Your Summer Syllabus

The Beach Read
The Actress, by Amy Sohn (Simon & Schuster, $26)
The Gist: Is he or isn't he? That's the question everyone is asking about leading man and longtime bachelor Steven, even as he sweeps young Maddy off her feet after they're cast in a big-budget blockbuster.
Opening Line: "The velvet curtains parted, and Maddy watched Steven Weller step into the room, his girlfriend on his arm."

The Travelogue
Carsick, by John Waters (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $26)
The Gist: The salty writer-director walks out of his apartment in Baltimore with a bag and a sign asking for a ride, and gets enough of them to find his way to San Francisco. It's On the Road, but funny.
Opening Line: "I haven't felt this excited or scared in a long time."

The Cultural Study
The Worn Archive, edited by Serah-Marie McMahon (Drawn & Quarterly, $29.95)
The Gist: For the past eight years, Canadian magazine Worn has chronicled fashion as a revolution, tracking the ways clothes make us who we are. This collection culls its best stories.
Opening Line: "Around the time I decided to start Worn, I had a job in a quiet bookstore."