read between the lines

I came across many good books this year. And it's not even over yet! I've read 26 until this point. Some of the highlights were:
CHARLOTTE STREET by Danny Wallace
ENGLAND, ENGLAND by Julian Barnes
WINTER JOURNAL by Paul Auster
MACBETH by Shakespeare
PULPHEAD by John Jeremiah Sullivan
FREEDOM by Jonathan Franzen
BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN by David Foster Wallace
ATONEMENT by Ian McEwan
MR. VERTIGO by Paul Auster
TEA PARTY by German author and journalist Eva C. Schweitzer
CHRONIC CITY by Jonathan Lethem
and DIE VIERTE HAND (the German translation of THE FOURTH HAND) by John Irving
12 incredibly good books out of 26, that's not bad at all. Some are funny (Charlotte Street), some are ernest (Macbeth, Atonement), some are informative (Pulphead, Tea Party), some are set in Britain (Charlotte Street, England, England, Macbeth, Atonement), some in the US (Winter Journal, Pulphead, Freedom, Brief Interviews with hideous Men, Mr. Vertigo, Tea Party, Chronic City, The Fourth Hand), some are innovative (England, England, Brief Interviews with hideous Men, Atonement) and some had an emotional impact on me (Charlotte Street, Winter Journal, Pulphead, Freedom, Atonement, Mr. Vertigo, Chronic City, The Fourth Hand).
(At this point I send a mental thank you to my local library which allows students to borrow books for free. I got half of the books on my highlight list there.)
Currently, I am reading NW by Zadie Smith which is pretty good so far. Afterwards I will try to work off the unread books still standing on my bookshelf (I am looking at you, Joyce and Proust). Let's see how many I can add to the current 26 until the end of the year.

2nd hand

Es ist mir immer wieder eine Freude, mich stundenlang durch Berge von gebrauchten Büchern, sowie CD-Regale zu wühlen. In letzter Zeit hatte ich ein besonders glückliches Händchen dabei, wie dieser Stapel belegt:

Paul Bocuse: DIE NEUE KÜCHE The master of the masters. Französische Dinnerpartys stehen ins Haus.

Paul Auster: MR. VERTIGO Unterscheidet sich stark von den anderen Werken Austers, die ich bis jetzt gelesen habe, gefällt mir aber sehr gut.

John Garforth: MIT SCHIRM, CHARME UND MELONE Es musste einfach sein. Ich bin gespannt.

Peter Handke: PUBLIKUMSBESCHIMPFUNG 

Jamie Cullum: MOMENTUM Ich kann es mir immer und immer und immer wieder anhören. Und wenn ich es nicht höre, habe ich einen Ohrwurm davon.

Queens of the Stone Age: ...LIKE CLOCKWORK Soooo gut. 

Belle & Sebastian: IF YOU'RE FEELING SINISTER Mit einem meiner absoluten Lieblingssongs von ihnen: "Like Dylan in the Movies".

paul auster

The American Paul Auster is one of my favourite writers. I've already read six of his novels and each one strengthened my enthuiasm for him. Literature, relationships, art, friendship and New York City are the main topics which Auster takes up and varies throughout his work.What I especially love about his novels is his ability to make each one unique though the topics mainly stay the same. The included twists and their originality makes Austers books really worth reading.

Not only does Paul Auster have in my opinion a brilliant writing style but he's also very productive in publishing new books. That's why I wasn't surprised when I read about this year's release of "Winter Journal", two years after his predecessor "Sunset Park" (now also released in German). Auster's new book differs from his other works, because it's not a novel, it's a memoir. The first edition will be released next month. Until then, here's an extract from "Winter Journal", read by the author himself: