Beat the Heat

With a projected high today of 94°F (and the humidity to match), my mind keeps turning to the colder landscapes of the polar regions. That and ice cream!

For anyone else interested in escaping the heat with a bit of narrative travel, I've gathered together a few book suggestions.

The Perfect Scoop: ice creams, sorbets, granitas, and sweet accompaniments (641.862 LEB)

Planet Arctic: life at the top of the world (591.70911 LYN)

Cold: adventures in the world's frozen places (910.911 STR)

Arctic Dreams: imagination and desire in a northern landscape (508.98 LOP)

Polar Obsession (591.70911 NIC)

The Coolest Race on Earth: mud, madmen, glaciers, and grannies at the top of the world (796.4252 HAN)

The Magnetic North: notes from the Arctic circle (910.911 WHE)

Among Penguins: a bird man in Antarctica (598.41 STR)

The Great White Bear: a natural and unnatural history of the polar bear (599.786 MUL)

For practical advice about hot summer weather, check out the CDC's Extreme Heat guide, as well as these tips from NOAA.

The crafty among our readers should click on the picture of ice cubes up top. The photographer created a method for do-it-yourself fake ice cubes (directions included)!