior year, a nominally-depressed birdwatcher named John Barling thinks he spots a species of woodpecker thought to be extinct since the 1940s in Lily, Arkansas. His rediscovery of the so-called Lazarus Woodpecker spar

11

Grave Sight (Harper Connelly, #1)

Charlaine Harris

4.4

Grave Sight (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 1)

Harper Connelly has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. She can sense the final location of a person who's passed, and share their very last moment. The way Harper sees it, she's providing a service to the dead while bringing some closure to the living - but she's used to most people treating her like a blood-sucking leech. Trave

12

Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard, #1)

Charlaine Harris

4.4

Welcome to Shakespeare, Arkansas. Lily Bard came to the small town of Shakespeare to escape her dark and violent past. Other than the day-to-day workings of her cleaning and errand-running service, she pays little attention to the town around her. So when she spots a dead body being dumped in the town green, she's inclined to stay well away. But she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and de

13

Shakespeare's Christmas (Lily Bard, #3)

Charlaine Harris

4.4

Even in a sleepy Arkansas town, the holidays can be murder.

Lily Bard is going home for the holidays. More comfortable in baggy sweats than bridesmaid's frills, Lily isn't thrilled about attending her estranged sister's wedding. She has moved to Shakespeare, Arkansas, to start a new life, cleaning houses for a living, trying to forget the violence that once nearly destroyed her. Now she's heading b

14

Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship

Michelle Kuo

4.4

Recently graduated from Harvard University, Michelle Kuo arrived in the rural town of Helena, Arkansas, as a Teach for America volunteer, bursting with optimism and drive. But she soon encountered the jarring realities of life in one of the poorest counties in America, still disabled by the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. In this stirring memoir, Kuo, the child of Taiwanese immigrants, shares the

15

Winter's Bone

Daniel Woodrell

4.4

The sheriff's deputy at the front door brings hard news to Ree Dolly. Her father has skipped bail on charges that he ran a crystal meth lab, and the Dollys will lose their house if he doesn't show up for his next court date.

Ree's father has disappeared before. The Dolly clan has worked the shadowy side of the law for generations, and arrests (and attempts to avoid them) are part of life in Rathlin

Recommended by R J Ellory.

R J Ellory

I couldn’t recommend this more. There is this bleak, cold, desolate landscape which makes you feel chilled to the bone. It makes you feel unsettled. It is written beautifully. I have read it three times. [source]

16

Shakespeare's Champion (Lily Bard, #2)

Charlaine Harris

4.4

There's something rotten in Shakespeare... — Lily Bard was running from shattering memories when she moved to Shakespeare, Arkansas. Now cleaning houses pays her bills. Working out helps her heal. Still protecting her scars, she hides a hard body and impressive skill at martial arts under baggy sweats. And nobody knows how strong she is until racial violence has her looking behind closed doors for

17

Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High

Melba Pattillo Beals

4.3

The landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, brought the promise of integration to Little Rock, Arkansas, but it was hard-won for the nine black teenagers chosen to integrate Central High School in 1957. They ran the gauntlet between a rampaging mob and the heavily armed Arkansas National Guard, dispatched by Governor Orval Faubus to subvert federal law and bar them from en

18

After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back up Again

Dan Santat

4.3

My name is Humpty Dumpty.
I'm famous for falling off a wall.

(You may have heard about it.)

But that's only half the story...
Because I decided to get back up.
And when I did, something amazing happened.

This story is about my life...
AFTER THE FALL.

Inspiring and unforgettable, this epilogue to the beloved classic nursery rhyme will encourage even the most afraid to overcome their fears, learn to get ba

19

Summer of My German Soldier (Summer of My German Soldier, #1)

Bette Greene

4.3

Minutes before the train pulled into the station in Jenkinsville, Arkansas, Patty Bergen knew something exciting was going to happen. But she never could have imagined that her summer would be so memorable. German prisoners of war have arrived to make their new home in the prison camp in Jenkinsville. To the rest of her town, these prisoners are only Nazis. But to Patty, a young Jewish girl with a

20

Shakespeare's Trollop (Lily Bard, #4)

Charlaine Harris

4.3

Welcome back to Shakespeare -- a charming Arkansas town with endless back roads, an eclectic mix of residents, and a dollop of noir. Featuring cleaning woman/karate expert Lily Bard, Charlaine Harris's series puts a unique spin on the traditional cozy to create mysteries that "work on every level". — In the latest installment, Lily discovers lifelong Shakespeare resident Deedra Dean murdered insid

21

Arkansas Traveler (Benni Harper, #8)

Earlene Fowler

4.3

Soon after arriving in Sugartree, Arkansas—where she spent many lazy, languid childhood summers—folk art expert Benni Harper discovers that there's something seriously sinister brewing in this usually-peaceful town...

22

With a Name like Love

Tess Hilmo

4.3

One of School Library Journal's Best Fiction Books of 2011

When Ollie's daddy, the Reverend Everlasting Love, pulls their travel trailer into Binder to lead a three-day revival, Ollie knows that this town will be like all the others they visit— it is exactly the kind of nothing Ollie has come to expect. But on their first day in town, Ollie meets Jimmy Koppel, whose mother is in jail for murdering

23

The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks

Donald Harington

4.3

Jacob and Noah Ingledew trudge 600 miles from their native Tennessee to found Stay More -- a small town nestled in a narrow valley that winds among the Arkansas Ozarks and into the reader's imagination. The Ingledew saga -- which follows six generations of Stay Morons through 140 years of abundant living and prodigal loving -- is the heart of Donald Harington's jubilant, picaresque novel The Archi

24

Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety

Eric Schlosser

4.3

A myth-shattering exposé of America’s nuclear weapons

Famed investigative journalist Eric Schlosser digs deep to uncover secrets about the management of America’s nuclear arsenal. A groundbreaking account of accidents, near misses, extraordinary heroism, and technological breakthroughs, Command and Control explores the dilemma that has existed since the dawn of the nuclear age: How do you deploy we

Recommended by Antonio Eram.

Antonio Eram

This book was recommended by Antonio when asked for titles he would recommend to young people interested in his career path. [source]

25

The Last Juror

John Grisham

4.3

In 1970, one of Mississippi s more colorful weekly newspapers, The Ford County Times, went bankrupt. To the surprise and dismay of many, ownership was assumed by a 23-year-old college dropout, named Willie Traynor. The future of the paper looked grim until a young mother was brutally raped and murdered by a member of the notorious Padgitt family. Willie Traynor reported all the gruesome details, a

26

Sugar (Sugar Lacey, #1)

Bernice L. McFadden

4.3

"Strong and folksy storytelling...think Zora Neale Hurston...Sugar speaks of what is real." --The Dallas Morning NewsFrom an exciting new voice in African-American contemporary fiction comes a novel Ebony praised for its "unforgettable images, unique characters, and moving story that keeps the pages turning until the end." The Chicago Defender calls Sugar "a literary explosion...McFadden reveals a

27

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West

Dee Brown

4.3

Now a special 30th-anniversary edition in both hardcover and paperback, the classic bestselling history The New York Times called "Original, remarkable, and finally heartbreaking...Impossible to put down."

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is Dee Brown's eloquent, fully documented account of the systematic destruction of the American Indian during the second half of the nineteenth century. A national b

28

The Dog of the South

Charles Portis, Ron Rosenbaum

4.2

His wife, Norma, has run off with her ex-husband, taking Ray's cards, shotgun and car. But from the receipts, Ray can track where they've gone. He takes off after them, as does an irritatingly tenacious bail bondsman, both following the romantic couple's spending as far as Mexico. There Ray meets Dr Reo Symes, the seemingly down-on-his-luck and rather eccentric owner of a beaten up and broken down

Recommended by Larry Doyle.

29

Shakespeare's Counselor (Lily Bard, #5)

Charlaine Harris

4.2

Welcome back to the sleepy little town ofShakespeare,Arkansas, where secrets come to hide.

Cleaning woman and karate expert Lily Bard is a woman with a complicated past. Trying her best to cope with her terrifying memories and horrible nightmares, she decides to join a weekly group therapy session in her hometown of Shakespeare, Arkansas. At first, Lily can hardly believe the number of her fellow S

30

Birds of Arkansas Field Guide

Stan Tekiela

4.2

Make bird watching in Arkansas even more enjoyable! With Stan Tekiela's famous field guide, bird identification is simple and informative. There's no need to look through dozens of photos of birds that don't live in Arkansas. This book features 124 species of Arkansas birds, organized by color for ease of use. Do you see a yellow bird and don't know what it is? Go to the yellow section to find out

31

Courting Miss Hattie

Pamela Morsi

4.2

The news spread like brush fire through the whole county when widower Ancil Drayton announced his intention to start courting Miss Hattie Colfax. She was certainly spirited and delightfully sweet natured, and she'd managed to run her family farm almost single-handedly. But wasn't a twenty-nine-year-old lady farmer too old to catch a husband?

An Irresistible Suitor.

All his life handsome, black-haire

32

The Choiring of the Trees

Donald Harington

4.2

A rape and a wrongful condemnation--a novel based on a true story. In Arkansas, 1914, a 13-year-old girl is raped in the backwoods of the Ozarks. On her testimony, a young mountaineer is convicted and sentenced to the electric chair. With his celebrated storyteller's art, Donald Harington has created a work rich in drama, passion, and texture, unforgettably bringing to life his characters, place,

33

Perfect Peace

Daniel Black

4.2

The heartbreaking portrait of a large, rural southern family’s attempt to grapple with their mother’s desperate decision to make her newborn son into the daughter she will never have

When the seventh child of the Peace family, named Perfect, turns eight, her mother Emma Jean tells her bewildered daughter, “You was born a boy. I made you a girl. But that ain’t what you was supposed to be. So, from

34

Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three (Justice Knot, #1)

Mara Leveritt

4.2

In 2011, one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in American legal history was set right when Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were released after eighteen years in prison. Award-winning journalist Mara Leveritt's The Devil's Knot remains the most comprehensive, insightful reporting ever done on the investigation, trials, and convictions of three teenage boys who became know

35

Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies (Rose Gardner Mystery, #8)

Denise Grover Swan

4.2

Rose Gardner has survived plenty of close scrapes in the past, but her latest bit of trouble has landed her in the Fenton County holding cell on trumped up charges. The most powerful man in southern Arkansas, J.R. Simmons, is determined to put her behind bars for good and destroy everything she holds dear, including her boyfriend, Mason, and her friend Skeeter, reigning king of the Fenton County c

36

Arkansas Waterfalls Guidebook: How to Find 133 Spectacular Waterfalls Cascades in "The Natural State"

Tim Ernst

4.2

This guidebook from Tim Ernst features all the info you need to find more than 200 spectacular waterfalls and cascades in "The Natural State." Each waterfall listing contains a map, COLOR photo of the falls, GPS coordinates, height measurement, hike difficulty rating, plus detailed descriptions of how to get to the trailhead and to the waterfall itself. Some of the waterfalls can be seen from your

37

The Merry Wives of Maggody (Arly Hanks, #16)

Joan Hes

4.2

Maggody, Arkansas (pop. 755) is perceived of as a two-bit hick town, filled with one-bit hicks. But Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanan seeks to change that perception with her latest scheme—a charity golf tournament. This presents a bit of a challenge, since no one in Maggody plays golf and there is no course. But when the prize for the first hole-in-one is announced—a top of the line bass boat—nearly everyone

38

Thirty-Four and a Half Predicaments (Rose Gardner Mystery, #7)

Denise Grover Swan

4.2

Rose Gardner hates seeing her normally flamboyant best friend Neely Kate struggle with depression. So when Rose stumbles onto a piece of evidence indicating her birth mother might have been involved in a crime, she does the one thing guaranteed to cheer Neely Kate. She convinces her friend to help her solve a mystery. Though their penchant for investigating has gotten them into plenty of pickles i

39

A Wedding Date in Hot Springs, Arkansas

Annalisa Daughety

4.2

All Violet can think about is how to make sure she has a date for her little sister’s wedding. Online dating, speed dating, blind dates. . .she doesn’t care what it takes. And when that doesn’t work, she hires a matchmaker, only to discover that her “match” is her old college classmate. Violet didn’t like Jackson then and she sure doesn’t like him now. But Jackson has a plan: he’ll be her “boyfrie

40

Thirty-Two and a Half Complications (Rose Gardner Mystery, #5)

Denise Grover Swan

4.2

There’s no denying trouble finds Rose Gardner like a divining rod finds water, especially when Rose lands in the middle of a bank robbery. But after the robbers steal her deposit bag — containing a large amount of cash — she soon finds out that trouble is threatening her business as well, thanks to her sister Violet’s financial mismanagement.

To top it off, Rose’s ex-boyfriend, Joe Simmons, has mov

41

Thirty and a Half Excuses (Rose Gardner Mystery, #3)

Denise Grover Swank

4.2

Life in Henryetta, Arkansas is turned upside down with the arrival of a televangelist, but it’s the death of a little old lady on Rose’s street that catches her attention. The Henryetta police deem her death natural causes, but Rose suspects foul play and so does an unlikely supporter — the president of the Busy Body Club, her eighty-two year old neighbor Mildred.

But Rose is in the middle of openi

42

Elkhorn Tavern

Douglas C. Jones

4.2

43

Thirty-Three and a Half Shenanigans (Rose Gardner Mystery, #6)

Denise Grover Swan

4.2

Rose is called into action when Neely Kate’s cousin goes missing and the police refuse to take it seriously. But while the authorities — Rose’s ex-boyfriend, included — are certain the missing woman has run away, mounting evidence points to foul play. Rose agrees to help her friend, even if it means partaking in Neely Kate’s shenanigans, including an impromptu trip to a strip club.

And because tro

44

Lightning Bug

Donald Harington

4.1

Latha Bourne, the attractive postmistress of Stay More-a small town in the Arkansas Ozarks-didn't expect to see Every Dill again. Now everyone in the village is surprised that Every had the nerve to reappear in this tale of loss and of finding.

45

Malice in Maggody (Arly Hanks, #1)

Joan Hess

4.1

When murders disrupt the peaceful town of Maggody, Sheriff Hanks and her slow deputy, Paulie, set out on a hilarious, hell-raising chase through the backwoods in search of a murderer.

Cover unavailable

46

Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals

Jamie Sams, David Carson, et al.

4.1

Discover the tool that millions of people worldwide are using for guidance, inspiration, and help in finding answers to life's questions. Now revised and expanded to include eight additional cards, this unique and powerful divination system draws upon ancient wisdom and tradition to teach the healing medicine of animals. Medicine Cards found its way into the hearts and hands of many, guiding the w

47

Point of Impact (Bob Lee Swagger, #1)

Stephen Hunter

4.1

He was one the best Marine snipers in Vietnam. Today, twenty years later, disgruntled hero of an unheroic war, all Bob Lee Swagger wants to be left alone and to leave the killing behind.

But with consummate psychological skill, a shadowy military organization seduces Bob into leaving his beloved Arkansas hills for one last mission for his country, unaware until too late that the game is rigged.

The

48

Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock

David Margolick

4.1

The names Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan Massery may not be well known, but the image of them from September 1957 surely is: a black high school girl, dressed in white, walking stoically in front of Little Rock Central High School, and a white girl standing directly behind her, face twisted in hate, screaming racial epithets. This famous photograph captures the full anguish of desegregation—in

49

Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes (Rose Gardner Mystery, #1)

Denise Grover Swank

4.1

For Rose Gardner, working at the DMV on a Friday afternoon is bad even before she sees a vision of herself dead. She’s had plenty of visions, usually boring ones like someone’s toilet’s overflowed, but she’s never seen one of herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa instead, two things are certain: There isn't enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get

50

They Tell Me of a Home

Daniel Black

4.1

Twenty-eight-year-old protagonist Tommy Lee Tyson steps off the Greyhound bus in his hometown of Swamp Creek, Arkansas--a place he left when he was eighteen, vowing never to return. Yet fate and a Ph.D. in black studies force him back to his rural origins as he seeks to understand himself and the black community that produced him. A cold, nonchalant father and an emotionally indifferent mother mak

51

Five-Star Trails: The Ozarks: Your Guide to the Area's Most Beautiful Hikes

Jim Warnock

4.1

From the banks of Lake Alma to the broken-down buildings of the Rush ghost town,hikers will be amazed at the beauty and diversity of landscapes in the Ozarks. Five-Star Trails: The Ozarks is the primary tool for planning treks in the Ozark Mountain regions of Arkansas and Missouri. Hikers will discover new trails not found in any other hiking guides, as well as favorites from Hobbs State Park and

52

Calico Joe

John Grisham

4.1

A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball.

Whatever happened to Calico Joe?

When he arrived in Philadelphia, a cab delivered him to Veterans Stadium, where he was quickly fixed for a uniform, given Number 42, and hustled onto the field. The Cubs were already taking batting practice. Understandably, he was nervous, thrille

53

Good Times: A History of Nightspots and Live Music in Fayetteville, Arkansas

Denele Campbell

4.1

54

Cash

Johnny Cash

4.1

He was the "Man in Black," a country music legend, and the quintessential American troubadour. He was an icon of rugged individualism who had been to hell and back, telling the tale as never before. In his unforgettable autobiography, Johnny Cash tells the truth about the highs and lows, the struggles and hard-won triumphs, and the people who shaped him.

In his own words, Cash set the record straig

55

Black Boy

Richard Wright

4.1

A special 75th anniversary edition of Black Boy, Richard Wright's powerful and eloquent memoir of his journey from innocence to experience in the Jim Crow South. At once an unashamed confession and a profound indictment, Black Boy is a poignant and disturbing record of social injustice and human suffering.

When Black Boy exploded onto the literary scene in 1945, it caused a sensation. Orville Pres

56

A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs

Steven Foster and James A. Duke

4.1

Of Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides (R))

The second edition of this volume shows how to identify more than 500 kinds of healing plants. More than 300 color photos illustrate the plants, their flowers, leaves, and fruits. The descriptive text includes information on where the plants are found as well as their known medicinal uses. An index to medical topics is helpful for qui

57

Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1)

Charlaine Harris

4.1

Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out....

Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.

58

The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants

Samuel Thayer

4.1

A guide to 32 of the best and most common edible wild plants in North America, with detailed information on how to identify them, where they are found, how and when they are harvested, which parts are used, how they are prepared, as well as their culinary use, ecology, conservation, and cultural history.

59

Abandoned Arkansas: An Echo From The Past

Michael Schwarz, Eddy Sisson, et al.

4.1

If you have ever driven by a building and wondered what has happened within its walls, you know what drives Abandoned Arkansas. Every day neglected structures are on the verge of being demolished or in desperate need of renovation. Join Michael Schwarz, Eddy Sisson, Ginger Beck, and James Kirkendall through the forgotten history of the Natural State, from the Majestic Hotel in Hot Springs to Dogpa

60

The Red Kimono

Jan Morrill

4.1

In 1941, racial tensions are rising in the California community where nine-year-old Sachiko Kimura and her seventeen-year-old brother, Nobu, live. Japan has attacked Pearl Harbor, people are angry, and one night, Sachiko and Nobu witness three teenage boys taunting and beating their father in the park. Sachiko especially remembers Terrence Harris, the boy with dark skin and hazel eyes, and Nobu ca

61

Hill Folks: A History of Arkansas Ozarkers and Their Image

Brooks Blevins

4.1

The Ozark region, located in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, has long been the domain of the folklorist and the travel writer--a circumstance that has helped shroud its history in stereotype and misunderstanding. With Hill Folks, Brooks Blevins offers the first in-depth historical treatment of the Arkansas Ozarks. He traces the region's history from the early nineteenth century through th

62

Black Light (Bob Lee Swagger, #2)

Stephen Hunte

4.1

Forty years ago, Bob Lee Swagger's father, a state trooper, was killed by two robbers in an Arkansas shoot-out. Now a young writer has arrived at Swagger's door with some penetrating and troubling questions. What really happened that long-ago Arkansas night? The powers that be don't want that question answered, but Swagger, to his surprise, finds that he does -- even if it means having to use his

63

Boy Erased: A Memoir of Identity, Faith, and Family

Garrard Conley

4.1

A beautiful, raw and compassionate memoir about identity, love and understanding.

The son of a Baptist pastor and deeply embedded in church life in small town Arkansas, as a young man Garrard Conley was terrified and conflicted about his sexuality.

When Garrard was a nineteen-year-old college student, he was outed to his parents, and was forced to make a life-changing decision: either agree to at

64

Dear Wife

Kimberly Belle, Vivienne Leheny, et al

4.1

From the bestselling author of The Marriage Lie and Three Days Missing comes a riveting new novel of suspense about a woman who, in a fight for survival, must decide just how far she'll go to escape the person she once loved

Beth Murphy is on the run...

For nearly a year, Beth has been planning for this day. A day some people might call any other Wednesday, but Beth prefers to see it as her new

65

The Long Shadow of Little Rock: A Memoir

Daisy Bates

4.1

66

Northwest Arkansas Travel Guide: Bentonville, Eureka Springs, Fayetteville, Rogers, Siloam Springs & Springdale

Lynn West

4.1

Northwest Arkansas, in the scenic Ozarks, is an emerging world-class destination for outdoor, entrepreneurial, and art enthusiasts. The Northwest Arkansas Travel Guide captures the area's best outdoor activities--from fishing and water sports to hiking, camping, and biking--while also showcasing its fabulous art, historical, and cultural scene. It covers its bustling business community as well as

67

Come Winter

Douglas C. Jones

4.1

In post-Civil War Arkansas, wealthy Roman Hasford tries to forget an unhappy marriage by entering politics and wielding power.

68

Camp Nine

Vivienne Schiffer

4.1

When Camp Nine, a relocation camp for Japanese Americans, is built near tiny Rook, Arkansas, Chess Morton becomes involved with two young internees and an American soldier who has some connection with her mother's past.

69

Life After Death

Damien Echols

4.1

In 1993 three teenagers, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Miskelley Jr were arrested and charged with the murders of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. The ensuing trial was rife with inconsistencies, false testimony and superstition. Echols was accused of, among other things, practising witchcraft and satanic rituals – a result of the “satanic panic” prevalent in the medi

70

In Plain Sight (Ivy Malone Mysteries, #2)

Lorena McCourtney

4.1

In this second Ivy Malone mystery, Ivy has to hide from the mob in a motorhome.

71

Mischief in Maggody (Arly Hanks, #2)

Joan Hess

4.1

Police Chief Arly Hanks finds her small town, Maggody, has some new inhabitants when she returns from vacation. Soon, Robin Buchanon, local prostitute and moonshiner, disappears, and Arly finds her bloody body at the edge of a marijuana field.

72

Engaged in Trouble (Enchanted Events, #1)

Jenny B. Jones

4.1

When a washed-up pop star inherits a wedding planning business, it’s all bouquets and bliss until a bride turns up dead.

Paisley Sutton shot to stardom as a teenage rock sensation, but ten years later that star has fizzled out, just like her bank account. When she unexpectedly inherits her aunt’s wedding planning business, Paisley leaves the glamour of Los Angeles for a charming small town in Arka

73

Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods

Thomas Elias

4.1

“Beautiful color photographs . . . temptingly arranged.”—The Library Letter

Planning an outdoor adventure? Make sure to consult this information-packed and photo-filled North American field guide—arranged by season and region—before you go!

Already a huge success in previous editions, this must-have field guide now features a fresh new cover, as well as nearly 400 color photos and detailed informat

74

Hot Springs (Earl Swagger, #1)

Stephen Hunter

4.0

Earl Swagger is tough as hell. But even tough guys have their secrets. Plagued by the memory of his abusive father, apprehensive about his own impending parenthood, Earl is a decorated ex-Marine of absolute integrity and overwhelming melancholy.

Now he's about to face his biggest, bloodiest challenge yet. It is the summer of 1946, organized crimes garish golden age, when American justice seems to

75

With

Donald Harington

4.0

The newest novel of the master of Stay More, Harington's mythical village in the Arkansas Ozarks. A peaceable kingdom is created in isolation from a most bizarre abduction gone wrong.

76

Winding Stair

Douglas C. Jones

4.0

77

My Life

Bill Clinton

4.0

An exhaustive, soul-searching memoir, Bill Clinton's My Life is a refreshingly candid look at the former president as a son, brother, teacher, father, husband, and public figure. Clinton painstakingly outlines the history behind his greatest successes and failures, including his dedication to educational and economic reform, his war against a "vast right-wing operation" determined to destroy him,

78

Much Ado in Maggody (Arly Hanks, #3)

Joan Hess

4.0

There's trouble in Maggody Arkansas, again, and Chief of Police Arly Hanks has her hands full. The trouble's name is Brandon Bernswallow, the local bank president's playboy son, who became the new head teller and bumped long-time employee Johnna Mae Nookim right down to minimum wage. The fighting-mad women of Maggody are over in Ruby Bee's Bar and Grill planning a sex discrimination protest and a

79

Half Fast: (mis) Adventures in Slowly Sailing around (on) the World

Randy Baker

4.0

80

The Weight of Blood

Laura McHugh

4.0

For fans of Gillian Flynn and Daniel Woodrell, a dark, gripping debut novel of literary suspense about two mysterious disappearances, a generation apart, and the meaning of family-the sacrifices we make, the secrets we keep, and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love.

The Dane family's roots tangle deep in the Ozark Mountain town of Henbane, but that doesn't keep sixteen-year-old Lucy D

81

Madness in Maggody (Arly Hanks, #4)

Joan Hess

4.0

A HOOT, A HOLLER...AND A HOMICIDE

No doubt about it, local gossips had finally gotten something right: a maniac was loose in Maggody Arkansas (pop. 755). So Chief of Police Ariel "Arly" Hanks, a.k.a. the local girl who did not make good in New York City and came home to lick her wounds, is back in action. Someone sabotaged the grand opening of Jim Bob's Supersaver Buy 4 Less with tainted tamale sau

82

Not by Sight (Ozark Mountain Trilogy, #1)

Kathy Herman

4.0

Her Sister Couldn’t Be Alive … Could She? It had to be Riley Jo. She was certain. . .wasn’t she? But when Abby Cummings tells her mother she thought she saw her sister at the store, her mother quickly dismisses the idea. After all, Riley Jo and their father had been missing for years. Presumably dead. Yet Abby cannot ignore her intuition. Telling her friend J. D., they investigate. But J. D. may k

83

Only by Death (Ozark Mountain Trilogy #2)

Kathy Herman

4.0

Is Liam Berne a loving son—or a murderer? The second book in the Ozark Mountain Trilogy, Only by Death is a thought-provoking suspense story of a man who loses everything and learns he must die to find life.

After much agonizing, Liam Berne takes his mother, who has Alzheimer’s, to the Sure Foot River and drowns her. A mercy killing, he tells himself, to spare her years in a nursing home. And gett

84

High, Wide, and Frightened

Louise Thaden

4.0

Louise Thaden wrote High, Wide, and Frightened in the prime of her life, making this autobiography unique among books about the Golden Age of Aviation. Thaden, a contemporary of pioneering women pilots Amelia Earhart, Ruth Elder, Florence Klingensmith, and Ruth Nichols, was part of a small group of determined women who overcame discrimination and obstacles to become pilots in a time when air races

85

Personal (Jack Reacher, #19)

Lee Child

4.0

You can leave the army, but the army doesn’t leave you. Not always. Not completely, notes Jack Reacher—and sure enough, the retired military cop is soon pulled back into service. This time, for the State Department and the CIA.

Someone has taken a shot at the president of France in the City of Light. The bullet was American. The distance between the gunman and the target was exceptional. How many s

Cover unavailable

86

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region

National Audubon Society

4.0

Introduced in 1977 and completely revised in 1994, these bestselling photographic field guides have become the birding bibles of more than four million enthusiasts. Virtually every bird found in North America is brought to life in a full-color photograph and with textual information on the bird's voice, nesting habits, habitat, range, and interesting behaviors. Accompanying range maps; overhead fl

87

In Front of God and Everybody (Confessions of April Grace #1)

KD McCrite

4.0

If God wanted April Grace to be kind to her neighbors, He should have made them nicer!

Growing up in the country is never easy, but it sure is funny—especially if you happen to have a sister obsessed with being glamorous, a grandma just discovering make-up, hippie friends who never shower, and brand new neighbors from the city who test everyone’s patience. From disastrous dye jobs to forced apologi

88

Arkansas Backyard Birds

Randy Zellers and Angela Browner

4.0

89

The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast

Ira Wallace

4.0

How to grow your own food in the Heartland!

There is nothing more regionally specific than vegetable gardening—what to plant, when to plant it, and when to harvest are decisions based on climate, weather, and first frost The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast tackles this need head on, with regionally specific growing information written by local gardening expert, Ira Walla

90

Simple Jess (Marrying Stone, #2)

Pamela Morsi

4.0

The last thing widow Althea Winsloe wanted to do was remarry. Unfortunately, her meddlesome mountain neighbors had other plans. So, one autumn night they banded together and gave Althea a shocking ultimatum: She was to find herself a husband by Christmas...or the town would do it for her!

Althea knew she had her choice of any single man in Marrying Stone, Arkansas. Yet the only one she felt truly

91

Laurel: Bride of Arkansas (American Mail-Order Bride #25)

Carra Copelin and American Mail-Order Bride

4.0

Laurel, Bride of Arkansas, is twenty-fifth in the unprecedented 50-book American Mail-Order Brides Series. Laurel Weidner desires a life of her own away from Philadelphia society and Griffin Benning needs a mother for his children. Can these two strangers find a common ground to reach their goals along with a happy-ever-after?

92

Arkansas

John Brandon

4.0

Originally published by McSweeney’s in hardcover and met with wide acclaim, Arkansas is a darkly comic debut novel written by John Brandon about a pair of drug runners, Kyle and Swin, set in the rural southeast. Drawing comparisons to a striking range of storytellers, from Quentin Tarantino and Mark Twain to Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy, John Brandon—an MFA graduate of Washington Universi

93

Native Trees of the Southeast: An Identification Guide

L. Katherine Kirkman, Claud L. Brown, et al.

4.0

The diversity of woody plants in the Southeast is unparalleled in North America. "Native Trees of the Southeast" is a practical, compact field guide for the identification of the more than 225 trees native to the region, from the Carolinas and eastern Tennessee south through Georgia into northern Florida and west through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas into eastern Texas. For confide

94

Misery Loves Maggody (Arly Hanks, #11)

Joan Hess

4.0

Delectable and continually surprising (The New York Times Boos Review), Joan Hess's one-of-a-kind mystery series digs up murder and mayhem in the sleepy little town of Maggody, Arkansas.When beleaguered chief of police Arly Hanks hears that her mother, Ruby Bee, and best friend, Estelle Oppers, are headed for Memphis on an Elvis Pilgrimage, she thinks she may be getting a long-overdue break. But b

95

Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman

Mary Mann Hamilton

4.0

The astonishing first-person account of a Mississippi pioneer woman struggling to survive, protect her family and make a home in the early American South.

Near the end of her life, Mary Mann Hamilton (1866-1936) began recording her experiences in the backwoods of the Mississippi Delta. The result is this astonishing first-person account of a pioneer woman who braved grueling work, profound tragedy,

96

Ozark, Ozark

Miller Williams

4.0

97

Cotton In My Sack

Lois Lenski

4.0

98

Poisoned Pins (Claire Malloy, #8)

Joan Hess

4.0

Claire Malloy, bookstore owner, part-time sleuth, and full-time single mother, is not quite ready to face her big 4-0 birthday, but her gray hair is getting a boost from the melodramatic antics of her fifteen-year-old daughter Caron - and the screaming that comes from the sorority house next door. Strange things are definitely happening at Kappa Theta Eta House, things that don't seem to match its

99

The Murder at the Murder at the Mimosa Inn (Claire Malloy, #2)

Joan Hess

4.0

When you make a game of murder, be careful who the players are...

Who could resist the mock-murder weekend at the charming Mimosa Inn-- certainly not bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy, who decides to bring her petulant daughter Caron along for some detecting. As the guests settle in for a weekend of sleuthing, dressed as their favorite literary detectives, many a Miss Marple and Herc

100

When Money Grew on Trees: The True Tale of a Marjuana Moonshiner and the Outlaw Sheriff of Madison County, Arkansas

David Mac

4.0