Hooray, Caitlyn! I'll be out of town the 27th, but I like the beer garden and will happily travel to Astoria now and then (for future reference).
I know there's a book group that uses Facebook to coordinate, but I can't check FB at work (and don't care to be on it that much anyway), but if the existing group has nothing set for August, I would like to suggest the possibility of a book group meeting next month. In a bar in Manhattan, maybe a meet and greet to talk about what people like to read/want to read/know they won't read if there isn't a book group discussion pending, in order to choose a book to discuss later. I'm not terribly interested in reading the most-talked-about current fiction in a book group (it's already getting enough attention and everyone who reads is either already reading it or would eventually anyway). I like the idea of exploring some of Nicole's excellent suggestions, books that are awesome and don't enough love.
Michele