On a recent afternoon, in the middle of some research for an upcoming book, I fell down a Google rabbit hole and landed on a Polish blog post with the delightful title (according to Google Translate) “Writers in underpants.” You might expect to find Ernest Hemingway or Truman Capote in such a gallery, but who knew there were shirtless photos of Franz Kafka? Or Melville House author Imre Kertész? What other surprises could be found out there?

It’s a hard job, but someone had to do it, so I conducted my own survey. Now, as we bid farewell to yet another all-too-short beach season, here’s our own look back at the best in bookish beefcake.