Suburban Authors...Part 2 ~ Book Nation by Jen

More local authors in Fairfield County have great books to share with the world.

From thrillers to children’s books, our suburban authors tackle it all – neurodiversity, climate change and life in Provence…support our neighbors and check out these new books!

Joy: A Modern Fable by Alisha Berger Gorder

Joy! A Modern Fable by first-time novelist Alisha Berger Gorder will soothe your soul and warm your heart. It is a rare find, a balm for these uncertain times, one that will restore your faith in the goodness of people and in the healing power of kindness. You will laugh, cry, feel, and hope. You will root for the characters you meet and you will come away better for having taken the time to meet them. The reading is light, but Gorder’s observations are deep. There are few books that will make you feel this good or this certain that the best is yet to come. Joy! is a signpost for those who believe we are all connected and that we are all part of something bigger. Take a chance. You won’t be disappointed, for kindness can be taught and joy is all around you.Joy! is an easy read that thoughtfully examines the pursuit of happiness in contemporary America through the fictional lives of relatable folks who live here. Gorder’s characters come to life so expertly, that it feels as if they are sitting next to you as you read. Five loosely interwoven characters–an aging and lonely pastor, a professor on the cusp of tenure, a mother who loves so, so deeply, an angry man who resents everyone who crosses his path, and a great grandfather who lives alone in the house in which he raised his family–will pull you in. Gorder brings you into their lives as they navigate hope, loss, love, parenting, family, and reinvention in this uplifting first novel by one of the most promising and observant female voices of our time.

How to Prepare for Climate Change by David Pogue

A practical and comprehensive guide to surviving the greatest disaster of our time, from New York Times bestselling self-help author and beloved CBS Sunday Morning science and technology correspondent David Pogue.

You might not realize it, but we’re already living through the beginnings of climate chaos. In Arizona, laborers now start their day at 3 a.m. because it’s too hot to work past noon. Chinese investors are snapping up real estate in Canada. Millennials have evacuation plans. Moguls are building bunkers. Retirees in Miami are moving inland.

In How to Prepare for Climate Change, bestselling self-help author David Pogue offers sensible, deeply researched advice for how the rest of us should start to ready ourselves for the years ahead. Pogue walks readers through what to grow, what to eat, how to build, how to insure, where to invest, how to prepare your children and pets, and even where to consider relocating when the time comes. (Two areas of the country, in particular, have the requisite cool temperatures, good hospitals, reliable access to water, and resilient infrastructure to serve as climate havens in the years ahead.) He also provides wise tips for managing your anxiety, as well as action plans for riding out every climate catastrophe, from superstorms and wildfires to ticks and epidemics.

Timely and enlightening, How to Prepare for Climate Change is an indispensable guide for anyone who read The Uninhabitable Earthor The Sixth Extinction and wants to know how to make smart choices for the upheaval ahead.

Don’t Look For Me by Wendy Walker

“In Wendy Walker’s thrilling novel Don’t Look for Me, the greatest risk isn’t running away. It’s running out of time.

One night, Molly Clarke walked away from her life.

She doesn’t want to be found.

Or at least, that’s the story.

The car abandoned miles from home.

The note found at a nearby hotel.

The shattered family that couldn’t be put back together.

They called it a “walk away.”

It happens all the time.

Women disappear, desperate to leave their lives behind and start over.

But is that what really happened to Molly Clarke?

George J. and the Miserable Monday by Sivan Hong

Mondays can be hard for everyone, even little kids. George J. and the Miserable Monday is an instructional story to share with young learners who worry about going to school, struggle with change, and are learning flexibility. The story of George J. teaches children that feeling nervous is ok and that fear and bravery go hand in hand. It will aid in conversations with children about feelings and perseverance.

The Dead Season by Tessa Wegert

Senior Investigator Shana Merchant has spent years running from her past. But she never imagined a murder case would drive her to the most dangerous place of all–home.

After leaving the NYPD following her abduction by serial killer Blake Bram, Shana Merchant hoped for a fresh start in the Thousand Islands of Upstate New York. Her former tormentor has other plans. Shana and Bram share more than just a hometown, and he won’t let her forget it. When the decades-old skeleton of Shana’s estranged uncle is uncovered, Bram issues a challenge: Return home to Vermont and solve the cold case, or the blood he spills next will be on her hands.

As Shana interviews members of her family and the community, mining for secrets that could help her solve her uncle’s murder, she begins to realize how little she remembers of her childhood. And when Bram grows impatient and kidnaps again, leaving a trail of clues Shana alone can understand, she knows his new victim will only survive if she wins the psychopath’s twisted game. In order to solve one mystery, Shana must wade into her murky past to unravel another.