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Booksellers' Selections for Summer Afternoons

Novelist Henry James once said the two most beautiful words in the English language were "summer afternoon." And what better way to spend a summer afternoon — or a spring, fall or winter afternoon for that matter — than curled up with a good book?

To that end, we huddled with booksellers from three independent bookstores to get their selections for the very best reads this summer.

And the picks are in! This year's selections feature a little bit of everything: from Don Lee's wacky brussels spouts farmers in Wrack & Ruin to Irina Reyn's re-imagined (and thoroughly modern) Tolstoy heroine in What Happened to Anna K. Whatever your reading fancy, our booksellers promise many pleasant afternoons, summer or otherwise.

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Susan Stamberg was one of NPR's "founding mothers" (she also coined the phrase). She joined the network at the time of its inception in 1971, and her career at NPR spanned more than five decades.

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