A big, crisp new hardback book might not be the best choice for beach reading — they're tough to hang on to with sunscreen on your hands. So here are some choice reads just now coming out in paperback; all are also available as e-books.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach: What better summer reading than a novel about the boys of summer? Harbach's debut is the story of a college baseball star who makes a disastrous error. It's a beautifully written tale of friendship, ambition, love and more.

Bossypants by Tina Fey: If you like celebrity memoirs, here's the smartest and funniest one in years. Fey, a star of Saturday Night Live and creator of 30 Rock, writes about her childhood and her career as a woman breaking ground in the comedy biz with sharp insight and take-no-prisoners humor.

The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly: Bestselling writer Connelly, who lives in Tampa, rips his plot from the headlines in his fourth book about "Lincoln lawyer" Mickey Haller, whose client in a foreclosure case is accused of murdering a banker. Tense courtroom scenes and a devilish final twist make this a winner.

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan: And you thought vampires were sexy? In this brilliantly written story of a 201-year-old werewolf in existential crisis, both the intelligence and the sex are blisteringly hot.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett: This engrossing, surprising novel, a contemporary riff on The Heart of Darkness, traces a drug researcher's journey into the remote Amazon rainforest in search of a colleague and former mentor who has gone rogue.