Culture Essentials for August

August is one of my favorite months of the year. It’s hot and sleepy and you don’t really expect people to answer emails or pick up the phone when you call. It’s a good-natured, lazy stretch of the year before fall electrifies the air and makes you want to accomplish things again. This month I mostly want to lay on a blanket–at the park, at the beach, at the pool–and read novels, and there’s some fine fiction coming out this month. I also want to eat overprice