Still looking for a summer book that isn’t 100 percent trashy? Perhaps even one that’s 100 percent non-trashy (say, on Spinoza)? Here are five new(ish) titles that we’re particularly enthused about.

The charmed, tortured writer’s life of Gay Talese.

James Frey’s messy story.

123 reasons to love New York.

123 reasons to love New York.

‘Capote’ captures the predator within the journalist.

The attack on the Twin Towers set the world in chaotic motion. Below, a target assessment of the new cultural map.

Legendary adman George Lois, whose new book, $ellebrity, is published this month, created some of the most memorable campaigns of the past 45 years, from “I want my Maypo” to “I want my MTV.” His Esquire covers—featuring Nixon in lipstick, Muhammad Ali as Saint Sebastian, and Andy Warhol drowning in a can of Campbell’s soup—inspired a generation of editors and designers. In the process, he helped midwife the birth—say it ain’t so, George—of modern celebrity culture. And along the way, no one had more fun. A talk with a modern master (Bronx accent not included).

4 Great Cookbooks to Bring to the Beach House

The ideal summer read must be quick, gossipy, wicked, romantic, sexy, or all of the above. So save The Brothers Karamazov for next winter, and check out these latest escapes.