A GRAB BAG OF READERS' CHOICES FOR THE BEACH

No offense to author J. K. Rowling and her wizard empire, but"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (out July 16) won't behogging space in all the beach bags this summer.

Slimmer stuff, with an exotic, international flavor, is what LisaGozashti is craving. So "Snow," by Orhan Pamuk, due out in paperbacklater this summer, tops Gozashti's picks.

The tale of disparate yearnings for love, art, power, and God set in a remote Turkish town also will be among a broad mix of newand older paperbacks featured at Brookline Booksmith, where Gozashti,an assistant manager, is finalizing the store's "Summer Reads"section.

"I love to be transported to another world," she said.

But Gozashti, 40, admits she doesn't get the chance to do that asmuch as she used to. Being the mom of an active 3-year-old son hasn'tleft her much time for curling up with a good book.

Apparently she's not alone.

Despite a sea of new summer titles, many time-crunched readers saythey hope to finally crack books still piling up on their nightstandsbefore wading into this season's latest offerings.

Tucker Dammin, 22, a religion major and college senior back homein Boston for the summer, said he wants to hit the beach with"Shakey," the biography of enigmatic musician Neil Young by JimmyMcDonough released last summer in paperback.

"I have to read a bunch of hard stuff for school, so I just wantto read something that doesn't hurt my head," he said, while browsingnew releases recently at Borders Books & Music at Downtown Crossing.

Not that there's a shortage of lighter choices among booksellers'hot picks this summer, including: "Fourth of July," the latestthriller by James Patterson; "Zorro," a swashbuckling adventureretold by Isabel Allende; and the mystical second novel by Sue MonkKidd, "The Mermaid Chair."

"Some of this is like weather forecasting," said David MarcGoldstein, an inventory supervisor at the Borders Downtown Crossingstore. Sometimes, he said, booksellers' predictions for sizzlingsummer reads end up at the bottom of the sand pile.

His beach-reading list includes new nonfiction selections,including "Ponzi's Scheme," by Mitchell Zuckoff, about thecharismatic rogue who launched the most famous scam in Americanhistory right from his downtown Boston office. "When I was a kid Ialways heard about Ponzi schemes," said Goldstein, 40. "Now I canlook out the store window and see right where it happened acrossSchool Street."

A few book racks away, Ronen Shapiro, 29, a New York City-basedInternet developer, said his summer choices may also include storieshe heard about and was supposed to read when he was younger. Storieslike "Crime and Punishment," by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, which is amongBorders' "classic" paperback suggestions for this summer.

"I read the [Cliffs] Notes for a paper in 10th grade," Shapiroconfessed.

Heading north of the city, and a lot closer to the sounds of thesurf, a rich array of summer selections featuring vivid ocean scenesgreets customers at the Book Shop of Beverly Farms, a cozy store onthe North Shore. Among the eye-catching new nautical offerings is"The Beach House Cookbook," by Barbara Scott-Goodman, which boastsdelicious, quick dishes that leave time for fun in the sun.

There's nothing like salt air to tickle a foodie's appetite.

"The recipes look like something I could cook," said co-ownerJanet Weedon, 56.

She predicts readers are also likely to eat up "Garlic andSapphires," the new memoir by former New York Times food critic RuthReichl, who often dined incognito. The book is running strong amongbook clubs in the area, Weedon said.

But Paula Cook, 69, a loyal Manchester-by-the-Sea customer and amember of three area book clubs, said she prefers "darkerliterature." The retired special education teacher picked "The Devilin the White City," by Erik Larson, for her first summer read.Released last year in paperback, "Devil" is the true tale of two men,the brilliant architect of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and thecunning serial killer who used the fair to lure women to their death.

Another loyal Book Shop customer, Dolores Clayton, is thinkingabout tackling something that requires more heavy lifting for herfirst, and perhaps only, summer read: "Ulysses" by James Joyce.

"I've read it, but never finished it," said the 72-year-old,retired high school English teacher.

"It's come to the point where it's on my mind," she added. "Andtime is running out."

Kay Lazar is a freelance writer who lives on the North Shore.

A GRAB BAG OF READERS' CHOICES FOR THE BEACH

No offense to author J. K. Rowling and her wizard empire, but"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (out July 16) won't behogging space in all the beach bags this summer.

Slimmer stuff, with an exotic, international flavor, is what LisaGozashti is craving. So "Snow," by Orhan Pamuk, due out in paperbacklater this summer, tops Gozashti's picks.

The tale of disparate yearnings for love, art, power, and God set in a remote Turkish town also will be among a broad mix of newand older paperbacks featured at Brookline Booksmith, where Gozashti,an assistant manager, is finalizing the store's "Summer Reads"section.

"I love to be transported to another world," she said.

But Gozashti, 40, admits she doesn't get the chance to do that asmuch as she used to. Being the mom of an active 3-year-old son hasn'tleft her much time for curling up with a good book.

Apparently she's not alone.

Despite a sea of new summer titles, many time-crunched readers saythey hope to finally crack books still piling up on their nightstandsbefore wading into this season's latest offerings.

Tucker Dammin, 22, a religion major and college senior back homein Boston for the summer, said he wants to hit the beach with"Shakey," the biography of enigmatic musician Neil Young by JimmyMcDonough released last summer in paperback.

"I have to read a bunch of hard stuff for school, so I just wantto read something that doesn't hurt my head," he said, while browsingnew releases recently at Borders Books & Music at Downtown Crossing.

Not that there's a shortage of lighter choices among booksellers'hot picks this summer, including: "Fourth of July," the latestthriller by James Patterson; "Zorro," a swashbuckling adventureretold by Isabel Allende; and the mystical second novel by Sue MonkKidd, "The Mermaid Chair."

"Some of this is like weather forecasting," said David MarcGoldstein, an inventory supervisor at the Borders Downtown Crossingstore. Sometimes, he said, booksellers' predictions for sizzlingsummer reads end up at the bottom of the sand pile.

His beach-reading list includes new nonfiction selections,including "Ponzi's Scheme," by Mitchell Zuckoff, about thecharismatic rogue who launched the most famous scam in Americanhistory right from his downtown Boston office. "When I was a kid Ialways heard about Ponzi schemes," said Goldstein, 40. "Now I canlook out the store window and see right where it happened acrossSchool Street."

A few book racks away, Ronen Shapiro, 29, a New York City-basedInternet developer, said his summer choices may also include storieshe heard about and was supposed to read when he was younger. Storieslike "Crime and Punishment," by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, which is amongBorders' "classic" paperback suggestions for this summer.

"I read the [Cliffs] Notes for a paper in 10th grade," Shapiroconfessed.

Heading north of the city, and a lot closer to the sounds of thesurf, a rich array of summer selections featuring vivid ocean scenesgreets customers at the Book Shop of Beverly Farms, a cozy store onthe North Shore. Among the eye-catching new nautical offerings is"The Beach House Cookbook," by Barbara Scott-Goodman, which boastsdelicious, quick dishes that leave time for fun in the sun.

There's nothing like salt air to tickle a foodie's appetite.

"The recipes look like something I could cook," said co-ownerJanet Weedon, 56.

She predicts readers are also likely to eat up "Garlic andSapphires," the new memoir by former New York Times food critic RuthReichl, who often dined incognito. The book is running strong amongbook clubs in the area, Weedon said.

But Paula Cook, 69, a loyal Manchester-by-the-Sea customer and amember of three area book clubs, said she prefers "darkerliterature." The retired special education teacher picked "The Devilin the White City," by Erik Larson, for her first summer read.Released last year in paperback, "Devil" is the true tale of two men,the brilliant architect of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and thecunning serial killer who used the fair to lure women to their death.

Another loyal Book Shop customer, Dolores Clayton, is thinkingabout tackling something that requires more heavy lifting for herfirst, and perhaps only, summer read: "Ulysses" by James Joyce.

"I've read it, but never finished it," said the 72-year-old,retired high school English teacher.

"It's come to the point where it's on my mind," she added. "Andtime is running out."

Kay Lazar is a freelance writer who lives on the North Shore.