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What is a summer vacation without the perfect summer read? Whether you prefer to imagine yourself heading to the beach, exploring the mountains, heading to the races, trekking through nature, or taking to the road, there is a SUNY Press that can help you on your way.

If relaxing by the ocean is your idea of a great vacation, we have plenty of options to toss in your beach bag. Dan Rattiner, an award-winning writer and founder of Dan's Papers, shares tales of the sometimes rich, sometimes famous, but always quirky residents of one of America’s best-known summer colonies in his trilogy In the Hamptons Too, Still in the Hamptons, and In the Hamptons 4Ever. In The Kingdom of the Kid, journalist Geoff Gehman recalls a childhood on Long Island as the counterculture sixties were sliding into the seventies and the Hamptons were still a middle-class sanctuary. For those looking for a little slice of Hamptons' history, check out Colonizing Southampton, a look at the life and times of Southampton, New York between 1870 and 1900.

If you're heading to the mountains this summer, we have quite a few books set in the beautiful Adirondack and Catskill Mountains of New York to help set the mood. The Untold Story of Champ is the definitive story of Champ, the legendary serpent-like monster of Lake Champlain. Mary Sanders Shartle’s The Truth and Legend of Lily Martindale is a moving novel that follows a successful New Yorker as she returns to her birthplace in the Adirondack Mountains to escape her publicly tragic life. In Adirondack, Edward Kanze probes deeply into Adirondack Mountain lives, both human and otherwise, bringing the area to vivid and colorful life. In Finding True North, Fran Yardley chronicles her journey as she and her husband moved to a remote corner of the Adirondacks and, along the way, unearths the history of those who came before. Architecture buffs will love The Adirondack Architecture Guide, Southern-Central Region. Heading south to the Catskills, Bungalow Kid vividly and lovingly recreates a city kid's summer in the Catskills in the 1950s and In the Catskills and My Boyhood contains two classic works by naturalist John Burroughs on his beloved Catskill region.

A hub for thoroughbred horse racing, Saratoga Springs, New York, lies in the southernmost foothills of the Adirondack Region and has become an annual summer destination for many. Six Weeks in Saratoga is the inside story of how a three-year old filly captured the hearts of racing fans and cemented her bid to be named Horse of the Year in 2009.

For those who like to explore the natural world on a more personal way, we have three books to keep you company on your journey. Mike Freeman’s Drifting shares an account of his two-week canoe trip down the Hudson while reflecting on America’s past, present, and uncertain future and would be the perfect read for someone who loves nature and adventure. Running the Long Path is an ultrarunner’s fast-paced narrative into the wilds of New York’s Hudson Valley, as he attempts to set a new record for completing the Long Path, a 350-mile hiking trail that links New York City and Albany. In Living Waters, Margaret Wooster canoes, portages, camps beside, and wades into eight Great Lakes watersheds across New York and Québec.

If road trips are more your thing, check out Stop at the Red Apple, the entertaining inside story of how Reuben Freed's roadside eatery became the famous Red Apple Rest. In Truckin' with Sam a father and son travel across North America in a pick-up truck—talking, laughing, fighting, and bonding. Twenty West traces the route, history, and geography of US 20, America’s longest road. Upstate Uncovered by Chuck D'Imperio is an exciting travel guide for Upstate New York road warriors, history lovers, and tourists. And D'Imperio's newest book, Signs of Distinction, delves into the varied stories revealed on town welcome signs and might inspire your next road trip!

Whether you're heading to one of these destinations, or just want to transport yourself there from the comfort of your own home, we have plenty of great summer reads for every taste!

Kate Seburyamo is a Sr. Marketing Manager at SUNY Press