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We have been asking around to discover which books you'll most enjoy this summer on the beach, in the airplane, on the cruise ship or just around the backyard pool. Whom did we ask? Why, our most literate and bibliophilic co-workers and friends, of course.

We weeded out some of their suggestions, like the summer-reading-list stuff (you remember: "Oedipus" by Sophocles, "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville, "White Fang" by Jack London — those lists). These are marvelous books and you already know about them (whether you actually read them or not). We've also chucked most of the huge best-seller-list books they suggested because you can find these on your own since they're so prominently displayed and marketed. Thus, we're sharing only the new, the exciting, the edifying, the electrifying. So, curl up and take note:

Pure escape

If your goal is to slip into an airplane seat or a beach chair and then get out of touch with reality in a hurry, this one's for you: "The Stolen Child" by Keith Donohue (Nan A. Talese, $23.95). Take this one on the airplane and you won't even notice the turbulence. In a nutshell, it's about a changeling and the boy whose place he took in the world. It sounds beyond bizarre, and, of course, it is. But trust us: From the first page, you won't want to set this one aside.

Some other escapist gems we liked:

● "The Two-Minute Rule" by Robert Crais (Simon & Schuster, $24.95). Crais takes a break from the Elvis Cole books to tag along with one Max Holman, a former bank robber just out of prison who is trying to find out why his long-estranged son, a cop, was killed.

● "The Lincoln Lawyer" by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown, $26.95). A new legal thriller from a writer who's specialized in cop thrillers. The characters are saltier than good pistachio nuts — and even more interesting.

● Ann Tyler's latest, "Digging to America" (Knopf, $24.95), is no potboiler, but your growing interest in the complex characters and their relationships will keep you buried in its pages. The précis: Two families become friends after each adopts a Korean infant.

● Science fiction fans, we have a pair of escapist books to carry you into space and beyond. In paperback, pick up Peter R. Hamilton's "Pandora's Star" (Del Rey, $7.99). Once you've journeyed through the wormholes into this "intelligent space opera," you'll be hooked, so go find the hardcover sequel, "Judas Unchained" (Del Rey, $26.95). You should re-enter Earth's atmosphere just about the time school starts.

On the road

Visiting some of our scenic natural wonders this summer? No matter if you're a tween, teen or grown-up, you'll be riveted by "Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon" by Thomas M. Myers and Michael P. Ghiglieri (Puma Press, $22.95 paperback). It's a comprehensive guide to slipping, sliding, falling, jumping, drowning, murdering, helicoptering and the myriad other ways people have crossed over in and around the Big Ditch. This is no mere list; each tale is told.

Other ideas for travel-related reading:

● France. Who else to turn to but the late Julia Child? Her new "My Life in France" with Alex Prud'homme (Knopf, $25.95) describes the years in which she discovered three loves of her life: Paul Child, France and, of course, cooking.

● Europe. Frances Mayes' "A Year in the World: Journals of a Passionate Traveler" (Broadway, $26) recounts her experiences in Greece, Turkey, Scotland, southern Spain, among others. You'll remember Mayes from "Under the Tuscan Sun," which is no longer a best-seller but remains a best-read — and in paperback (Broadway, $15).

● New York City. You'll get a good social (and, yeah, also economic, political and more) history of the city since the mid-1800s from "740 Park; The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building" by Michael Gross (Broadway, $26.95). Insider poop on the people and their apartments; one owner in the 1930s requested a horizontal elevator to ease her journeys around her vast abode, from ballroom to master retreat.

● Or travel the fictional route to New York with the late Wendy Wasserstein's last book and first novel, "Elements of Style" (Knopf, $23.95). The author of the play "The Heidi Chronicles" sends up the can't-be-too-rich-or-too-thin social-climbing crowd with a page-turning story that's lot of laughs.

Prefer the educational?

Looking for something to impress Uncle Blowhard at that tedious family reunion? Try "Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War" by Nathaniel Philbrick (Viking Adult, $29.95). Seriously, it's a best seller for a reason — it's wonderful reading that explodes and explores some myths about the Pilgrims and the Indians, and will fill in gaps in your understanding of how this country was founded.

Another source of impressive amounts of info, along with entertaining, crystal-like writing, is John McPhee's "Uncommon Carriers" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $24), a collection of his New Yorker magazine articles about his adventures with various modes of transportation, including a river barge, an 18-wheeler and an ocean tanker.

Do some sports

How about a little vicarious golf or baseball? Pick up "Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero" by David Maraniss (Simon & Schuster, $26), a biography of Roberto Clemente, the Pirates right-fielder who died in a plane crash in 1972 bringing relief to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

Another good time in sports: "My Life in and Out of the Rough: The Truth Behind All that Bull**** You Think You Know About Me" by John Daly (HarperCollins, $25.95). Big guy. Big hitter. Big boozer. Big mistakes. Interesting book.