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Here are 15 books that caught my interest lately.

Fresh, off-beat, quirky or curious titles that might deserve more attention:

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01: ALEJANDRO SAMBA, „Ways of going home“, 160 pages, January 2013. [Chilean]

02: MEG WOLITZER, „The Interestings“, 480 pages, April 2013.

03: CARLENE BAUER, „Frances and Bernard“, 208 pages, January 2013. [Episolary Novel about Robert Lowell and Flannery O’Connor.]

04: TEDDY WAYNE, „The Lovesong of Jonny Valentine“, 304 pages, February 2013.

05: KRISTOPHER JANSMA, „The unchangeable Spots of Leopards“, 274 pages, March 2013.

06: ELLIOT HOLT, „You are one of them“, 304 pages, May 2013.

07: WILLIAM H. GASS, „Middle C“, 464 pages, March 2013.

08: ALAN WARNER, „The Deadman’s Pedal“, 376 pages, 2012.[Coming-of-Age, Scotland]

09: FREDERIC MANNING, „Her Privates We“, 288 pages, 1930. [War, Australia]

10: RENATA ADLER, „Speedboat“, 192 pages, 1976. [Novel / Vignettes / Cultural Criticism]

11: MARK HARRIS, „Pictures at a Revolution“, 496 pages, 2008. [Cultural Studies / Film Studies]

12: MAUREEN MEDVED, „The Tracey Fragments“, 149 pages, 1998. [Young Adult]

13: TOM SPANBAUER, „Now is the Hour“, 480 pages, 2006. [Coming-of-Age]

14: SAMUEL R. DELANY, „The Motion of Light in Water: Sex and Science Fiction Writing in the East Village“, 584 pages, 1988. [Memoir]

14: URSULA K. LeGUIN, „The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction“, 250 pages, 1992. [Essays]

15: ANTONI LIBERA, „Madame“, 448 pages, 1998. [Polish]

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Here are five books that made me curious enough to buy them:

01: LISA GERVIS (editor): „BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine“,  400 pages, 2006. [Essays]

02: SHEILA HETI, „How should a Person be?“, 288 pages, 2010. [recommended to me by a good, trustworthy friend.]

03: JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV, „Echoes“, 144 pages, 2011. [Horror, Graphic Novel. I liked this writer’s work on DC Comic’s „I, Vampire“.]

04: ALEXANDER OSANG: „Berlin – New York. Kolumnen aus der schönen neuen Welt“, 320 pages, 1999-2004. [Journalism, German]

05: ULRICH BECK, ELISABETH BECK-GERNSHEIM, „Fernliebe: Lebensformen im globalen Zeitalter“, 280 pages, 2011. [Sociology, German]

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…and finally, here are three books that I read – and that were really good:

I’m a juror for a fantasy literature prize this month, so I read lots of sci-fi, horror and fantasy:

4 of 5 stars: ANDREAS BRANDHORST, „Das Artefakt“, 656 pages, 2012. [German, Hard Sci-Fi]

4 of 5 stars: MARKOLF HOFFMANN, „Ines öffnet die Tür“, 288 pages, 2012. [German, All-Ages Fantasy]

4 of 5 stars: CLIVE BARKER, „The Thief of Always“, 225 pages, 1992. [All-Ages Fantasy]

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related Posts:

• my 20 Best Books of 2011 (Link)
• Summer Reading – 60 books for the next couple of months! (Link)
• Still unread: books I plan to read (pretty soon?) (Link)
• 40 disappointing Literary Classics (Link)
• Essay: „Futter für die Bestie – Literaturkritik in digitalen Zeiten“ (Link, German)

and:

• Underdog Literature: January 2013 (Link)

• Underdog Literature: December 2012 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: November 2012 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: October 2012 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: September 2012 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: August 2012 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: July 2012 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: June 2012 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: May 2012 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: April 2012 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: March 2012 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: February 2012 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: January 2012 (Link)

• Underdog Literature: December 2011 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: November 2011 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: October 2011 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: September 2011 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: August 2011 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: July 2011 (Link)
• Underdog Literature: June 2011 (Link)