Reading about Arkansas

Any suggestions?

I do not know of any GREAT Arkansas books, but I can recommend Harry Ashmore's "Arkansas: a Bicentennial History" and as a novel, Jack Butler's "Living in Little Rock with Miss Little Rock." For what it is worth, beauty contests are important in Arkansas and Jack's wife Jamie is a former Miss Little Rock, although the story line of the novel is fictional

I really liked A Painted House by John Grisham.

Let Us Build Us a City is a tour of eleven towns in Arkansas, all named "xxx City" and the high hopes that surrounded their founding. Not a great book by any means, but interesting and since the list for Arkansas is short, a worthy addition.

Arkansas is my home state. I too loved John Grisham's A Painted House. Maya Angelou's I know Why the Caged Bird Sings would be on my list, as well as Bill Clinton's My Life. Not so bad company to keep.

Can I get some more suggestions? I may go with Bill Clinton's My Life. I don't know - I don't usually read anything political. Also, remember this isn't a challenge about authors from the state but books placed in the state. Thanks!

Some references:

Arkansas Literature in Wikipedia
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas: Literature and Authors page

My books will be Living in Little Rock with Miss Little Rock and I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings.

Morphidae: For some reason I guessed you would already have read I know why the caged bird sings. Great choice.

Surprised nobody mentioned Joan Hess' Maggody books...

http://www.maggody.com/moremagg.htm

Living in Little Rock with Miss Little Rock was just NASTY. I couldn't get past the first page. I tried reading the first page of the second chapter and it was just as bad. People actually like this book? It makes no sense!

I still need a fiction read for Arkansas. I haven't read any Grisham so I might try A Painted House.

I'm starting on the works of Donald Harington, an author I just discovered who writes about the inhabitants of a mythical Arkansas town called Stay More. He's been compared to the mystical realists.

Here are a bunch of fiction and nonfiction options for Arkansas...

http://avidreader25.blogspot.com/2012/01/reading-states-arkansas.html