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Read Local: Novels by Houston Authors

By Mary Cohrs, Contributing writer | January 22, 2019

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West University resident Chris Cander's new book, The Weight of a Piano, will be published Jan. 22. (Photo: lawellphoto.com)

As I reflected on which author or types of books to mention in this article, I became aware of how many resolutions generally fell in the range of eating healthier, working out and making or saving more money. There are plenty of new titles to help you through those resolutions, enough new titles to fill several blogs but there are plenty of librarians ready to help you through the maze of recently published self-help books.

My focus this time is based on a poster that appeared in our area during the holidays – Stay Loyal to Local. Although the premise is to encourage a shopper to spend their holiday dollars at the businesses in their neighborhood, I thought it would be appropriate to apply the same thought to authors, Read Local, if you will.

Houston has many, many creative people who write books for our reading pleasures, both fiction and non-fiction titles, to entice us to read beyond the New York Times Bestseller list. My intent is to share just a few of the local authors for this blog. It is not, by any means, a complete list of recommended reading. For me, one of the most enjoyable times is simply browsing the aisles of a bookstore or a used book sale mining for the one gem that piques my interest that day.

Some of the local authors that you may want to consider is West University resident Chris Cander whose The Weight of a Piano is due to be published Jan. 22. The story is about two women and the piano that ties their lives together.

Local newsman Tom Abrahams is the author of several series including Extinction Cycle, Alt Apocalypse and Spaceman Chronicles. His latest book, Sedition, is a political thriller.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author of Oleander Girl, has Forest of Enchantments out. Author Elizabeth Black’s Drowning House is a Galveston story.

For non-fiction readers, try David Falloure’s Sheer Will: the Story of the Port of Houston or any of Kathryn Casey’s true crime titles.

These are just a few local authors to entice you this year and your local librarian is ready to help you discover the rich talent in Houston.

See A Passion for Stories for more on local authors, including Chris Cander.