8 Books By Millennials You Can't Miss This Year

Culture

It is always fascinating to find a new author and read his or her first works. Fellow PM writer Caitlin Reilly inspired an article by Flavorwire.com about millennial authors not in the mainstream yet. Hopefully, 2013 is going to be a good year for these eight millennial authors. 

1. Mapping Manhattan: A Love (and Sometimes Hate) Story in Maps by 75 New Yorkers by Becky Cooper (author) and Adam Gopnik (foreward)

The premise behind this book is so unique it had to be number one. Cooper walked Manhattan, armed with blank maps she had printed by hand, and presented them to countless people. She met everyone from homeless persons to police officers, asking them to "map their Manhattan."

2. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena: A Novel by Adam Marra

This is sure to be an outstanding novel. The book centers around life in an abandoned hospital where a doctor decides to harbor a young girl. She is being hunted by Russian forces who abducted her father. A thriller and a love story, the book should be impossible to put down.

3. Screw Everyone: Sleeping My Way to Monogamy by Ophira Eisenberg

Chelsea Handler lovers, this one is for you. This book is about comedian Eisenberg's life spent saying "yes" to everyone, and finally overcoming her phobia of commitment. This book may not be to everyone's cup of tea, but no doubt it will find a solid audience.

4. In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods by Matt Bell

This book will be released in June. Matt Bell isn't quite a household name yet, but this mythical novel about a newlywed couple who escape from their homeland to an uninhabited lake shore, is sure to raise his profile.

5. We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

Bulawayo's book isn't going to be released until May. But anticipation is building. The book is about border displacement in both Zimbabwe and America. Bulawayo is a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, and her upcoming book is sure to be met with excitement.

6. Begging For It by Alex Dimitrov

Dimitrov's work is actually a book of poems. This should create excitement in itself. He uses his experiences as an "American youth" thirsty and hungry for life's adventures, in all its intensity. Instead of creating a fictional novel, he writes it in lyrical verse, with spectacular results.

7. Threats by Amelia Gray

Gray's work is a pure mystery thriller. The main character's wife is dead. But he can't figure out why or how she died. He keeps getting a series of threats hidden in bizarre places. This novel is sure to be a suspenseful nail-biter.

8. The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards: A Novel by Kristopher Jansma

Jansma's story of friendship and infatuation is complicated. The narrator's best friend is also a rival writer. Caught in between the two is a woman named Evelyn. After a horrific falling out, all that is left is a web of lies and deceit.