There's a Book for That

This summer, read what you need when the time is right.

by Carolyn Huckabay

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Published: Jun 9, 2009

If you've ever tossed a York Peppermint Patty onto the conveyor belt at the Acme checkout, or zigged when your Garmin said zag just to test its sense of direction, or bought something on Amazon because someone you're crushing on tweeted it, you might agree: We humans are an impetuous lot. Moments zoom by, each geared toward finding shortcut solutions to our every whim and worry. If your iPhone can't tell you the answer to something, it probably isn't worth knowing.

But summer's supposed to be about slowing down, finding some shade and getting lost in the plot of a really good book — or a deliciously bad one — isn't it? Think of this summer installment of City Paper's vaunted Book Quarterly as your analog app for whatever's rattling around in your brain. Blame-spiraling to your therapist? There's a book for that. Miss the bus for the fourth time this week? There's a book for that, too. Someone stole your stash? You guessed it. We've found summer reading materials that'll suit your needs right now, because if you lose your train of thought for just a second, well, there's probably a book for that, too.

My Goat Ate Its Own Legs by Alex Burrett
And Then There's This by Bill Wasik
Rave Culture by Tammy L. Anderson
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
The Big Rewind by Nathan Rabin
How The Beatles Destroyed Rock 'n' Roll by Elijah Wald
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
I'm Down by Mishna Wolff
This Is Your Country on Drugs by Ryan Grim
A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert
The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
How to Sell by Clancy Martin
Life Inc. by Douglas Rushkoff
Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan
The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton
The Blindfold Test by Barry Schechter