Some of you wonder if I ever relax. I can assure you, it happens. The last time was just last week. Or was it last month? I’m kidding. It was last year.
Joking aside, one of my favorite things to do is read. I almost always have my Kindle on me if I leave the house, unless it’s my once-a-week trip to the grocery store. Anyway, I thought I’d share my summer 2025 reading list with you.
As an added treat, I’ve also included some of my favorite websites and podcasts on this list. However, I have zero recommendations for things to watch unless you want a list of shows I fall asleep to that Handy Husband watches. That list is robust!
My favorite type of book to read if I want to give my brain a sweet treat is a spicy romance novel. I love a happily-ever-after! However, I’ve been on a non-fiction kick the last 4 months or so.
Here are five non-fiction books I recommend: I’m providing links to these books, but I checked them all out from my library and encourage you to do the same.
Cherished Belonging: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times | Gregory Boyle
This book was summer homework for my college bound kiddo, so I thought I would read it too. Highly recommend you read it as well. It is thought-provoking in the very best way.
Blurb: Over the past thirty years, Gregory Boyle has transformed thousands of lives through his work as the founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang-intervention program in the world. The program runs on two unwavering principles: (1) Everyone is unshakably good (no exceptions) and (2) we belong to each other (no exceptions). Boyle believes that these two ideas allow all of us to cultivate a new way of seeing. Every community wants to be a safe place, where people are seen, and then are cherished. By remembering that we belong to each other, we find our way out of chaos and its dispiriting tribalism. Pooka, a former gang member who now oversees the program’s housing division, puts it plainly: “Here, love is our lens. It’s how we see things.”
P.S. If you’re not a big reader, there are a ton of interviews of Gregory Boyle on YouTube. Handy Husband and I have watched at least four of them. The fact that we are both so curious about this man’s viewpoints should tell you something.
10 to 25: A Groundbreaking Approach to Leading the Next Generation—And Making Your Own Life Easier | David Yaeger
I heard an interview with David Yaeger on the People I Mostly Admire podcast, and was inspired by his approach to working with young people. If you’ve ever had a REALLY good coach or teacher, they are probably intuitively doing what Yaeger has studied and has the data to back up.
Blurb: “Neuroscientists have discovered that around age ten, puberty spurs the brain to crave socially rewarding experiences, such as pride, admiration, and respect, and to become highly averse to social pain, such as humiliation or shame. As a result, young people are subtly reading between the lines of everything we say, trying to interpret the hidden implications of our words to find out if we are disrespecting or honoring them. Surprisingly, this sensitivity to status and respect continues into the mid-twenties. 10 to 25 helps adults develop an ear for the difference between the right and wrong way to respect young people and avoid frustrating patterns of miscommunication and conflict. Yeager explains how to adopt what he terms the mentor mindset, which is a leadership style that’s attuned to young people’s need for status and respect.”
The JFK Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Kennedy—and Why It Failed | Brad Meltzer
If you’re not sure you like non-fiction, this book is for you because Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch write in a way that feels like you’re reading a novel. History books can be dry and this one is anything but. I kept gasping and Handy Husband would say, “What happened now?”
Blurb: Kennedy, the thirty-fifth president of the United States, is often ranked among Americans’ most well-liked presidents. Yet what most Americans don’t know is that JFK’s historic presidency almost ended before it began―at the hands of a disgruntled sociopathic loner armed with dynamite.
P.S. If you’re fans of Jackie or find her to be a compelling historical figure, this book will not disappoint. It’s not all about her husband.
Make Magic | Brad Meltzer
You can read Make Magic in about 10 minutes, so don’t buy it unless you’re going to pass it around. I read the entire thing in the library parking lot! This was several months ago and I haven’t stopped thinking about it.
Blurb: “If you really want to shock the world, unleash your kindness.” Based on bestselling author Brad Meltzer’s viral commencement speech for his son’s graduating class at the University of Michigan, Make Magic is the little book of hope for anyone who has ever wished for more. More authenticity. More empathy. More gratitude. A more fulfilling life.
Ejaculate Responsibly | Gabrielle Stanley Blair
I recently revisited this book I had read a couple of years ago, and it is still as compelling and thought-provoking as it was when I first read it. If you can set aside any discomfort with the title or topic, I can guarantee you’ll have a new way to think about unwanted pregnancies no matter which side of the debate you are on. It’s especially a good, quick read for college-aged kids.
Blurb: In a series of 28 brief arguments, Blair deftly makes the case for moving the abortion debate away from controlling and legislating women’s bodies and instead directs the focus on men’s lack of accountability in preventing unwanted pregnancies.
Highly readable, accessible, funny, and unflinching, Blair builds her argument by walking readers through the basics of fertility (men are 50 times more fertile than women), the unfair burden placed on women when it comes to preventing pregnancy (90% of the birth control market is for women), the wrongheaded stigmas around birth control for men (condoms make sex less pleasurable, vasectomies are scary and emasculating), and the counterintuitive reality that men, who are fertile 100% of the time, take little to no responsibility for preventing pregnancy.
The result is a compelling and convincing case for placing the responsibility—and burden—of preventing unwanted pregnancies away from women and onto men.
Six websites worth checking out:
These are listed in no particular order! I must warn you, none of them are decorating or design-related. I have eclectic reading interests.
Reasons to be Cheerful
Kotte.org
The Marginalian
Poetry Foundation
Medievalists.net
Flowing Data
My 10 favorite podcasts right now:
Again, don’t make me pick a favorite. These are not in any order.
Ologies
Optimist Economy
The Ezra Klein Show
Planet Money
99% Invisible
People I Mostly Admire
The Economics of Everyday Things
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week
RadioLab
Freakonomics Radio
If you have a book you’d recommend, let me know! You can do so by leaving a comment on this blog post, emailing me here, or reaching out via direct message on Instagram or Facebook. I am slow to respond to Facebook messages because I don’t spend much time there.
Happy Reading!
Thanks for joining me on this brief break from our usual DIY content! If you want recommendations for kids’ books, I have an entire series devoted to that.
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 9
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 5
5 Old Books I Found In Our House
*affiliate links in this blog post*