![Emily Luchetti's homage to ice cream gives you a reason to haul that ice cream maker out from the back of your cupboard.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6083529/2147483647/strip/true/crop/200x210+0+0/resize/880x924!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fbooks%2Fsummer%2F2006%2Fluchetti-513dea01be32396c1d43881d53475ace551cb593.jpg)
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![Multiple characters with intertwining lives tell their stories in Julia Glass' second novel.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ce4d65c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/200x300+0+0/resize/880x1320!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fbooks%2Fsummer%2F2006%2Fglass-90ff71088366e7baa780df2c4cb181590ee0ce86.jpg)
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This week marks the unofficial start of summer -- and it wouldn't be summer without a big list of books to help pass the time. Karen Grigsby Bates offers a wide-ranging selection, from biography to barbecue.
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