About Us

Our mission at WordsWorth Books is to match readers with books that will captivate, transport, delight, and inspire, and to provide the best customer service possible. We value the power of books and the connections that come with being a local independent bookstore in a global world. As you can see from our staff profiles below, nothing pleases our booksellers more than helping put the perfect book into your hands.

We are committed to serving readers through community partnerships. WordsWorth Books is honored to be the bookseller for the Clinton School of Public Service Speaker Series and the Central Arkansas Library System’s annual Six Bridges Book Festival - programs that reach thousands of Arkansans each year. In addition, we provide books to area schools, colleges, and churches for author events, reading groups, and assigned reading. 

The WordsWorth Community Partnership Program has donated books to school libraries and organizations for use by young readers and contributed to fundraising efforts of numerous area nonprofits. Each year, we participate in the UAMS Partners Card, a fundraiser for the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, and we are currently partnering with Arkansas Children’s on their Story Time Series.

We are confident that if you love books like we love books, you'll enjoy what you find on our shelves. And if you're looking for something that you don't find on our shelves, please ask us - we can likely get it for you in a few days.

We’re proud to be local and independent, and we’re glad that you’re here!

Kandi West – Owner & Operations Manager

List 5 books that you love or recommend to others. All Over But the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall.

What was your favorite book growing up? Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

When you are not at WordsWorth Books, you are…Parenting teenage daughters with my husband, Lance, and reading a lot of books.

What is your favorite part of working at WordsWorth Books? It’s hard to name just one favorite about working at WordsWorth.  I love to know what other people are reading.   We have bright, intelligent customers who are reading books I’ve not been able to read yet.  I’m constantly adding to my TBR list after discussing a book with a customer.  I also really enjoy helping our customers find their next great read.  Nothing makes me happier than being able to find the perfect book for a customer based on what they’ve read and liked, their interests, etc.  Finally, I just love being surrounded by books!

What is your favorite genre of book? Favorite authors? I will read almost any genre and enjoy reading widely.  One of my favorite genres is memoir.  An author can do so many different things in memoir.  It’s non-fiction but the storytelling really draws me in. Some of my favorite authors are Ann Patchett, Dani Shapiro, Frederick Backman, Louise Penny, Barbara Kingsolver, Rick Bragg, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Erik Larson. 

Lynne Phillips - Owner & Assistant Manager

List 5 books that you love or recommend to others. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris, Dinner: Changing the Game by Melissa Clark.

What was your favorite book growing up? I loved A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, all of the Nancy Drew mysteries, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

When you're not at WordsWorth Books, you are…cooking and baking, running the River Trail with friends, and spending time with my husband, Paul, and my cat, Daisy.

What is your favorite part of working at WordsWorth Books? The customers are the best part of WordsWorth. I love helping them find the perfect book for themselves or a cherished friend. Plus, every day is like Christmas when we open the shipments from publishers! 

What is your favorite genre of book? Favorite authors? I’m mostly a literary fiction kind of reader, but I am also a sucker for cookbooks - I can’t get enough! I love the writing of Amor Towles, Ann Patchett, Anthony Doerr, Pat Conroy, and Jhumpa Lahiri, among so many others.

 

Lia Lent - Owner & Bookseller

Five books that you love or recommend to others. Anxious People by Frederick Backman, Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, Easy Rawlins series by Walter Mosley, Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier, and News of the World by Paulette Jiles

What was your favorite book growing up? Dune by Frank Herbert – and now it’s back, attracting yet another generation of readers.

When you're not at WordsWorth Books, you are…Reading, of course, bicycling Central Arkansas’s great bike trails, and walking our dog, Daisy.

What is your favorite part of working at WordsWorth Books? Talking to customers about the books they’ve loved, sharing those suggestions with other customers, and being a part of a community of readers.

Hannah Peacock - Store Manager

List 5 books that you love or recommend to others. True Grit by Charles Portis, Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

What was your favorite book growing up? The His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman.

When you are not at WordsWorth Books, you are…Reading, crafting, or cross-stitching with my cats, Benny and Thompson.

What is your favorite part of working at WordsWorth Books? When customers and co-workers recommend hidden gems I might not otherwise have found!

What is your favorite genre of book? Favorite authors? Romance, of course, (with a dash of mystery or true crime thrown in). My favorite author changes from year to year but right now, Dorothy L. Sayers tops the list!

Tom McGowan - Bookseller

Five books that you love or recommend to others. The books I recommend change regularly. Newer books I am currently recommending are Deep Delta Justice by Matthew Van Meter, Frederick Douglass by David Blight, Race Against Time by Jerry Mitchell, Squeeze Me by Carl Hiassen, and Breath by James Nestor. 

What was your favorite book growing up? Before I could read, Dr. Seuss books charmed me. My favorite was To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street.

When you're not at WordsWorth, you are…practicing law, playing piano, practicing yoga, playing golf, & reading.

What is your favorite part of working at WordsWorth Books? I enjoy visiting with customers, old and new. I have a varied taste in books, and I appreciate the quality of the work by Arkansas authors on our shelves. One can readily find wonderful histories, novels, poetry, guides and memoirs by Arkansas writers.

Ginger Young – Bookseller

List 5 books that you love or recommend to others. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell, Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat.

What was your favorite book growing up? A Ring of Endless Light by Madeline L'Engle.

When you are not at WordsWorth Books, you are… enjoying the beauty of the Natural State with my family, quilting or crocheting, playing music, and watching the birds and other wildlife in my backyard.

What is your favorite part of working at WordsWorth Books? I love being around people who are passionate about books and talking to people about what they are reading.

What is your favorite genre of book? Favorite authors? I am partial to Children's and Young Adult books. Kate DiCamillo is one of my favorite authors.

Frederick McKindra - Bookseller

List 5 books that you love or recommend to others. Another Country by James Baldwin, Sula by Toni Morrison, Living in Little Rock with Miss Little Rock by Jack Butler, Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem, Independence Day by Richard Ford.

What was your favorite book growing up? Boxcar Children series, Gertrude Chandler Warner, Fear Street series, R. L. Stine.

When you are not at WordsWorth Books, you are…At my desk, trying to write.

What is your favorite part of working at WordsWorth Books? Engaging the literary community in Little Rock. Discussing books that customers have loved. Checking out the latest book club selections of groups from throughout the city.

What is your favorite genre of book? Favorite authors? I'm really into literary fiction, exploring all the ways that authors have conceived to represent human consciousness on the page. I'm really big into Baldwin, Updike, Richard Yates, Morrison. Anyone who uses language to illumine life.

 

Vicki Plant – Bookseller

List 5 books that you love or recommend to others. Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson, Midnight at the Blackbird Café by Heather Webber, Crossing Places by Elly Griffith, Homicide Undercover (Bibliophile Mysteries) by Kate Carlisle, Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman, Barrel of Laughs, Vale of Tears by Jules Feiffer.

What was your favorite book growing up? Secret Garden or Wizard of Oz.

When you are not at WordsWorth Books, you are…working at the English Department at UALR, walking my dog, reading.

What is your favorite part of working at WordsWorth Books? The people and the opportunity to talk about books with people who enjoy them as much as I do.

What is your favorite genre of book? Children's books, mysteries, fiction, history, cookbooks, literary criticism about fairy tales. Favorite authors? D.E. Stevenson, Sarah Allen Addison, Howard Zinn, Jane Yolen, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Alexander Pope, Diana Wynne Jones, Jules Feiffer, favorite illustrator - Trina Schart Hyman.