As it does every year, summer starts Monday. In advance, we've been getting splashed with buckets of "summer reading lists" as though we never crack a book the other nine months of the year and can't wait to don our bathing suits, sunblock and reading glasses.

These seasonal lists also make the same assumption that the hot weather demands mindless "beach books" that allow us to focus on the tan rather than the words. And publishers have played this game enthusiastically, releasing their "fun books" in the spring while saving their "best" stuff for the fall to boost holiday sales.

Times change. This year, there will be more than 200,000 new titles produced, a tsunami of books that is washing away the seasons, mixing the beach reads with the literary, the goofy humor with serious nonfiction.

If you're ready to jump into this fast-running stream of titles, be prepared for challenges along with the lighthearted as we dip into the flood.

"Spies of the Balkans" by Alan Furst (Random House, $26). World War II in Central Europe has been Mr. Furst's speciality in his well-researched, atmospheric thrillers. His 11th enfolds in Greece as the Nazis invade.

"A Fierce Radiance" by Lauren Belfer (Harper, $25.99). Another World War II novel, this book by the accomplished author Ms. Belfer ("City of Light") also combines a historical setting with fictional characters. The story features a Margaret Bourke White kind of heroine who reports on the development of antibiotics for the war effort.

"Truth" by Peter Temple (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $26). Take a break from those depressing Swedish crime novels and try a whodunit from sunny Australia, complete with glossary of Aussie lingo. A Melbourne cop is handed a full plate of murder, family troubles and politicians.

"Seven Year Switch" by Claire Cook (Voice/Hyperion, $24.99). OK, here's an honest-to-goodness frothy romance in the beach read tradition: Divorcee Jill juggles attentions of ex-hubby and "free-spirited" businessman on a Costa Rican getaway. Hear the waves?

"The One That I Want" by Allison Winn Scotch (Shaye Areheart Books, $24). Beware those fortune tellers at the summer fair. They can tip your applecart as the heroine of Ms. Scotch's third novel discovers when her quiet life is upended.

"The Outer Banks House" by Diann Ducharme (Crown, $25). As thousands of Pittsburghers pack the car for their annual Outer Banks holiday, they might want to throw this novel on the pile of beach towels. Love blooms in post Civil War Nags Head despite the ravages of the North-South conflict.

"My Name Is Memory" by Ann Brashares (Riverhead Books, $25.95). Ms. Brashares hitches up her "Traveling Pants" for a love story that stretches across centuries. It's a reincarnation saga that moves from present day to 541 A.D.

"American Music" by Jane Mendelsohn (Knopf, $23.95). There seems to be a minor theme of past lives in this summer's fiction as Ms. Mendelsohn's novel uses the relationship of a wounded Iraqi war veteran and his physical therapist to discover older romances. She's the author of "I Was Amelia Earhart."

"The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" by Aimee Bender (Doubleday, $25.95). Known previously for her short-story collections, Ms. Bender crafts a short novel about a daughter who can "taste" her mother's troubled inner life in her food. Family secrets never tasted so terrible.

"A Visit From the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan (Knopf, $25.95). An ambitious novel from the author of "The Keep," the story moves back and forth in time through the life of a music producer. Ms. Egan is a sharp detailer of modern society and its growing dependence on digital gadgets, not a good thing.

"Broken" by Karen Slaughter (Delacorte Press, $26). Ms. Slaughter writes forceful, almost relentless plots of crime in the Georgia backwater and this is no exception, one of those fast-paced shoot-'em-ups.

"Everything" by Kevin Canty (Nan Talese/Doubleday, $25.95). Here's a solid "literary" novel about a man in mid-life who faces a loveless future despite two strong relationships. It's set in Montana and written by the author of the short-story collection, "Where the Money Went."

"The Same River Twice" by Ted Mooney (Knopf, $26.95). With Paris as the background, this novel is a riveting tale of intrigue and sexual attraction with the Russian Mafia lurking in the shadows.

"Kraken" by China Mieville (Ballantine Books, $26). Author of the popular "The City and The City," this London-based writer turns his town into a battleground of good and evil with a missing giant squid at the center. It's an intelligent fantasy.

The Founding Fathers seem to have taken this summer off after years of regular appearances on bookshelves. Otherwise, the nonfiction production is on the serious side, reflecting perhaps the difficult economy and our divisive politics. But there are a few frothy titles as well.

"Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Marriage of the Century" by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger (Harper, $27.99). Drawing on material supplied by Ms. Taylor, the authors recall the antics of this celebrity couple of the 1960s. The media's obsession with Liz and Dick touched off a gossip craze that's yet to be satisfied. The authors' first book was their 1994 biography of Pittsburgh native Oscar Levant.

"Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America" by Jack Rakove (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $30). OK, there is a Founding Fathers book by this Stanford University historian. Mr. Rakove concentrates on the founders' intellectual backgrounds.

"Broke, USA" by Gary Rivlin (HarperBusiness, $26.99). From cash advances at 400 percent interest to subprime mortgages, companies are in the lucrative business of taking advantage of the poor and working class, this journalist reports.

"The Facebook Effect" by David Kirkpatrick (Simon & Schuster, $26). The phenomenal success of this social networking site is examined by technology reporter Kirkpatrick whose interviews with founder Mark Zuckerberg seek to explain its popularity.

"The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull and the Battle of the Little Bighorn" by Nathaniel Philbrick (Viking, $30). An American legend receives fresh insight from Mr. Philbrick, a Pittsburgh native whose previous books focused on ships and sailors. He carefully explains the Native American perspective on the 1876 massacre as well as taking an unsparing view of Custer.

"Three Chords for Beauty's Sake: The Life of Artie Shaw" by Tom Nolan (Norton, $29.95). One of the jazz era's greatest and most controversial talents, clarinetist Shaw gets a long-awaited biography from a veteran biographer.

"The Promise: President Obama, Year One" by Jonathan Alter (Simon & Schuster, $28). Newsweek reporter Mr. Alter reveals the various traits that make Barack Obama a great campaigner, but a difficult leader. Good reading at a time when the president's popularity is waning.

"Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in A Connected Age" by Clay Shirky (The Penguin Press, $25.95). Americans watch a total of 2 billion hours of TV a year. Can we make better use of that time? New York University instructor Mr. Shirky says we can, on the Internet.

"The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains" by Nicholas Carr (Norton, $26.95). Not so fast, argues Mr. Carr, claiming the 'Net promotes skimming and superficial understanding, while the traditional book spawns concentration and focus.

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