Not much good at the typical “beach read?” Here’s the ideal vacation compromise: What Should We Be Worried About? Real Scenarios That Keep Scientists Up at Night (Harper Perennial, $15.99). Edited by John Brockman of Edge.org, the anthology boasts a breezy format of short essays, perfect for the rhythms of sun and surf. In each entry, a prominent biologist, social scientist, physicist, or theoretician presents a concern his or her work has illuminated, but that perhaps isn’t yet on everyone’s radar. The impressive list of contributors includes Steven Pinker, Evgeny Morozov, Daniel Dennett, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and Ariana Huffington, and their comments cover everything from internet blackouts to internet drivel, a lack of research investment to a dearth of robots, children with iPhones and markets without growth—until at last we reach the pronouncement: “I worry about worry.” Because what is a vacation, if not a chance to put daily life in proper perspective?