Ever since I got my Kindle, I’ve been plowing through books, yet somehow I’ve been remiss this year about getting my summer reading list out in time. So, here it is! You’ve still got the rest of July and all of August to get in some of these reads on your next beach vacation. Just grab a folding chair and stick your toes in the sand… And, please don’t forget to leave your own beach-read recommendations in the comments section!

When LeBron James recently announced his decision to play for the Miami Heat next season, the press and the fans went wild—but perhaps no group was more elated than the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. The CVB is hoping this NBA coup will attract more visitors—particularly international visitors—to South Florida.

If the definition of hedonism is to devote oneself to the pleasure of the senses, then my recent weekend getaway in Seattle certainly fits the bill. I’d never been to the Emerald City before, and each moment was a salve for a separate sense, be it sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound.

Alright, I admit it. Last weekend I went to see the movie Hot Tub Time Machine, and while I’m not going to say it’s the most brilliant movie ever made, it did succeed in making me laugh—and that’s really all I could ask for on a gloomy and rainy Saturday night. In the movie, a group of guys check into a rather rundown ski hotel and find that the hot tub on the back deck has transported them to the year 1986 when neon was still in style, the Talking Heads were “letting the days go by,” and the Russians were the “enemy.” Don’t worry, I haven’t spoiled any of the plot.

Full disclosure. I'm no stranger to reality TV. In fact, I love it. Gimme Gossip Girl, The Hills, and America's Next Top Model any day of the week over some dry documentary or bad cooking show.

So let's just say when the CW started running trailers for the new show Fly Girls, I set my DVR to record it immediately. Fly Girls follows five easy-on-the-eyes Virgin America flight attendants as they jet all over...well, the nation. Keep in mind, VA doesn't fly abroad. And VA is fully embracing the show, complete with a launch party fittingly held at 10,000 feet. Check out this Gadling video. (Guess my invitation to the event got lost in the mail.)

Orlando is already renowned for its family-friendly attractions, but Universal Orlando is giving kids--and quite a few adults!--a new reason to book a flight to Florida: a Harry Potter amusement park.

This weekend, along with a sizable portion of the rest of the country, I saw the movie Avatar. Through my 3-D glasses, I entered into the bioluminescent forestlands of a fictional distant moon named Pandora, where flowers bloomed rampantly, trees stretched into the skies, and rivers glowed. Although the plot was a little trite and silly, the Pandora landscape was a true escape. Much like an avatar, while my body sat in a darkened theater surrounded by hundreds of others in our dorky glasses, the rest of me entered into this forest world for 2 ½ hours. On a year when I’d opted not to travel for the holidays, this movie was my ticket to a realm beyond San Francisco, somewhere exotic and indelible—and not once did I have to step on a plane.

Ah, the Hawaiian luau, so much a staple of the Hawaiian vacation experience. Before I actually went to one, I pictured a giant big fat pig roasting on a spit. I envisioned scantily clad men and women dancing near tiki torches under the stars and moon. And I imagined there’d be lots of loud shirts and goofish tourists scarfing down umbrella-clad cocktails.

Some of that vision was myth, and some was, indeed reality, as I found out last month at Waikiki Starlight Luau at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort & Spa. So what really goes down at a Hawaiian luau? Read on, and I’ll give you the luau lowdown.

Jim: Dwight, if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Dwight: I can travel anywhere, except Cuba, and I will travel to New Zealand and walk the Lord of the Rings trail to Mordor and I will hike Mount Doom.

Even though Dwight may dream of traveling down under to bond with his Hobbit friends, there are plenty of sights to see right in his own backyard. In honor of The Office being back, I thought I'd do a round-up of the must-see (cough, cough) sights of the greater Scranton area.

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So your mom joined Facebook, your dad's on Twitter, and last week your grandma showed you the pictures she took while bungee jumping on vacation. Know what we think? (Apart from the fact that you should probably untag yourself in a couple of those jello shot photos before your mom discovers your wall, we mean?)

Well, it might be time to get a little wackier with your vacation activities. You want grandma's bungee jump to be the most interesting travel story you've ever heard? We thought not. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started: