what’s in my reading basket this month
Every summer has it’s own unique story and it’s shaped by who is in my home, what activities we commit to, and what trips we have planned.
Some summers become very academic with added school subjects, classes at the rec center, and museum trips. Other summers look more unstructured with a bucket list, lots of free afternoons, and time spent at the pool.
This summer, I am doing my best to keep things chill and uncomplicated since we have 8 of us sharing our home and daily schedule. Having six adults (+ a teen and preteen) share the same space with different work schedules and many priorities feels radically different than the days of a house full of littles.
And yet the basics still remain essential.
We have a weekly meal plan on the kitchen whiteboard. I make cleaning chore lists that get divided up and completed. We gather for dinner most evenings and have lively conversations.
A bonus to having older & adult kids is the peaceful slow mornings where many are sleeping in and some are quietly working or doing summer college class work.
My mom job has become less “all hands on deck exhaustion” and more “cruise director/trail guide” with gentle oversight and steady presence.
These days, motherhood feels more like tending the rhythm of our home, a quieter kind of leadership. My focus is creating the conditions for everyone to flourish. (Which has honestly always been true.)
I spend more time setting the tone and helping things run smoothly. This is where I shine. I love stepping into this new season!
This season feels like a widening rather than a winding down.
My role at home still matters deeply, but it now includes enough margin for me to pursue meaningful work beyond the daily logistics. I’m grateful for the space to write, contribute through volunteer work, and continue shaping a personal curriculum that keeps me learning and growing alongside my family.
I have discovered that summer does not have to be a pause button on learning. It can be a softer, slower version of it.
Maybe this season offers an invitation to widen your own life just a bit through books, curiosity, and tools that feel nourishing instead of demanding.
This is the part where I remind you that learning does not need to be complicated to be meaningful.
I’m firmly anti-gatekeeping. So here are a few ideas to make things feel easier.
Quick Personal Curriculum Planning Tips:
- Fight against perfectionism. Mistakes are valuable and part of the learning process.
- Make plans that can bend with the season you’re in.
- Focus on what interests you. Lean into joy.
If we could sit down together over coffee or a meal at my farmhouse table, I’d simply encourage you to keep learning in a way that fits your real life. I hope these personal plans and adjustments give you fresh ideas for shaping your own.
So let’s jump into the details of my planning for this month…
Plans, hopes & goals:
- 🍿🎥summer movies — Every summer the kids and I enjoy going to Harkins for their summer movie special. It is a weekly outing that they look forward to and I enjoy meeting my sisters there with their kids.
- 📚browsing local used bookstores — With more space in our schedule for summer break I hope to go to a few bookstores just for fun.
- ⛪summer camp — I am excited to be a leader again at our church’s High School Summer camp in California. We will also get to go to Huntington Beach for our activity day.
- 💻writing, reading & co-working — Each day is a little different with 8 of us in and out of the house, but I set aside time each day to make progress on my writing and reading goals.
- 🧺laundry routine — I didn’t add this to the photo collage, but I need to work on my laundry situation. Lately I’ve felt behind and have spent way to many mornings searching baskets for clean jeans.
- 📋trip planning — We have a long RV trip scheduled for later next month that I need to finalize details for. It will be fun when I get into it, but I am procrastinating a bit on the research/planning part.
So, what’s in my basket?
[note: this post is NOT sponsored, I just want to share what I’m reading and enjoying]Non-Fiction:
Homemaking / Mom Life:
- Raising Gen Alpha: Helping Kids Navigate Everything from Anxiety to AI by Dave Boden 📖 — I was first interested when Dave Boden shared in a zoom workshop the simple framework for parenting this unique generation. I have found myself returning to those notes and I’m thrilled to have the book to underline, highlight and tab. Anything Dave creates is based in research, contains hope, and then highly practical charts with next steps
- The Farmer’s Wife: My Life in Days by Helen Rebanks📖— This book is described as “a heartfelt, deeply honest memoir detailing her life on a working farm in the English Lake District. The book weaves together the past and present to celebrate the often overlooked, behind-the-scenes domestic work and care required to sustain rural family life.” Interwoven between her reflections and stories are practical, cozy farmhouse recipes and “Survival Mode” meal ideas. I am excited to get some fresh inspiration and bring some historical significance to my homemaking tasks this summer.
- Big Time: A Simple Path to Abundance by Laura Vanderkam 🎧— This book argues that “time scarcity is primarily a mindset problem rather than a structural issue. Vanderkam provides practical strategies to help busy people reframe their daily schedules, realize hidden pockets of open time, and build a more spacious, joyful life.” I was inspired by this interview between Meagan Francis and Laura. It has been a while since I went back down the time management rabbit hole but I didn’t even hesitate to jump in. Considering how much Vanderkam has written, I was surprised that I haven’t read her library of books yet. (Don’t worry I’m correcting that ASAP!) happily down the rabbit hole I go!! 😜
For my Writing Life:
- Everybody Writes: Your New and Improved Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content (2nd Edition) by Ann Handley📖 — I was gifted the 1st edition on my birthday 5 years ago by my husband and this birthday he gave me her newest edition. It was a fun full circle moment. Covering this one with highlights, notes, and underlines will be so satisfying. I am excited to step into her practical ideas, encouragement, and no nonsense approach to get myself back on track for summer writing projects!
- Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg📖 — The book offers practical ways to bypass the internal editor and push through self-doubt. The approach is to treat writing as a daily meditation and spiritual practice rather than an academic chore, with a call to “tap into ‘first thoughts’ by writing without judgment”. It was first published in 1986, and yet I hear it recommended by other writers all the time. I found this in my TBR stack on my shelf while organizing. I think it will help me overcome the Inner Critic and Imposter Syndrome that like to creep in during summer writing time.
- Procrastination Proof: Never Get Stuck Again by Jon Acuff 📖 — I’ve mentioned before that I’m an Acuff fan, and when I saw he had a new book out I’ll admit that I bought it without even reading the summary details. I love a good framework (and personality typing) so his approach to break down how different personality types get stuck in different ways sounds exciting to me. Acuff explains that procrastination often stems from fear or a lack of the right system rather than laziness. Yes, this! 💯
Memoir:
- Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams🎧— This book is described as “an explosive corporate memoir by former New Zealand diplomat who rose to become a director of global public policy at Facebook.” I first heard about it from Midlife Lady Leisure Pursuits in this Substack post & podcast “Books We’ve Loved Lately!”. Secret confession: I do not like drama in my real life and in my personal relationships, but I love reading about it in someone else’s life. It’s fun just trying to figure out the motives behind what people do. This book has been quite entertaining in that way! I kept gasping in shock while doing dishes the other night.
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Fiction:
As I said in my Spring Recap post, I am in a very busy and people-centered summer season. So, my fiction needs to be fun, light-hearted escapes. I’m turning to YA and rom-com style fiction right now and keeping the more intense themes and serious stuff on my shelf (or audiobook queue). 😉
- Remarkably Bright Creatures byShelby Van Pelt 🎧🎥— This novel (also a movie) is described as “a beautiful exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope. A reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.” It has been recommended to me by several avid readers in my life and I felt it fitting for a summer time reading list. And it will most likely inspire a fun day out at an aquarium.
- People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry📖🎥(romance novel & movie) — I am excited about the characters in this book. Poppy is a wild, adventurous travel writer, while Alex is a more reserved homebody. It has “friends-to-lovers” and “slow-burn” tropes. And it takes place on a summer vacation with flashbacks in the past.
- Kind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale📖(YA rom com) coming-of-age, satire, and romance. It also includes a graphic novel section with illustrations. “Josie discovers she can physically enter the worlds of the books she reads, living out fantasies as different characters.” — Umm what?? Yes, this sounds like such a fun read!
- Children’s Novels by Kate DiCamillo📖🎧 (with my kids)I was reminded of these treasures of literature when I read an essay in These Precious Days by Ann Patchett. I have many of these on the living room bookshelves and they will be fun companions to long drives or lazy afternoons.
- The Beatryce Prophecy
- Because of Winn-Dixie
- Ferris, Flora & Ulysses
- The Hotel Balzaar
- The Magician’s Elephant
- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
- The Puppets of Spelhorst
- The Tale of Despereaux
- The Tiger Rising
I could try to plan out some more fiction but I’m not sure I will have time or space to read them this month. So, I will choose to be kind to myself and keep expectations low. (If I do add in another book it will show up in my recap post.)
I’d love to hear what’s working for you!
Share your summer book recs and favorite poolside reads in the comments.
And before I sign off, just a friendly reminder: this isn’t meant to be prescriptive.
It’s simply a description of what’s working for me right now, and an open invitation to make your reading life as unique as you are.
🌼Happy June! –
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