From the (summer) archives

I unlocked a handful of posts for you

Hello from vacation! By the time this lands in your inbox, I’ll be a few days into a family getaway. My immediate family rented a lake house here in Maine for the week, and we’re planning on swimming, hiking, biking, cooking out, watching movies, and enjoying some time together. It’s been a busy few weeks (in a good way!), and I’m feeling grateful for a bit of downtime during the holiday week.

Since I’m taking a bit of a summer break this week, there won’t be a new post on Thursday. Instead, I thought it’d be fun to remove the paywall on a handful of favorite posts from the archives—each one packed with summer goodness, excellent book recs, and ideas for making the most of your summer reading season. So grab a cold drink, find a sunny (or shady) spot, and dig in.

If you're celebrating the holiday in the US, I hope you have some time off and no plans beyond a good book (or maybe a few good Substack reads). I’ll see you next week!

• Summer is all about slowing down where possible. Here are a few ways I do that in my reading life.

• If you are in the mood for a breezy read this weekend, here are 27 summer romances that I recommend.

• Last year, we spent five unplugged days swimming, reading, and truly unwinding on a remote island off the coast of Maine. I shared a ton of photos from that trip, if you’d like to see.

• If you’re still nursing a book hangover from last year’s summer buzziest titles, here are a few read-a-likes to help you through.

• Vacation reading just hits different, doesn’t it? I shared some musings on why that is and how to emulate that in day-to-day life.

• My favorite kind of beach read is the literary beach read and here are 11 of my favorites to recommend for throwing in your beach bag.

• I built a summer reading list last year that helped me make the most of the season. I’m working on one for this year, too. Here are my tips if you want to do the same.

I’d love to hear what you’re up to for the long weekend! And, perhaps more importantly, what you’re reading.

Have a lovely week,