19 Books Guaranteed To Make Your Summer, Courtesy Of Our Fave New Yorkers

Summertime is all about rest and relaxation. After all, it's the only season when we get a slight break from our hectic schedules (read: lives). Fewer Friday-afternoon meetings, fewer late-night office cram sessions, less taxi traffic allow for more weekend jaunts, rooftop happy hours, and afternoons spent lounging in Central Park (there's just something about the Great Lawn that feels cool, even in 100% humidity).

And in the dead heat of a New York summer, the only companion we really need (aside from a super-powerful A.C. window unit) is a really good paperback to transport us to another (less sticky, less smelly) realm. Should you find yourself hitting a beach-reads roadblock, we turned to 19 of the city's coolest, most in-the-know women (some of whom have written killer pieces of literature themselves) to share the book they just can't kick back and relax without.

Remember, it's summertime and the livin' is easy — so sticking your nose into a good tome should be, too.