NATCHEZ — Readers in the Miss-Lou are embarking on fantastic, affordable, vacations with a trip to the bookstore or the flash of a library card.

Those who know books say new titles and well-loved novels and autobiographies, humor books and historical paperbacks are a cheap fare for a vacation across the world from your favorite chair.

“Books can take you anywhere in the world,” said Becky Spears, an employee at Turning Pages Books and More.

Mary Emrick, Turning Pages owner, said summer is the perfect time to get caught up in a good story.

Emrick said one of the most popular books this summer is “The Help,” by Kathryn Stockett.

“The Help” is set in Jackson about African American maids working in white households in the 1960s.

For readers who enjoyed “The Help,” Emrick suggests picking up “Catfish Alley,” by Lynne Bryant. Both novels are set in Mississippi.

“It’s much like ‘The Help’ — very entertaining,” Emrick said. “It’s definitely the kind of book you can take to the beach.”

Emrick said probably the hottest book out in her store is “Area 51,” by Annie Jacobsen.

“It’s so hot, and there is not a lot to do outside besides read a nice book,” Emrick said.

For folks with travel to a real destination planned, Emrick said reading a book set in a particular location can enhance a vacation experience.

“Sometimes it’s fun to get a book about a place you might go,” Emrick said. “I know a lot of people who came to Natchez looking for sights in Greg Iles’ books. You can enjoy your destination a little more. It gives you something to look forward to.”

Charles Hall, owner of Cover to Cover Books and More in Natchez, agreed that most readers want to escape into books that are meant to entertain and inform.

“The Civil War, a Concise History,” by Louis P. Masur is one Hall suggests to readers who would like a general refresher of the Civil War that is not heavy on complex details.

Hall said one of the store’s current best-selling titles, “Rising Tide” by John Barry, coincides with a recent historical event in the Miss-Lou — the Mississippi River flood.

“For summer reading, on vacation, or going to the beach, pool or sitting on the porch, generally people don’t want to read something heavy,” Hall said. “But of course that depends on the person.”

Emrick said she prefers to escape into books that make her laugh, and distract her from life’s annoyances.

“I get tired of reading about other people’s problems,” Emrick said. “If a book is funny, it will make you forget about your own problems.”

Anne White, assistant director at the George W. Armstrong Library in Natchez, said titles from the extensive audio book selection are perfect for summer traveling whether the trip is on the road or in the reader’s head.

White said she thinks the term “summer reading” might be a throwback to schooldays when children had summers off to read for pleasure. Escaping into a good book might evoke nostalgic feelings of life when it was a little less complicated.

“Summer reading is an extension of vacation time (from school),” White said.

Library members also use the summer to catch up on classics they never got around to reading.

“People come in and say, ‘I’ve never read, this book or that book, I think I’ll go back and catch up on that,’” White said.

Marianne Raley, youth services coordinator at the library, said young readers, girls especially, want to spend summer break with vampires.

“I think (vampire books) are popular because it gives you enough romance without turning your face red,” Raley said.

Even when summer wanes and the nights are longer, there are plenty of titles in the Miss-Lou to turn a summer reader into a year-around book lover.