Booksellers' Picks for the Beach — or the Backyard

Rainy Day Books, in Kansas City, Kan., is one of three independent bookstores we polled for summer-reading picks. hide caption
The Complete List
Get a printable list of all our summer 2007 book picks.
If your idea of packing for vacation is a suitcase full of books and two bathing suits, you've come to the right spot. We've gathered suggestions from three independent booksellers about hot-weather reads to go on your packing list.
The moods range from mystery to giddy romp, the topics from life behind the veil to wedding-night anxiety to superhero angst — and the literary modes from sprawling apocalyptic novel to what might be called a puzzle-master's experiment with form. Read on to meet our bookseller friends and discover their recommendations — including several not heard in the radio broadcast — about what the well-read traveler will be carrying this summer.