We took to the towpaths of Tompkins Square Park this week to ask locals about their new and offbeat summer reads.

Kim Fuerth, 21
Student, New York University
Reading: Ishmael

“It’s about a man having a conversation with a gorilla about nature. I studied abroad in Ghana and all of my friends there recommended it. I’ve been really into reading in shady parks lately like Tomkins; it’s good because you don’t sweat.”

Hank Dreve, 62
Jeweler
Reading: Bob Dylan Chronicles

“I’m saddened by the fact that the world he describes no longer exists. Right now I’m reading a part that takes place in New Orleans; he writes it so colorfully that I feel like I got to see it before the hurricane.”

Chelsia Rose Marcius Alan Fleming.

Alan Fleming, 26
Artist
Reading: “I Sold Andy Warhol (Too Soon)”

“I install art and I was interested in how much people spend on artwork. The author is an art dealer and had a Warhol painting; he got rid of it and could never buy it back because it was 10 times as expensive. But it speaks to me in the sense that there’s hope I can live off my work.”

Jacob Coronado, 28
Bartender
Reading: The Alienist

“I’ve been reading this book for two years; I’ll read this book for hours then won’t pick it back up for weeks or months. But I like reading here because when you’re done, you’re close to places to eat and things to do.”

Paula Davidson, 20
Student, Marymount Manhattan College
Reading: The Tipping Point

“It’s one of those books that you like but can put down and not pick back up again. I just moved in with my friends and I’m going through their library and I come to the dog park to read — you see the same faces all the time, it’s like our own little community.”

Join the conversation: So, what are you reading?

Chelsia Rose Marcius Kim Fuerth, 21, of the East Village, reads “Ishmael” in Tompkins Square Park.