I’m not sure what percentage of books folks read are read over the summer, on vacations, etc., but I suspect it’s significant.

So if you’re wondering what to take with you the next few months, here are a few possibilities:

1. 15 Summer Reads Handpicked By Indie Booksellers:

NPR’s Susan Stamburg gives us a list of books that are chosen by various Independent Bookstores who often chose very different and sometimes not well known recent publications. This list this year seems rich.

2. Books Most Enjoyed by MillersTime Readers in 2011

This is a link to the yearly round up of books that folks who sometimes read this blog have said were their favorite reads of 2011.

3. Three Others to Consider:

Recently I’ve particularly enjoyed Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. This historical (?) novel came out about a year ago, but the topic didn’t seem particularly interesting to me at the time, despite positive reviews. Not being able to find anything else of interest for a driving trip to and from NYC, I picked up the audio version of Caleb’s Crossing and was delighted. At least a few times I found myself just sitting in the car after I had arrived somewhere in order to hear more of the book. I’m not sure why the title focuses on Caleb when it is really the story of the narrator, Bethie Mayfield, that grabs the reader/listener.

To read more about Caleb’s Crossing, here’s the NYTimes review.

Another book where the voice of the character(s) is also different and engaging is Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin, a South Korean writer of fiction. This book does what I always enjoy, gives the reader the points of view of each of the characters (a la Six Characters in Search of an Author).

And as I’ve written elsewhere Robert Caro’s newest book on LBJ, The Passage of Power, continues Caro’s fascination with LBJ, to the benefit of us all.