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Ahead of West Virginia Day, Mountain State Spotlight asked readers to send book recommendations that highlight West Virginia and its authors.
We received over a hundred responses of published works that emphasize why thousands call this state home.
We’ve created a reading list using the online bookstore Bookshop.org. You can browse and purchase titles on the website, where a portion of the proceeds will support Mountain State Spotlight, or you can purchase titles that interest you at your local independent bookseller.
Here are a few books recommended by our staff and readers:
Colored People: A Memoir by Henry Louis Gates
“Colored People: A Memoir” follows the coming-of-age story of literary critic and professor, Henry Louis Gates Jr., as a young black man in Piedmont, West Virginia.
This memoir offers insight into how Gates navigated life during desegregation movements in Appalachia and their impact on small rural towns.
Reader Tim Sieber said the book “offers a thoughtful view of growing up in W. Va. by someone who grew up Black (and middle class) in the state. There aren’t many such books!”
Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place by Neema Avashia
Avashia “describes her good and bad experiences as a gay Indian woman living outside Charleston when her father moved the family here to work for Union-Carbide as a chemist,” reader Cindy Stemple said.
“This book presents an entirely different perspective on a very marginalized community of folks in West Virginia.”
More West Virginia memoirs
The Stories of Breece D’J Pancake by Breece D’J Pancake
“The Stories of Breece D’J Pancake” is a collection of fictional short stories that highlight life in Appalachia. This collection was published posthumously after Pancake died by suicide at 26.
“Native, authentic on love, friendship, love, betrayal….and most beautifully penetrating and written,” reader Mark Kohut said. “Will last 100 years or more because of timeless truths.”
Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina
“Storming Heaven” by Denise Giardina is a historical fiction that depicts coal mine wars through the eyes of the citizens of Annadel, West Virginia.
Judy Ball said, “Despite being a Golden Horseshoe recipient, my WV history curriculum omitted the mine wars entirely. Denise Giardina’s historical novel opened my eyes & made me want to learn more.”
More West Virginia fiction
The Devil Is Here in These Hills by James Green
“The Devil is Here in These Hills” details West Virginian labor struggles in the early 20th century. Historian James Green writes about the longstanding bloody battle between coal miners and powerful corporations with armed guards.
This book inspired Elise Power to visit the Mine Wars museum in Matewan and talk to local people about stories passed down.
“I took West Virginia history in 8th grade. But we heard nothing about this very important, dramatic and violent episode,” Power said. “The beginnings of the miners’ union were extremely significant in labor history and American history but many don’t know much about it. I didn’t until I read this book.”
Tumult on the Mountains by Roy B. Clarkson
“Tumult on the Mountains” is a photobook that depicts West Virginia’s lumber industry through a century of progress.
There are more than 200 photographs that show the lives of men engaging in felling, loading, sowing and harvesting of lumber.
Reader Matthew Miller said, “West Virginia possessed an enormous wealth in timber that helped build the Nation until the supply was exhausted and the industry collapsed around 1910. The numerous photographs, and accompanying text, illustrate the stunning timber resources and the people who harvested it.”
More West Virginia nonfiction
Many books that readers recommended aren’t available on Bookshop — look for them at your local bookstore!
- That’s What I’m Talking About: The Life of an Ol’Country Boy with Cerebral Palsy – Delmar Davis
- West Virginians’ Experiences in Civil Rights: How We Have Been Connected All Along – Eve Faulkes, Barb Howe, Joan C Browning
- Gauley Mountain: A History in Verse – Louise McNeill
- Look Back with Love: A Recollection of the Blue Ridge – Alberta Hannum
- The Dulcimer Man: The Russell Fluharty Story – Twyla Dawn Fluharty
- Scout of the Buckongehanon: An Historical Romance of the Western Virginia Border, 1764-1782 – J. C. McWhorter
- Buildings of West Virginia – S. Allen Chambers, Jr.
- Mann and Nature – Perry Mann
- Tale of the Elk – WER Byrne
- The Angry Wife – Pearl Buck
- West Virginia Politics and Government – Richard A. Brisbin, Jr., John C. Kilwein, and L. Christopher Plein
- Pearl S. Buck, A Biography Vol. 2 – Theodore F. Harris
- Death at Buffalo Creek – Tom Nugent
- How Many More Must Die – John W. Raymond
- West Virginia USA – Jerry Wayne Ash, Stratton L. Douthat, Bill Kuykendall, and Harry Seawell
- Town Smokes – Pinckney Benedict
- McGraw Brothers: Of One Blood Are All People – Jorea Marple
- The Nature and Scenery of the West Virginia Highlands – James Van Gundy
- The Rhododendron Society – Jessica Nuckles