Reading at the lake

DAVID HAKENSEN MINNETONKA

Several years ago, my wife and I purchased a cabin in northern Minnesota, and each year before summer begins I read "A Place in the Woods," the 1969 book by Helen Hoover that describes the move she and her husband made from Chicago to Gunflint Lake in the 1950s to live a remote life in the wilderness. It reminds me why being "up north" is special.

SARAH TITTLE MINNEAPOLIS

"Lonesome Dove"! It's thick, long, funny, sad, beautifully written and just plain wonderful. I read it every other year and never grow tired of it.

PATTY MILLER MINNEAPOLIS

When we go to the lake, I take the Master & Commander series by Patrick O'Brian. I love the swashbuckling adventures of the very human Jack Aubrey and his partner in music and espionage, Stephen Maturin. O'Brian opens the door to a world of thrilling nautical battles and far-flung exploration, and I step through. The books are as addictive as popcorn.

SANDRA SOARES SPRING VALLEY, WIS.

Herman Wouk, "The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance." Gratifyingly long, most absorbing, and the perfect mixture of pop fiction and authentic history.

CHERIE PARKER WASHINGTON, D.C.

Every year I bring "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. And every year, I end up lying in the bunk bed rereading 1970s Mad magazines left from when we were kids. Also, my mom likes to collect books at country sales to stock the cabin. This has included lots of long-forgotten 1950s romances and the occasional Pearl Buck and Somerset Maugham. Last year I read "The Painted Veil" while listening to the easy listening and swing music of KLKS out of Brainerd.

CHERYLL INTIHAR ALBERT LEA, MINN.

My summer repeater is "Bitter Sweet," by LaVyrle Spencer. There is something soothing about reading the same book -- kind of like returning to old friends. When the characters gather for a friend's wedding, I feel that I am in on the reunion.

MELISSA SLACHETKA MINNEAPOLIS

I always find myself rereading "Formosa Straits" by Anthony Hyde and anything by Elizabeth Peters. I probably go through the entire collection of Peters every summer. Mystery, with a romantic twist, is my choice for summer days.

RENEE BROWN MINNETONKA

Every summer I reread "Gift From the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. It is such a perfect July read and always amazes me how similar Anne's life was to mine. The pressures of working and raising a family are timeless, it seems. By reading her words I can imagine her pounding out each essay while at the beach. Many sections are highlighted, as proof of how much they resonated with me. Anne's inimitable tome on self-care and being a woman is in my list of top-10 faves.

CRAIG LARSON MAPLE GROVE

I have a nearly complete set of the Destroyer books (about Remo Williams, a nearly invincible troubleshooter for a secret government agency) by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir at the cabin and like to read those, along with the Matt Helm series, by Donald Hamilton, America's answer to James Bond. Also, a bunch of pulp paperbacks by Edward S. Aarons and westerns by George S. Gilman. There's an excellent used bookstore in Ely that I'll get to several times a summer to add to my collection. With no television, I can easily get through four or five books in a long weekend.

LU VETTER DETROIT LAKES

My summer reading is at a cabin near Detroit Lakes, on a lake that is busy on the weekend and peaceful during the week. Every summer I read "The Pilot's Wife," by Anita Shreve. I know how it ends and still I reread it hoping it ends differently. I also enjoy, again and again, "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas," and "Sam's Letters to Jennifer," both by James Patterson.