Summer Break's End
July's reads and highlights and enjoying the last of the season
Summer usually speeds by, but this year it felt like a vapor, a blink, … like, I catch myself wondering, did it actually happen? Did I really have nine weeks off with my kids? In reality, I’m incredibly thankful for that time, and I’m also thankful that I have a (part-time) job that I love to go back to. And while I might not be ready for us all to return to school (especially since now is when it really feels like summer around here), I am determined to work on not complaining and to face each day with grace and be present where we are (and I will not yet buy Halloween decorations at Michaels or go to Spirit Halloween like my daughter already did-lol!). And I’ll continue reading more summery books in the meantime, too.
Reading (and rereading)
July was a simple reading month for me— a couple of rereads, a couple of long-time reads finally finished (see below), and a few new (to me) ones. Not a lot of books completed but a quality bunch.
As I’ve said, I don’t read much middle grade in the summer these days, but I finished a couple that I started quite a while ago, including Legacy (Keeper of the Lost Cities #8) by Shannon Messenger— you can read my mini-review on StoryGraph which includes optional spoilery comments about who I’m shipping, lol.
Busted by Dan Gemeinhart (2025) :: This heartwarming story, full of hijinks and unexpected friendship. Brody (16) and I listened to it together in over several months and we both really enjoyed it. The main character, Oscar, was slow to grow on me, but I ended up loving him by the end, along with his rag-tag group of companions/accomplices. It’s truly a story of accepting who you are and learning to make the most of life, or as Jimmy (the beloved curmudgeon of the crew) says, “Squeeze the orange!” Note that the author uses “quacking” as a stand-in for profanity— it’s done in a comical way, especially because it bothers Oscar so much at the beginning. Like all of Dan’s books, this one deals with some heavy topics and has some emotional moments but I think it’s balanced out by all the fun. Content warnings here. I’d put this one at 5th grade and up. Thank you to Libro.fm for the ALC.
When Brody and I finished Busted, we weren’t sure what to listen to next… we settled on our first ever Sherlock Holmes mystery and we both thoroughly enjoyed it!
Time with Family & Eating Good Food
We didn’t travel much this summer at all—just the one mini-trip to Palm Springs and LA—but in July we had two fun staycations with family visiting from both sides of the family. These times were full of good food and fun in the sun with people we love. We’ve had a few fun family movie nights—in between all the baseball and Good Good Golf— and enjoyed flicks like the new Enola Holmes movie, Dink, and Ford vs. Ferrari. Gigi and I watched A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, season 1 (which reminded me that I forgot to keep reading the series after book 1). Oh, and Hallee got the homemade ice cream bug which was a delight for all of us.
Things I’m looking Forward To
It would be easy to me to focus on (loudly) lamenting the passing of summer break. Technically it’s still the season of summer for a while, even if school is starting, so here are some things I’m looking forward to during these last weeks of my favorite season.
Noah Kahan in concert (next week!)
seeing my students again
more back-patio dinners
more homemade ice cream
high school golf and water polo seasons (and hopefully some football games, too, if the water polo schedule allows it)
a few more weeks with Gigi home and then launching her out to her second year of college
making mojitos with my mint leaves which are growing nicely now and hopefully a few limes from my parents’ tree
new seasons of The Bear (we barely started it), Outer Banks, and Ted Lasso
wrapping up my rereads of Dolly All the Time and The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (what will I do if #9 doesn’t publish soon— start another reread? perhaps…), and a book club pick I’ve been looking forward to reading (The Correspondent)
looking for magic and awe in the every day
I hope summer has treated you well and that you find some delight in the remaining weeks of this season.
xo,
Nicole
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