12 Great Local Reads

Looking for something new and refreshingly original for your reading list? These local authors provide it with these bestselling hits at your local independent bookstore.

What are you reading? Is it something fresh, unexpected and truly original?

If you’re searching for a good book to warm up a cold, rainy day, you’ll find plenty of new and intriguing titles written by Chicago-area authors – and there are many of them working right here in the suburbs.

Here are some of the hottest titles available at our region’s independent booksellers. Call or visit these shops to find even more surprises.

Twenty Years Later By Charlie Donlea

TV host Avery Mason loves a good murder mystery, and she’s sure she’s found a good one in the story of Victoria Ford, who was suspected of murder before she died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. As Avery uncovers the truth about Victoria’s alleged crime, circumstances and a snooping ex-CIA agent threaten to reveal her own buried secrets. This is the latest thriller by Barrington optometrist and international bestselling author Charlie Donlea. Available at Read Between the Lynes, in Woodstock, and charliedonlea.com.

Finding My Irish By Sharon Shea Bossard

Many Chicagoans can trace their heritage to Irish immigrants, but few have traced their roots as thoroughly as Sharon Shea Bossard. In this memoir, Bossard recounts how she and her husband used family stories, archival records, personal documents, and resources on both sides of the Atlantic to find the lands of their ancestors. It’s as much a personal story as a resource for those who want to trace their own family histories. Available at Paddy’s on the Square, in Long Grove, and findingmyirish.com.

Secrets of Arcane Kingdom, Volume One: Wisdom By K.B. Weber

This debut young adult fantasy combines author K.B. Weber’s experiences in spirituality and the healing arts. Bella is a lonely girl who finds her life’s passion while pursuing scientific studies. A visit to the Invention Convention opens her eyes to a whole new world – but with it, she also finds intruders and secrets that could threaten everything she holds dear. Available at Harvey’s Tales, in Geneva.

Greed in the Gilded Age By William Hazelgrove

This debut young adult fantasy combines author K.B. Weber’s experiences in spirituality and the healing arts. Bella is a lonely girl who finds her life’s passion while pursuing scientific studies. A visit to the Invention Convention opens her eyes to a whole new world – but with it, she also finds intruders and secrets that could threaten everything she holds dear. Available at Harvey’s Tales, in Geneva.

Creepy Carrots By Aaron Reynolds

Kids laugh out loud to the outlandish tales of Aaron Reynolds, including such titles as “Here Comes Destructosaurus,” “Creepy Pair of Underwear,” and “The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter.” His New York Times bestseller “Creepy Carrots!” features a rabbit who loves to take carrots from the field – until his favorite treats follow him home. Available at Read Between the Lynes, in Woodstock, and aaron-reynolds.com.

A Stranger’s Child By Mary Lamphere

In the second novel by DeKalb resident Mary Lamphere, a young woman’s estranged parents die in an accident, pushing her into a journey to find her true self. Upon discovering she’s the daughter of Pandora, this young woman, raised in the human world, must come to terms with her heritage and fulfill her divine destiny. Available at Robin’s Nest Bookshoppe, in DeKalb.

Sweetest Heartbreak By Heather Bentley

In this mature-audiences romance, 23-year-old Leah Dawson thinks she has it all figured out, until her best friend and one-time romance, Eli, introduces her to Heath, who is fresh out of rehab, looking for a second chance, and in every way Leah’s opposite. Friendships are tested, romances pursued, and alliances reconsidered. Heather Bentley of Fox River Grove won the 2018 Soon to be Famous Illinois Author Project with this debut novel. Available to borrow at Gail Borden Library, in Elgin, and free to Illinois residents online at library.biblioboard.com.

Hurting Yet Whole By Liuan Huska

Reflecting on her own experiences with chronic pain, freelance journalist Liuan Huska combines theology, personal memoir, sociocultural critique and scientific research in a tale about struggling with God and pain. Along her journey, the author finds a totally unexpected answer to healing, wholeness and God’s work in our lives. Available at Harvey’s Tales, in Geneva, and at liuanhuska.com.

Illinois Post Office Mural Guidebook By David W. Gates Jr.

In the height of the Great Depression, the federal government hired painters to install murals at post offices and other government buildings across the country. Often playing on the local community’s history and culture, many of these murals are still accessible to the public. Expanding upon his blog, postofficefans.com, David W. Gates Jr. offers tourists a quick reference on the location, status, artist and title of each mural in the state. Additional titles explore the stories behind murals in Wisconsin, Tennessee and New Jersey. Available at postofficefans.com.

Dizz Whizz By Rheon Gibson

After he struck out in the last game, Dizz Whizz needs a boost of confidence before his next at-bat. Papa Dizz has some sage advice for his son. This debut children’s book by a DeKalb principal offers plenty of father-son bonding and positive life lessons. Available at Robin’s Nest Bookshoppe, in DeKalb.

Two Towers By T.D. Arkenberg

In this personal memoir, T.D. Arkenberg explores a series of personal crises that all precipitated around 9/11: His father’s death from cancer; his mother’s death weeks later; a terrorist attack that killed his colleagues, forced others from their work and tested the author’s own resilience as an airline executive. And, in the midst of it all is a dark secret that’s quickly coming to the surface. Available at tdarkenberg.com.

All Last Summer By Stephanie Scott

Her summer plans were all prepared, until Matt – the boyfriend who was supposed to travel with her to Brazil – shows up at a party with another girl. Her perfect summer dashed, our heroine finds the only job in town happens to be where her ex’s friends all work. Matt’s friends make life miserable, until his main sidekick, Aidan, comes to her defense. Aidan and our heroine soon find themselves in a summer romance filled with self-discovery. Stephanie Scott of Aurora won last year’s Soon to be Famous Illinois Author Project with this debut young adult novel. Available to borrow at Gail Borden Library, in Elgin, and free to Illinois residents online at library.biblioboard.com.