Summer reading list

It's summer again. You'd never know it in this foggy city, so I've put a lot of weekends on calendar where my plan is to escape to the sun and to the sand. Ever since I was a kid, I've loved that summer means long hours of being able to read. Winter does too, technically, since what's better than sitting in with a cup of hot chocolate reading a novel while it's storming outside. Maybe only a beach read. A really junky, fun, book that you just don't want to put down. I've picked up a few things at the bookstore lately, but the following is a short list of what I want to buy next. My "summer reading list" (ahhh, the lists again). It's a far cry from "Catcher in the Rye," and "To Kill a Mockingbird" -- the classic school summer reading picks.

1. Drop Dead Beautiful - Jackie Collins

I've never actually read Jackie Collins (or Danielle Steele or Nora Roberts or any of those super-market novels), but I saw her interviewed on T.V. recently and she just sounded like a fun girl. She's probably well into her 70s and a bit too old to be a fun girl. But she strikes me as the sort of diva-ish woman who is really comfortable with herself. The kind of old-lady I want to be. And the book sounded fun, so it made the list.

2. The Diana Chronicles - Tina Brown

Diana is one of those "love her or sick of her/don't get it" characters. I happen to find her fascinating. She chose the wrong kind of guy (the unavailable man who was in love with someone else) and ended up living a short, but glamorous life. I read all the People magazine coverage of her; stayed up late to watch her wedding; stayed up late again to watch her funeral. I don't always go for the biography/scandal books, but I like Tina Brown and sense she'll do this one right.

3. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows - J.K. Rowling

I just love, love, love the Harry Potter books. After decrying them at first as "rubbish," and then refusing to admit I was reading them while smuggling them to and from work on the train inside a magazine or a paper-bag cover, I now freely admit to absolutely loving those darn books. I don't think good old JK will kill off Harry, but I want to be one of the first to find out. Alexander's Books will deliver a copy to anyone who pre-orders and lives in the city so the fans can have a dose of Harry with their breakfast cereal and coffee. I may take them up on it.

4. Michael Tolliver Lives - Armistad Maupin

I must find out what happened to Michael Tolliver, Mary Ann Singleton, Brian Hawkins and the rest of the gang that fictitiously inhabited my neighborhood in the 70s and 80s. If you have not read Tales of the City (the complete series and not just the first book) you are completely missing out. Just one of the greatest serials ever.

Now, my usual question to all of you -- what's on your list?