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Searching For A Summer Escape? These 6 Books Will Carry You Away

Journeys — near and far, into the past and even into near space — are the subject of the novels, memoirs and narrative histories that make up my summer reading list. Here are six books to escape with:

Even if you can't get yourself to the solar eclipse's "path of totality" this Aug. 21, any of these very different books will get you onto the path of a totally good story.

Copyright 2020 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

Corrected: July 6, 2017 at 11:00 PM CDT
The audio of this story incorrectly states that 1878 was the last time a total solar eclipse crossed North America, and that the upcoming Aug. 21 eclipse will cross the continental United States. In fact, the last time a total solar eclipse crossed North America was in 1918, and the Aug. 21 eclipse will be crossing the contiguous U.S. In 1878, an eclipse crossed the nation from the Montana territory to Texas.
Maureen Corrigan, book critic for NPR's Fresh Air, is The Nicky and Jamie Grant Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism at Georgetown University. She is an associate editor of and contributor to Mystery and Suspense Writers (Scribner) and the winner of the 1999 Edgar Award for Criticism, presented by the Mystery Writers of America. In 2019, Corrigan was awarded the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing by the National Book Critics Circle.
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