Kansas Notable Books 2018 - 2020 (44 books)

The Kansas Notable Books List is the annual recognition of 15 outstanding titles either written by Kansans or about a Kansas related topic. The Kansas Notable Book List highlights our lively contemporary writing community and encourages readers to enjoy some of the best writing of the authors among us.

A committee of academics, librarians, and authors of previous Notable Books identifies quality titles from among those published the previous year, and the State Librarian makes the selection for the final List. A medal awards ceremony honors the books and their authors.

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1	That Is My Dream! by Langston Hughes 4.46 avg rating — 623 ratings score: 187, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	Eisenhower: Becoming the Leader of the Free World by Louis P. Galambos 3.71 avg rating — 42 ratings score: 179, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	A Girl Stands at the Door: The Generation of Young Women Who Desegregated America's Schools by Rachel Devlin 4.11 avg rating — 245 ratings score: 176, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh (Goodreads Author) 3.76 avg rating — 16,550 ratings score: 174, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Bad Kansas: Stories (Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction) by Becky Mandelbaum (Goodreads Author) 4.20 avg rating — 214 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Cricket in the Thicket: Poems about Bugs by Carol Murray 4.15 avg rating — 246 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West by Tom Clavin 3.82 avg rating — 4,372 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Feet of the Messenger: poems by H.C. Palmer 4.80 avg rating — 15 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Fireflies in the Gathering Dark by Maril Crabtree (Goodreads Author) 4.25 avg rating — 12 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Headlights on the Prairie: Essays on Home by Robert Rebein (Goodreads Author) 4.29 avg rating — 38 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	Ike and McCarthy: Dwight Eisenhower's Secret Campaign against Joseph McCarthy by David A. Nichols 3.97 avg rating — 231 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Kansas Baseball, 1858-1941 by Mark E Eberle 4.10 avg rating — 10 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	Kansas guidebook 2: for explorers by Marci Penner it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	The Man from the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery by Bill James 3.47 avg rating — 9,570 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson (Goodreads Author) 3.91 avg rating — 6,336 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	The Shape of Ideas: An Illustrated Exploration of Creativity by Grant Snider (Goodreads Author) 4.18 avg rating — 2,464 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Stark Mad Abolitionists: Lawrence, Kansas, and the Battle over Slavery in the Civil War Era by Robert K. Sutton (Goodreads Author) 3.94 avg rating — 126 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	To the Stars Through Difficulties by Romalyn Tilghman (Goodreads Author) 3.69 avg rating — 975 ratings score: 86, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	American Heart by Laura Moriarty (Goodreads Author) 3.58 avg rating — 990 ratings score: 85, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	Brown Enough: a tale of a mixed-race baseball team, summer of '56 by Ken Ohm 3.67 avg rating — 9 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Buried in the Suburbs: poems by Jamie Lynn Heller 4.43 avg rating — 7 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	The Deepest Roots by Miranda Asebedo (Goodreads Author) 3.92 avg rating — 1,305 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	The Diaries of Reuben Smith, Kansas Settler and Civil War Soldier by Lana Wirt Myers (Editor) 4.38 avg rating — 13 ratings score: 81, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	Elevations: A Personal Exploration of the Arkansas River by Max McCoy (Goodreads Author) 4.25 avg rating — 32 ratings score: 79, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	Night Out by Daniel Miyares 3.64 avg rating — 596 ratings score: 76, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas by C.J. Janovy 4.25 avg rating — 126 ratings score: 75, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	No Small Potatoes: Junius G. Groves and His Kingdom in Kansas by Tonya Bolden 3.98 avg rating — 351 ratings score: 74, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	The Pastor Wears a Skirt: Stories of Gender and Ministry by Dorothy Nickel Friesen 3.62 avg rating — 16 ratings score: 73, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	The Saint of Wolves and Butchers by Alex Grecian (Goodreads Author) 3.81 avg rating — 1,907 ratings score: 72, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	Seafire (Seafire, #1) by Natalie C. Parker (Goodreads Author) 3.82 avg rating — 10,727 ratings score: 71, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	A Constellation of Roses by Miranda Asebedo (Goodreads Author) 4.11 avg rating — 2,117 ratings score: 70, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	A Perfect Silhouette by Judith McCoy Miller (Goodreads Author) 4.01 avg rating — 392 ratings score: 69, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Birds, Bones, and Beetles: The Improbable Career and Remarkable Legacy of University of Kansas Naturalist Charles D. Bunker by Charles H. Warner 4.69 avg rating — 13 ratings score: 68, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	Crumbled! (The Misadventures of Nobbin Swill Book 1) by Lisa Harkrader 3.96 avg rating — 54 ratings score: 67, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Follow Me Down to Nicodemus Town: Based on the History of the African American Pioneer Settlement by A. LaFaye (Goodreads Author) 4.02 avg rating — 121 ratings score: 66, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	Headwinds: a memoir by Edna Bell-Pearson (Goodreads Author) liked it 3.00 avg rating — 3 ratings score: 65, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	How to Be a Family: The Year I Dragged My Kids Around the World to Find a New Way to Be Together by Dan Kois (Goodreads Author) 3.71 avg rating — 1,919 ratings score: 64, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	Journey to a Promised Land: A Story of the Exodusters by Allison Lassieur 4.12 avg rating — 48 ratings score: 63, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	Kansas City Chiefs Legends: The Greatest Coaches, Players and Front Office Execs in Chiefs History by Jeff Deters 4.10 avg rating — 10 ratings score: 62, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Petroglyphs of the Kansas Smoky Hills by Rex C. Buchanan 4.50 avg rating — 18 ratings score: 61, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	The Reckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood (Goodreads Author) 3.99 avg rating — 14,699 ratings score: 60, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	Steel Tide (Seafire, #2) by Natalie C. Parker (Goodreads Author) 4.19 avg rating — 3,498 ratings score: 59, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	The Topeka School by Ben Lerner 3.51 avg rating — 28,316 ratings score: 58, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	What Color Is Night? by Grant Snider (Goodreads Author) 3.97 avg rating — 998 ratings score: 57, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars