Going somewhere this summer? Why not take a blind date? A new trend in bookstores is selling staff-curated books in a plain brown paper wrapper with only a written teaser as to what’s inside.

If you prefer to choose a book after seeing its cover, here are some of our summer book picks for 2017.

If you want to return from vacation transformed by more than UV rays, try Kio Stark’s “When Strangers Meet: How People You Don’t Know Can Transform You.” The book implores us to take out our earbuds and try talking more to the strangers around us. It’s a quick read at just over 100 pages. If you’re looking to kick it up a notch at work, check out “Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity” by Kim Scott, a former executive at Google and Apple. Her advice for leaders: care personally and challenge directly.

If you can’t escape the headlines and find yourself contemplating the political health of our nation, you might enjoy Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny.” Using 20 examples of times democracy failed in the 20th century, the book gives 20 corresponding lessons for avoiding that fate. And for more lessons in how much can change in a decade, there’s the next in Sidney Blumenthal’s series on Abraham Lincoln, “Wrestling with His Angel,” detailing the moral and intellectual wrangling from 1849-56 that leads Lincoln to find his political voice.

That reminds us that Yuval Noah Harrari’s “Homo Deus” on the human quests that will shape the next century, is also worth checking out.

We got three great suggestions from ZEITGUIDE friend Lucas Wittmann, who cofounded the literary event organization House of SpeakEasy and who is launching a book truck on the streets of New York this week. First, Adam Begley’s “The Great Nadar,” a delightful, galloping biography of the of 19^th-century French proto-celebrity, genius photographer and caricaturist Nadar. “Moving Kings,” by Joshua Cohen, is a comic novel combining Israeli vets, a New York moving company and evictions. And finally, Amy Goldstein’s “Janesville,” an important and human retelling of what happens to a town in Wisconsin when the GM plant closes.

Need something lighter for the beach or poolside? There’s a new title from Michael Crichton—yes, nine years after his death—called “Dragon Teeth.” If your vacation plans include Florida, or even if they don’t, Sarah Gerard’s essays “Sunshine State” is drawing terrific reviews. As Dwight Gardner writes for The Times, it’s about “how Florida can unmoor you and make you reach for shoddy, off-the-shelf solutions to your psychic unease.”

Still mentally browsing? The New York Times has you covered with 16 books to breeze through this summer. “Fresh Air’s” Maureen Corrigan offers six books that will carry you away even if you’re staying home. The Financial Times offers many themed suggestions, including great lists on science and business.

And for more grassroots advice, here are suggestions from authors who also own bookstores.