I'm re-reading a mix of stuff for work right now.
J.M Coetzee's The life and times of Michael K. This is a Kafkaesque novel that many read as a tribute to Kafka. The protaganist, Michael K., is a small, but complex, tortured soul who is pressed and sqeezed by a dark and haunting environment. Imagine this as a treatment to the question "What if Kafka was writing as a black man in Apartheid era S.Africa?" Great read.
Nancy Easterlin's A Biocultural Aproach to Literary Theory and interpretation. Nancy is an Professor emeritus of Literature at U.N.O, Head of the Woman's studies program, and is one of the more influential academics in my life. She was also my thesis director during my M.A. The attempt is to synthesize literary theory with recent advances in cognitive science. This is a re-read for me, one of many, but I find her ideas on place, space, and environment particularly insightful.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainance. I have just begun this book as I am traveling and wanted something light for the long plane ride back to the states. It's one of those books that I have heard about for years and just never got around to. It's too early for much of a review, but, as someone who has done a lot of long distance motorcycle adventuures, I can say that I really appreciate his handling of the feel of a long ride through the countryside.
William Godwin's Caleb Williams. Godwin is often cited as the father of modern anarchism. This novel was inteneded to popularize the radical politics of his "Enquiry Concerning political Justice" It shows how instiututions and power can and do
crush the individual. It's a fast moving, perhaps somewhat poorly written, entertaining book that is an early detective or pursuit story.