My first idea for this column was to present a list of books about winter, reasoning that they would function as a low-wattage cooling system. But most of the titles I unearthed were not just cold, but dark. Since my objective is to help people feel cooler, not depressed, I offer instead a list of books set in places where it is really, really hot -- books in which steamy weather becomes a character in and of itself. By comparison, Salem will seem positively balmy.

We have seen the future, and it is hot. While some of our fearless leaders apparently think global warming is a new idea, novelists have been using the scenario of a hot, hot future for quite some time.

"A Friend of the Earth"
by T. Coraghessan Boyle
With tree huggers, exotic animals, and a pop star who might remind some readers of The Gloved One, "A Friend of the Earth" by T. Coraghessan Boyle, has something for everyone. A story of the unintended consequences of earnest idealism, Boyles' novel is sometimes horrifying, but always very funny.

"Disobedience"
by Michael Drinkard
Set in California's Inland Empire, "Disobedience" by Michael Drinkard is the story of an orange grove. Not just any orange grove, but the first Washington Navel orange grove in Southern California. Skipping among generations from the 1880s to the not-so-distant future, Drinkard tells the story of Aaron Tebbets' quest to save the original tree, planted by his great-great-great-grandmother, from the encroachments of 21st century progress.

Summer is travel time. If the price of gas has limited your travel radius this year, why not take a vicarious vacation? Let someone else foot the bill while you sit back and sip a smoothie.

"Tales from the Torrid Zone"
by Alexander Frater
Travel writer Alexander Frater chronicles his tropical travels in this novel. Frater covers an incredible amount of physical territory as he recounts tall tales, profiles local characters and describes the geology of the tropics.

"In a Sunburned Country"
by Bill Bryson
This is the story of Bill Bryson's travels in Australia. So what if their winter is our summer? It's still hot, and Bryson's adventures never fail to entertain.

"One Hundred Years of Solitude"
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I have saved the best for last. If you have never read "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, do it now. It is simply the best hot-weather read ever. Set in the mythical jungle village of Macondo, it tells the multigenerational story of the Buendia family. Who can resist a book that begins
"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, General Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice"?