Must reads for the summer (that have nothing to do with Harry Potter)

Whether spending a day at the beach, taking a breather during the workday or indulging in an lazy morning, books are as essential to summer as flip-flops. Librarians from Orange County, N.Y., Pike County, Pa., and Passaic and Sussex counties in New Jersey weighed in to share the books that adults and teens are borrowing as well as some of their own recommendations for must-reads this summer. The most buzzed about work of adult fiction is “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini, the Afghan-American author who caused a stir with his best-selling first novel, “The Kite Runner.” His second, which focuses on two Afghani women, will likely not disappoint, the librarians suggest. Mysteries also are a thing of the summer, such as Janet Evonavich’s repeatedly recommended “Lean Mean 13,” complete with quirky and eccentric characters, and a certain sexy ranger topped the list. Mysteries also took a darker side with popular titles from Stephen King and James Patterson. Libraries also had a variety of suggestions for young adults far removed from the typical school list. “Pants on Fire” repeatedly came up. “It’s about dating and honesty and peer pressure,” said Dianne Lapsley from Sparta Public Library. She said the book is a good introduction to Cabot’s style and explores juicy issues without being racy. High school drama not your type? Jennifer Sweeny from the Goshen Public Library in New York recommended “Naruto,” a series by Masashi Kishimoto. “This red-hot Japanese manga about young ninja Naruto is a fast-reading, action-packed thrill ride that all manga aficionados will enjoy,” she wrote in an e-mail with her recommendation. Of course, librarians across the region could not help but blurt one highlight on their radar: “I guess I don’t need to say Harry Potter,” said one librarian after another. Adult essentials The three most frequently named books are listed first; the rest are listed alphabetically by author’s last name. “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini “Lean Mean 13” by Janet Evonavitch “On Chesil Beach” by Ian McEwin “Blaze” by Richard Bachman aka Stephen King “Overlook” by Michael Connelly “The Eyre Affair” by Jasper Fforde “The Man Who Loved Jane Austin” by Sally Smith O’Rourke “The 6th Target” by James Patterson “High Noon” by Nora Roberts “Obsession” by Karen Robards “Invisible Prey” by John Sanford Teen must-reads “Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood” by Ann Brashares “Pants on Fire” by Meg Cabot “The House of the Scorpion” by Nancy Farmer “Does My Head Look Big In This” by Randa Abdel Fattah “The Clique,” a series by Lisi Harrison “Warrior,” a series by Erin Hunter “The Dangerous Book for Boys” by Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden “Naruto,” a series by Massashi Kishimoto “Birdwing” by Rafe Martin “Eragon” by Christopher Paolini “Maximum Ride,” a series by James Patterson “Pirates!” by Celia Rees “Stargirl” by Jerry Spinelli “American Born Chinese” by Gene Yang