Summer

If a comic book about surviving middle school doesn't sound like a must read to you, think again. Critic Maureen Corrigan says that Jeff Kinney's Dog Days — the latest in his Diary of a Wimpy Kid series — hits home with any crowd.

Commentator Patricia McLaughlin remembers how the tail end of summer left her listless; but, as a busy grown-up, she longs for such uninterrupted stretches of time to relax.

Poet Mark Halliday reads two new poems.

Rock critic Ken Tucker remembers the songs that defined the season. Standouts for him were Steve Winwood's beer commercial anthem, Public Enemy's new album, and an edgy ballad by Crowded House.

Rock historian Ed Ward says "scrunch" is that romantic longing you feel as summer races toward its end. He talks about the songs that typified this phenomenon for him over the decades.