Natchez — Whether summer is filled with trips to the beach or lake or just spent lounging in a backyard hammock, a good book is a necessity.

And the books preferred by summer readers are just like the clothes worn during the long, hot months — light.

“They want something that is light and easy to read,” said Pat Butler, manager at Turning Pages Books & More bookstore in Natchez. “They want something they can read a chapter of and put down and pick back up later.”

For her customers this summer, “Dream When You’re Feeling Blue: A Novel” by Elizabeth Berg and books by Ann Brashares have been popular among her female customers while men are going for more suspense-filled novels by James Patterson.

“Dream When You’re Feeling Blue” is a tale of wartime romance that follows two sisters whose pre-war romances take different paths. One sister’s romance blossoms during the war-caused separation while the other sister discovers independence through her work at a bomber factory.

Butler said that summer doesn’t just dictate the content of books that become popular but also the style of book that customers are looking for. Most of her customers want paperbacks.

“They want something they can take to the beach and throw in a bag,” Butler said. “They don’t want to have to worry about a book getting torn up or wet.”

Liz Dantone, a member of Women’s Book Club in Natchez, said that during the summer months, members typically choose books with lighter content, but their first book for the summer didn’t follow that trend.

The group recently finished “Reading Lolita in Tehran” by Azar Nafisi. Dantone said the choice was challenging for club members.

“It proved to be a little too intense for summer,” Dantone said. “A few members finished, but it proved to be a challenge for others. It was a re-read for me, and I couldn’t finish it the second time.”

Though it was good to be pushed by last month’s book, Dantone said the group purposely chose more typical summer books for July.

“We purposely chose books that are lighter in content this time,” she said. “They should both be easy, enjoyable reads.”

The club will read “Can’t Quit You Baby” by Ellen Douglas and “Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady” by Florence King.

These two books follow another trend that Butler said is popular among her customers. They are both written by Southern authors.

“Our customers really love local authors and regional, Southern authors,” she said.

Younger customers aren’t as lucky at Turning Pages. Butler said high school students don’t have a break from intense reading during the summer since many of them spend summer vacation reading books required for the next school year.

“Their parents will come in and buy the required reading so the students can read it while they are traveling,” Butler said.

She said her customers are also very aware of what is popular nationwide and want to read what is on bestsellers list.

“They will look at the list and call here to see if we have a certain book,” Butler said. “Our customers really keep up with what is on the bestsellers list. They are very informed.”

And for the customers who don’t come in the store as informed, Butler makes sure they leave very informed about what books are popular.

The store posts bestseller lists and has copies of Publisher’s Weekly for customers to browse before making their reading selections.