For the 14th consecutive year, first-year students enrolled in the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service’s Master of Public Service degree program have compiled a list of books they recommend others to read.
The books will be on display at a drop-in reception on Monday, September 9 at WordsWorth Books (5920 R Street) in Little Rock from 5:15-6:30 p.m. All are welcome to visit with the students and hear about their wide range of reading selections.
“This always interesting and diverse book list has become a much-anticipated tradition here at the Clinton School,” said Dean James L. “Skip” Rutherford III. “We have requests for it from individuals, teachers, book clubs, libraries, and bookstores from all over the country.”
“This year’s list includes titles that span genre, place, and time,” said Fred McKindra of WordsWorth Books. “Together, these works comprise a canon that looks soberly at our contemporary, global moment while also interrogating the antecedents by which we have arrived here.”
Celebrity memoirs like Tina Fey’s “Bossypants,” Trevor Noah’s “Born A Crime,” and “Gmorning, Gnight” by Lin-Manuel Miranda appear alongside selections from lesser known memoirists – “What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding” by Kristen Newman and Tara Westover’s “Educated” – and classic works of biography like Alex Haley’s “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and Elie Wiesel’s “Night.”
Narratives from global voices like “Children of the Days” by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano and “Tell Me How It Ends” by Mexican writer Valeria Luiselli demonstrate an international perspective.
The list includes criticism like Dr. Ron Webb’s “Destroying the Root of Racism” and Dr. Joy DeGruy’s “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome” and political commentary such as Senator Ben Sasse’s “Them: Why We Hate Each Other and How to Heal,” Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny,” and “Fight Like A Mother” by Shannon Watts.
“Fictional works like ‘Stone Butch Blues’ by Leslie Feinberg and ‘So Long a Letter’ by Mariama Bâ dramatize women’s perspectives from disparate points of geography and sexual orientation, while works of classic American literature like Steinbeck’s ‘East of Eden,’ Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart,’ and Toni Morrison’s ‘Song of Solomon’ continue to inspire,” McKindra said.
Of the 41 books, 37 are first-time selections in the 14-year history of the school’s recommended reading lists.
The books will be on display at Sturgis Hall throughout the 2019-20 school year and will be added to the school’s permanent collection. Printed lists will also be available at WordsWorth Books and at the Central Arkansas Library System’s main library.
Wordsworth Books is an independent book store and a long-time Clinton School community partner. It regularly handles book sales and orders for authors who speak as part of the Clinton School Speaker Series.
Letter to His Father
by Franz Kafka
Nikki Anderson
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot
Marlie Ball
13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do
by Amy Morin
Tamara Bates
Running with Scissors
by Augusten Burroughs
Farrah Beck
Song of Solomon
by Toni Morrison
Ryan Bell
Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You
by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Samantha Black
Stone Butch Blues
by Leslie Feinberg
Mackenzie Bolt
Man’s Search for Meaning
by Viktor E. Frankl
Jennifer Browne
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by Alex Haley and Malcolm X
Tim Campbell
Food and Faith
by Norman Wirzba
Abigail Carlson
East of Eden
by John Steinbeck
Drew Coker
Giving Done Right: Effective Philanthropy and Making Every Dollar Count
by Phil Buchanan
Linda Dipert
Destroying the Root of Racism
by Dr. Ron Webb
Taylor Donnerson
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
by Edmund Morris
Blake Farris
The Art of Communication
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Kam Gomez
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
by Barbara Kingsolver
Lydia Grate
Fight Like a Mother: How a Grassroots Movement Took on the Gun Lobby and Why Women Will Change the World
by Shannon Watts
Liz Hall
Children of the Days: A Calendar of Human History
by Eduardo Galeano
Nada Hamida
Bossypants
by Tina Fey
Courtney Heptig
The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern South
by John T. Edge
Brock Hyland
Eat That Frog!
by Brian Tracy
Patrick Isokpunwu
Born a Crime
by Trevor Noah
Kate Jenkins
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome
by Dr. Joy DeGruy
Abraham Kahasay
So Long A Letter
by Mariama Bâ
Baraka Kengwa
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
by Christopher Moore
Abigail Lee
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row
by Anthony Ray Hinton and Lara Love Hardin
Corrinne McClure
The Antichrist
by Friedrich Nietzsche
Jacob McGuire
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
by Timothy D. Snyder
Cody McKinney
What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding: A Memoir
by Kristin Newman
Cassidy Mitchell
Educated: A Memoir
by Tara Westover
Brittany Moody
Readings in Arkansas Politics and Government
by Janine A. Parry and Richard P. Wang
Michael Morrison
Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions
by Valeria Luiselli
Katerina Noori
Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe
Aisosa Osaretin
The President Is Missing
by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
Leslie Parker
Them: Why We Hate Each Other–and How to Heal
by Ben Sasse
J. Dillon Pitts
Night
by Elie Wiesel
Jaylin Sprout
New Seeds of Contemplation
by Thomas Merton
Connor Thompson
The Holy Bible (King James Version)
Bréjai Washington
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
by Susan Cain
Michael Webb
1984
by George Orwell
Jacey Winn
How to Fight Presidents: Defending Yourself Against the Badasses Who Ran This Country
by Daniel O’Brien
Alec Zills
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