Over the next couple months, some of our authors and editors will be offering up their suggestions of what books you should be reading this summer. From all available research, sand and sunshine do not make the Twilight series any better. J.C. Hallman is the author, most recently, of The Hospital for Bad Poets: Stories. His Anthology, The Story About The Story: Great Writer’s Explore Great Literature, will be available in October from Tin House Books.

A few notables for me of late include the following:

Roberto Bolano’s 2666—Not very original, I know…but it’s a great book.
Andrei Codrescu’s The Posthuman Dada Guide: Tzara and Lenin Play Chess—critical for anyone wanting to understand how art and pop culture collide.
Peter Manseau’s Rag and Bone: A Journey Among the World’s Holy Dead—an excellent lens through which to view the tensions between and common origins of the world’s large religions.