Monday, 5/12/25: Talking about a summer reading list

Happy Monday!

It’s a new week, which means it’s time for your next Monday motivation newsletter.

Read on below for some steps to a happier Monday and some positive thoughts to get your week started.

Three Steps to a Happier Monday

Each newsletter starts with three prompts to inspire gratitude and simple intention setting. Take a moment and jot down answers to these three questions. To give an example, I share my answers below.  

Step 1: What are three things I appreciated from the weekend? 

Step 2: What is one thing I can be excited about today?

Step 3: What is my intention for this week? 

GRATITUDE: From my weekend, I am thankful for productive time, catching up with Matt’s family and the wonderful Mother’s Day brunch Matt’s aunt hosted yesterday! 

TODAY: Today, I’m most excited to have a relaxing, ‘no plans’ evening after work. 

INTENTION: My intention this week is to focus on one day at a time. 

Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂

Meaningful Musings: Summer Reading List

The temperatures are rising, the days are getting longer, and there’s a general sense of restlessness in the air… which can only mean one thing: summer is almost here!
 
Even though my schedule doesn’t drastically change anymore in the summer (like it once did with school), I still always like to take a moment to reflect on how I want to approach the season (see here, here and here for past summer planning reflections!).
 
One of my favorite ways to embrace summer is by putting together a seasonal reading list. Reading is a year-round habit for me, but I find myself especially drawn to it in the summer, with more travel, lighter Friday afternoons, and long hours of daylight in the evenings, perfect for squeezing in an extra chapter or two.
 
Anticipating that pull to read more, I love creating a curated list. Sometimes choosing what to read is the biggest barrier to getting a good reading groove, and with so many great books out there, a list helps me avoid decision fatigue. Plus, it’s a great excuse to take stock of books I already own, have on loan from the library or want to buy.
 
Below is my Summer Reading List for 2025. It’s a mix of beachy rom-coms, emotional family dramas, and literary fiction. 
 
I hope it sparks inspiration for your own TBR, and I’d love to know: what are you reading this summer? And what should I add to my list?
 
Summer Reading List 2025

• This Summer Will Be Different by Carly Fortune: “Lucy is the tourist vacationing at a beach house on Prince Edward Island. Felix is the local who shows her a very good time. The only problem: Lucy doesn’t know he’s her best friend’s younger brother. Lucy and Felix’s chemistry is unreal, but the list of reasons why they need to stay away from each other is long, and they vow to never repeat that electric night again.” 

I read Carly’s Every Summer After a few years ago and loved it. This book – which I believe takes place in the same setting as Every Summer After – was available at my library so I snatched it up and plan to start it this week.

• Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall: “A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.”
• Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey (out 5/27): “When Charlotte Sitterly’s husband is arrested for a white-collar crime, she and her daughter Iris are locked out of their house by the FBI and – what’s potentially even worse – thrust into the spotlight of @JuniperShoresSocialite, the town’s snarky anonymous Instagram account. Cut off from her bank accounts and feeling desperate, Charlotte takes up an acquaintance’s offer to stay at a beachfront former bed-and-breakfast that’s home to a community of single mothers and draws plenty of gossip in the small coastal North Carolina town.”
• One Golden Summer by Carly Fortune: “Good things happen at the lake. That’s what Alice’s grandmother says, and it’s true. Alice spent just one summer there at a cottage with Nan when she was seventeen—it’s where she took that photo, the one of three grinning teenagers in a yellow speedboat, the image that changed her life. Now Alice lives behind a lens. As a photographer, she’s most comfortable on the sidelines, letting other people shine. Lately though, she’s been itching for something more, and when Nan falls and breaks her hip, Alice comes up with a plan for them both: another summer in that magical place, Barry’s Bay. But as soon as they settle in, their peace is disrupted by the roar of a familiar yellow boat, and the man driving it.”
• Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors: “The three Blue sisters are exceptional – and exceptionally different. Avery, the eldest and a recovering heroin addict turned strait-laced lawyer, lives with her wife in London; Bonnie, a former boxer, works as a bouncer in Los Angeles following a devastating defeat; and Lucky, the youngest, models in Paris while trying to outrun her hard-partying ways. They also had a fourth sister, Nicky, whose unexpected death left the family reeling. A year later, as they each navigate grief, addiction, and ambition, they find they must return to New York to stop the sale of the apartment they were raised in.” 
• Mansion Beach by Meg Mitchell Moore (out 5/27): “It’s the beginning of the summer, and Nicola Carr has just arrived on Block Island, RI, eager for a fresh start and some R&R. But her plans for a tranquil summer are derailed as the extravagant parties from the grand home next door pique her curiosity. She soon discovers the home belongs to Juliana George, an enigmatic entrepreneur with a past shrouded in mystery.”   

A recommendation from Elin Hilderbrand – my queen of the beach read herself! I’m sorely missing having Elin on this list (she typically releases a new book every summer but retired last year), so a recommendation from her is the next best thing!

• This is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer: “An intimate and lyrical celebration of great love, great art, and the sacrifices we make for both.”
• Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry: “Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the twentieth century.”
• Table for Two by Amor Towles: “Millions of Amor Towles fans are in for a treat as he shares some of his shorter fiction: six stories based in New York City and a novella set in Golden Age Hollywood.”  

This weekend I finished Amor’s Rules of Civility and WOW, definitely one of my favorite books I’ve read so far this year. For me, it was a matter of the perfect book finding me at the perfect time. While this book is a collection of short stories and not necessarily a sequel to Rules of Civility, it does feature a novella that continues the story of one of the characters. Can’t wait to read it! 

What are you reading right now?

Picture of the Week

That’s all for today! I hope you found something in today’s newsletter that sparked motivation, made you smile or inspired a positive Monday thought. Don’t underestimate the power of starting small… a fulfilling week starts with just one fulfilling day. You’ve got this!

Let’s make it a great Monday!
Megan