Looking for a good book to cozy up with this winter? You don’t have to look far. Illinois has enough authors to keep you reading all season long.
In fact, many of the best-known and most beloved authors in American literature call the Prairie State home, and a good number of those have even penned books dedicated to their home state. The list is too long to include all the books, but here are a few you might enjoy reading.
Born in Peoria, Dan Simmons is most well-known for his science-fiction novels, several of which have been based in fictional Illinois towns. Perfect for this season is his A Winter Haunting, which blends familiar Illinois sights of cornfields and combines them into a suspenseful novel. For a more soothing read, consider Dave Etter’s poetry collection, Alliance, Illinois. Each of the 222 poems in this collection is told by a different Alliance resident.
There are plenty of books about the Prairie State, too. Tales & Trails of Illinois is a collection of 52 little-known historic events taken from newspaper columns, written by retired Springfield teacher Stu Fliege.
Shoeless Joe & Me is a book by Dan Gutman, which takes a 13-year-old on a trip back in time to the 1919 World Series and face-to-face with Chicago White Sox legend Shoeless Joe Jackson on the eve of the famous scandal.
More of a Cubs fan? Lew Freedman’s Game of my Life may be more your speed. The 2007 book quotes Ernie Banks, Ken Holtzman and Billy Williams on games from the 1950s to present day.
In addition to stories and books about Illinois, consider paying homage to some of the world’s most famous penmen, who once called Illinois home.
Did you know that Ernest Hemingway hailed from Oak Park, Shel Silverstein was a Chicagoan, and Carl Sandburg was born in Galesburg?
This winter, as you reach for a book, consider one by an Illinois author. What better way to support local arts than to promote those who also call it home.
I am a local author. I have been self-published since 2017. I currently have 8 books available through Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/author/dennisbartizal I am also a member of the DuPage Writers Group. Do you keep and make available a list of local authors? Do you know anybody who does. I also have a blog where I post a new piece of fiction on a weekly basis. thephotonandthedog.blogspot.com Some of my books are in the stacks at the Helen Plum (Lombard) Library and the Glen Ellyn Library. I like it when a place encourages local authors.