Hot summer reads: 3 books to throw in your summer vacation suitcase

June 11, 1:33 PMNY Travel ExaminerKelley Vick

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Still trying to figure out what to read at the beach this summer? Look no further. These three fabulous finds will get you off to a great start. Toss them in your suitcase and drift away…

     

How the World Makes Love

Talk about making the most out of a bad situation! After being dumped at the alter, Franz Wisner didn't want to miss out on his planned 2-week honeymoon in Costa Rica. So, in the absence of a new Mrs. Wisner, he took his brother. Turns out, they had so much fun that 2 weeks turned into a 2-year round-the-world trip and a New York Times bestseller called Honeymoon With my Brother.

Now, Wisner has just come out with his second travel-related book, How the World Makes Love (wonder what researching this one entailed). In all seriousness, though, word is this is a fantastically entertaining book that chronicles not only love rituals in Egypt, Brazil, New Zealand and Nicaragua (to name a few countries), but Wisner's own rocky love life back home in L.A.

     

Honeymoon in Tehran

Azadeh Moaveni, an American journalist, was working as a foreign correspondent in Tehran in 2005 when she fell in love with a local man and ended up pregnant. This is a sticky situation in Iran, where Islamic authorities serve up some pretty harsh punishment for evidence of premarital sex. So, Moaveni was forced to arrange a rushed Muslim wedding (she's of Iranian descent) while trying to find ways to disguise her bump until the marriage was legit.

From her new home in London, where she lives now with her husband and son, Azadeh wrote page-turner Honeymoon in Tehran to chronicle the ordeal.

Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn

Who doesn’t love Audrey Hepburn? Her style and grace has captivated audiences for decades. But did you know that as a young girl Hepburn endured incredible hardships, seeing family members murdered and nearly starving to death herself while living in Nazi-occupied Holland? As a teenager, Hepburn even acted as an operative for the resistance, collecting money and secret messages for the Dutch Underground.

In Enchantment, author Donald Spoto explores the deeper side of the glamorous legend, offering wonderful insights into Hepburn’s personal life and her illustrious career. The book is star-studded – Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire, Gary Cooper and Cary Grant are just a few of the celebrities that get a mention -- and you can’t help but come away loving and respecting Hepburn even more.