Highly Recommended Reading: ‘Welcome to Utopia’

Here is a book you must get your hands on: Welcome to Utopia by Karen Valby. This compelling look at a very small Texas town is one of the bestselling, and most beloved, books on our shelves. Clint, who made it his pick in our 2010 Winter Catalog, says it best:

“Local author Karen Valby originally began this project as an assignment for Entertainment Weekly, but she soon fell in love with the residents of tiny Utopia, Texas and their slowly changing town. Utopia, just west of San Antonio, has no movie theaters, no bookstores, and just recently got cable and Internet connection. Valby painstakingly earned the trust of four residents of Utopia and over time got them to open up about their lives and not-so-small-town problems. The stories of these small town folks made me laugh out loud and at times filled my eyes with tears. This book is absolutely wonderful.”

Welcome to Utopia is now out in paperback from University of Texas Press, with a new afterward from Karen Valby and a reading group guide (your book club will love this book). The book’s trailer will give you a good sense of what you have to look forward to if you pick up a copy, which we highly recommend you do.