Serve Chilled

By Lisa Kirkpatrick

Summertime, and the living is sweaty, temps are jumpin', the thermometer's high! Though the days of summer are dwindling down to a precious few, there are still weeks of murderously hot weather to somehow avoid. We suggest you put on some light-colored, natural-fiber clothing, position yourself near an A/C unit, under the ceiling fan, or beneath a beach umbrella where you can catch a breeze and slip into literary-escape mode. Members of the Chronicle food staff (Rebecca Chastenet de Géry, MM Pack, Pableaux Johnson, Wes Marshall, Rachel Feit, and myself) have already done some research for you. We've got suggestions that range from fascinating, informative food journalism and educational tomes, all the way to classic 18th- and 19th-century fiction and irreverent, bawdy modern-day humor. There's a choice for everyone on this reading menu.