You've got a few more weeks of sweet summer left for lazy days curled up in the sun with a book in hand. Check out our latest book reviews and read our picture-perfect location suggestions. Where would you picture reading one of these books?

What are your suggestions for last-minute summer reads?

Beach Trip 

by Cath Holton (Ballantine Books, $25)

Twenty-three years after graduating from a small Episcopal Southern college, four friends reunite for an island getaway in North Carolina's Outer Banks. I know, I know. Beach Trip sounds like your typical chick lit summer read. But this novel will surprise you. What begins as a lighthearted book about rebuilding an old friendship becomes a truly touching novel about love, loss, regret, and renewal. 

                                                                                                                                              Several weeks ago I found myself surrounded by family and friends of rock and roll royalty.

While visiting Lubbock, Texas, I was invited to a performance of "Buddy! The Buddy Holly Story."

The musical, which tells the life story of Lubbock's native son and rock pioneer Holly, is being staged by the non-profit Lubbock Moonlight Musicals and features cast members from of the London production of "Buddy! The Buddy Holly Story," which closed earlier this year.

The talented performers (including many local residents and Texas Tech students) brought Holly's music alive under the Texas stars. Adding to the depth of the experience was the fact that so many people in the audience -- and even on the stage -- had personal connections to Buddy Holly.

The woman sitting next to me went to school with him. His niece, Ingrid Holly Kaiter, sang in the show. And as an encore, his nephew, Eddy Weir, joined Matt Wycliffe (who plays Buddy) on stage, for a rocking guitar duet. I spoke briefly to Eddy, who said it was an honor for him to be play in the musical depicting his late uncle's life and legacy. Countless others in the audience shared how proud they were that the musical had returned, so new generations can learn about this music pioneer.

As far as British actors playing boys from West Texas -- I have to say they got the accent down just right. And by watching all of the young people in the audience it's pretty clear -- the music definitely hasn't died.

Lubbock Moonlight Musicals presents "Buddy! The Buddy Holly Story" at the Wells Fargo Amphitheater in MacKenzie Park, July 25 and August 1, 7, 14, and 22 at 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.lubbockmoonlightmusicals.org or call 1-800-735-1288 or 806-770-2000.

Related Links:

Southern Living: Top 10 Cities In Texas

The Buddy Holly Center - While in Lubbock, learn more about the man and his music

If there is one thing (and trust me, there's more than one thing) I've discovered in my two months interning in Southern Living travel headquarters, it's that these people know the South. Seriously--any one of the editors can rattle off where locals dine on the freshest seafood, the personality of City A compared to City B, and how on earth to pronounce that little island of the coast of Carolina. 

These erudite scholars of the South were prime suspects for assistance in compiling a Southern Bucket List. Here's their Top 40 Things to Do in the South Before You Die.