Escaping to the shade with a good book has been a favorite pastime of mine since I was a child, and this summer is no different. I read several good books in July, including what’s proven the best book I’ve read this year, to date: Fleishman Is in Trouble, The New York Times staff writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s first novel.

Other books read this past month are:

• Life at the Dakota: New York’s Most Unusual Address – Stephen Birmingham’s well-researched ode to the famous Central Park West apartments.
• The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino: The Politics of Feeling – a quirky if endearing collection of interconnected stories from Japan’s Hiromi Kawakami.
• The Plaza: The Secret Life of America’s Most Famous Hotel – Julie Satow’s thorough biography of New York’s grand dame.
• Oksana, Behave! – Maria Kuznetsova’s novel exploring the challenges of personal identity, the messiness of family and the many nuanced layers immigrants must navigatemmigration.

Because I consumed some 30 hours of podcasts providing Tour de France news, analysis and updates in July, the number of books I read likely dropped by a title or two, but that’s OK. My tally for the year now stands at 48, which was, incidentally, my goal for the year.