As part of Read Yourself Happy’s America…In Books feature, here are some of the best books set in Arizona.

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver

77262._SY475_.jpg

Barbara Kingsolver is one of the most well-known modern American writers, and with good reason. This novel focuses on a woman who travels back to her hometown in Arizona. While there, she has to deal with an ailing father, an environmental catastrophe, and a new man.

The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd by Jana Bommersback

Winnie Ruth Judd was convicted of murdering her two best friends in the early 1930s. This non-fiction book re-examines her case as well as spending some time looking into Arizona during that time period.

Going Back to Bisbee by Richard Shelton

Richard Shelton is a poet that moved to Arizona in the 1950s and fell in love with the area. This book is his way of telling the world why.

The Devil’s Highway: A True Story by Luis Alberto Urrea

I imagine this is a difficult book to read, but I think it’s one that is important. This non-fiction book is about a group of 26 men crossing the Mexico-America border into Arizona. Only 12 were left alive.

Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest by Sandra Day O’Connor

24495

Sandra Day O’Connor might be a name that you recognize – she was the first woman to serve on the American Supreme Court. This memoir is about her childhood growing up on a ranch in Arizona.