Duration: 1st July – 31st August
Number of books: 10
Hosted by: Crazy Challenge Connection
1. The 25th state of the US is Arkansas, joining on June 15, 1836. Arkansas comes from the French interpretation of a Quapaw word akakaze, meaning “land of downriver people”, or the Sioux word akakaze meaning “people of the south wind”. Little Rock is its capital city. Arkansas is known as the Natural State, for its natural beauty, clear lakes and streams and abundance of natural wildlife.
✒ Read a book that you added to the TBR in June (mention the date) -or- read a book whose author’s first or last name starts with an AR -or- read a book whose title contains an adjective. – Turbulent Sea by Christine Feehan
2. Arkansas is bordered by Missouri on the north and Louisiana on the south. Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi border Arkansas on the east via the Mississippi River. On the west, Arkansas is bordered by Texas and Oklahoma. Arkansas is considered a southern state. Arkansas is rich in minerals, most notably quartz and diamonds. It also has a few minerals unique to Arkansas. The Magnet Cove igneous complex is known for its abundance of odd minerals, including magnetite usually in the form of lodestone, as well as some rare-earth-bearing minerals. The complex and the town adjacent to it is so named because of the magnetite as well as the terrain being a cove, a basin shaped valley. Over 100 different minerals have been identified from the area.
✒ Read a book in which mining is referenced -or- read a book in which all words in the title begin with a letter in MAGNETCOVE (3 word minimum, A, An and The DO count) or read a book with a bowl shape on the cover (post the cover). – Fairest by Marissa Meyer
3. The state bird of Arkansas is the Mockingbird. The state mammal is White-tailed Deer. The state flower is Apple Blossom, and state tree is the Pine. The Arkansas flag consists of a red field charged with a large blue bordered white diamond. 29 five pointed stars are in the flag: 25 within the blue border, and 4 larger blue stars in the white diamond. The diamond shape represents the only place in North America where diamonds have been discovered and mined. The twenty-five stars around the diamond mean that Arkansas was the twenty fifth state to enter the Union. One of the bigger stars represents Arkansas’ history as a Confederate State, and the other three stars represent France, Spain and the United States, countries that had earlier ruled Arkansas. The motto is “Regnat Populus”, which means “The People Rule”.
✒ Read a book with a diamond or star shape on the cover (post the cover) -or- read a book set in either France or Spain (tell us where) -or- read a book in which the characters are seen to vote in an election to any kind of public office. – Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama
4. Arkansaurus is the informal name of a dinosaur that was discovered in Lockeburg, Arkansas. It was named “Arkansaurus Fridayi” for the state and for J. B. Friday, who found the dinosaur’s fossilized foot on his farm in 1972. They are the only dinosaur fossil remains ever found in Arkansas. J. B. Friday donated the bones to the University of Arkansas. The bones were then examined by experts from both the US and Europe. They could not be definitively matched to a known dinosaur, but it was determined that it could have belonged to a bi-pedal, bird like carnivorous dinosaur. Several attempts were made to find more bones at the site of discovery, but nothing else was ever found.
✒ Read a book in which a dinosaur or other extinct animal is part of the plot (real animals only) -or- read a book whose title contains a day of the week -or- read a book in which an important discovery is made. – Burning Wild by Christine Feehan (the real goal of the villains)
5. In Arkansas folklore, the Fouke Monster, also known the Southern Sasquatch, is said to have been seen in Fouke in Miller County, during the early 1970s. Initial sightings of the creature were concentrated in the Jonesville/Boggy Creek area, where it was blamed for the destruction of local livestock. Various reports between 1971 and 1974 described the creature as a large hominid-like creature covered in long dark hair, which was estimated to be about 7 feet tall with a weight of 250-300 pounds with later sightings claiming that the creature was even bigger. Some accounts describe the monster as running swiftly with a galloping gait and swinging its arms like a monkey. Reports also described it as having a terrible odor, like the combination of a skunk and wet dog, and as having bright red eyes about the size of silver dollars. The creature drew considerable interest in 1971, when it was reported to have attacked the home of Bobby and Elizabeth Ford. During the encounter, the Fords fired several shots at the creature, and though they believed they hit it, no traces of blood were found. An extensive search of the area failed to find the creature, however, three toed footprints were found close to the house. There were scratch marks on the porch, and some damage to a window and the house’s siding. Since then, there have been sporadic sightings of the creature, as recently as in 2010.
✒ Read a book in which a wild or fantastic creature hurts humans -or- read a book where someone stages an elaborate hoax (explain how the book fits) -or- read a monster book (greater than 600 pages, tell us how many pages). – Green-Eyed Envy by Kasey MacKenzie
6. Located about 17 miles outside Dover, Arkansas, there is an overlook that allows observers to look down into a valley. This valley, nestled in the Ozarks, has a creek running through it and no electricity. Here, at night, orbs of light often appear and hover. These are the Dover Lights, and there are a few stories about their origin. One is the story of a coal mine on the hillside and that the mine collapsed one day killing several miners. The lights wandering the hill are said to be spectral lights resembling the carbide lanterns the miners used to illuminate the mine while they worked. A second version is of the Spanish Conquistadors searching for gold on the hills, even though vast gold deposits were never found in the Arkansas Ozarks. The third and the oldest is that the canyon is an old Native American burial site and that the lights are the spirits of tribal leaders trying to find a way to lead their people to the next life. The lights started appearing in the 1800s, in a place that is hardly accessible, definitely has no electricity. The phenomenon has been documented, but it has not been solved.
✒ Read an atmospheric mystery -or- read a book featuring multiple perspectives -or- read a book marked PARANORMAL or SUPERNATURAL on the GR main page. – Must Love Hellhounds by Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews & Mlejean Brook
7. 47 hot springs flow from Hot Springs Mountain, at an average temperature of 143 degrees. Many famous people have visited Hot Springs over the years for therapy, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Babe Ruth and Al Capone. 15 meteorites have been discovered in Arkansas. Hope is the Watermelon Capital of the World. The World’s Championship Duck Calling Contest is held annually in Stuttgart. The Crater of Diamonds is the only active diamond mine in the United States, and the only one where the visitors can dig for their own diamonds. Mt. Ida is referred to as the Quartz Capital of the World. Elvis was cleaned up for his service in the Army at Fort Chaffee on March 25, 1958 where he received his televised haircut. The barbershop is a museum now. Pine Bluff was named America’s most dangerous small town, its crime rate is second only to Detroit.
✒ Read a book in which a character travels to a different place for reasons of health (not to the hospital, but maybe to a spa city or somewhere warm) -or- read a book in which the main character gets a diamond ring during the course of the plot (as in, she gets engaged, or inherits it, whatever) -or- read a book in which a character serves in the military (any country, any era). – The Twilight Before Christmas by Christine Feehan
8. The 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, was born in Hope, Arkansas. He served earlier as the Attorney General and Governor of Arkansas. Author John Grisham was born in Jonesboro and lived in Northeast Arkansas before becoming a successful author. Hattie Caraway was the first woman elected to the United States Senate in 1932. Ernest Hemingway wrote parts of his classic novel A Farewell to Arms at his studio in Piggot, his wife’s hometown. Walmart, the multinational retail corporation, was founded in Rogers in 1962 by Sam Walton. It has its headquarters in Bentonville. Another small Arkansas store that turned into a giant corporation is Dillard’s, which started in Howard County in 1938. The singer Johnny Cash was born in Arkansas, so was Glen Campbell.
✒ Read a book with a married couple who are both successful at the same career (varying degrees of success is fine) -or- read a legal thriller (bonus for Grisham) -or- read a book whose title has a word that is six letters or greater from this list of Johnny Cash’s songs. – The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith
9. The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine black students who enrolled at the formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September 1957. Their attendance at the school was a test of Brown vs. Board of Education, a landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Arkansas dragged its feet, and when the Supreme Court tried to force integration with a second landmark decision, the Little Rock school board decided it would integrate over a period of many years. Central High was to be the first to integrate. The Nine were entitled to attend Central High under the law, but city officials gerrymandered the districts in such a way that would have forced the majority of black students to attend a different school than white students. The NAACP then decided to defy the rules, recruited students and registered them in the school. Civil rights activist Daisy Bates carefully vetted the Nine, and determined that they had the strength and the determination to face the inevitable resistance they would encounter. The Little Rock Nine arrived for the first day of school at Central High on September 4, 1957. Eight arrived together. Elizabeth Eckford’s family did not have a telephone, and Bates could not reach her to let her know of carpool plans. So, she arrived alone. One of the most powerful images of this day is Eckford, alone with a book in her hand, approaching the school as a crowd of screaming white students and adults surround her. The Nine weren’t allowed to attend school that day, as the Arkansas National Guard stopped them from entering the doors on Governor Faubus’ orders. They tried a couple of times before they finally attended their first full day of classes on September 25, escorted by 1,200 members of the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
✒ Read a book whose author or main character shares a first or last name with one of the Little Rock Nine (Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershead and Melba Patillo Beals) -or- read a book in which someone has to face a difficult situation all alone (tell us how the book fits) -or- read a book in which a team is assembled and trained to do a difficult job. – Jodie’s Journey by Colin Thiele
10. It is strictly prohibited by law to mispronounce the state name. It’s Ar-kan-saw. Perhaps in what is the dumbest law that we have ever come across so far, it is illegal for the Arkansas River to rise above the Main Street Bridge in Little Rock. In Little Rock it is also illegal for dogs to bark after 6PM. A man may legally beat his wife, but no more than once a month. It is unlawful to walk one’s cow down Main Street after 1 PM on Sunday.
✒ Read a book in which someone mispronounces a word or a name -or- read a book in which a flood occurs or a dog barks at night (tell us which) -or- read a book in which a female character hits a man – Lover Beware by Christine Feehan, Katherine Sutcliffe, Fiona Brand & Eileen Wilks
Title: The Shadowlands
Title: The Isle of Illusion
Title: Cavern of the Fear
Title: Tortured
Earth and Skye 
