Summertime and Reading is Easy and Awesome

 

If you're making vacation plans for this summer, or prefer to relax close to home, this post shows you why summer reading is an awesome way to self-care and refresh yourself. 

Books can carry you on amazing journeys, increase self-awareness, and provide insights about the human condition.

Post Updated 4/26/2024

Books may shift thinking, and help you exercise your mind. Studies show when you make reading a habit, it helps improve memory and gives your brain a work out.

Why not feast your eyes on the pages of a book set in a place you’d love to see? 

Perhaps your forte is reading cozy mysteries or thrillers for entertainment. 

Romance and fantasy novels may be your cup of tea, and you get totally immersed in bigger than life situations or alternate realities. * 

Each of us relishes reading certain genres or favorite author's' works. Summer is an awesome time to peruse those books we consider "guilty pleasures."

Some books may help us recall and reminisce about a person we've read about, whether they be non-fiction or fiction.

This may be the season we're able to improve our outlook by listening to an audio-book about topics we want to understand better.

To stimulate imagination look at the quotations that follow. Which one puts you in the mood to read more this summer? 📚

Quotations about Books and Reading 

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go." ~ Dr. Seuss

 

“Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair...” ~Susan Polis Schutz

 

“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don't they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.” ~Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine

 

“Come with me,' Mom says. To the library. Books and summertime go together.” ~Lisa Schroeder, I Heart You, You Haunt Me

"I was the kid who read a lot and who was academic, and who was more of an indoor person than an outdoor person. I would win the summer reading contest at the library." ~ Julianne Moore

“They are embossed on every song that was a hit that summer, in every novel I read during and after his stay, on anything from the smell of rosemary on hot days to the frantic rattle of the cicadas in the afternoon—smells and sounds I’d grown up with and known every year of my life until then but that had suddenly turned on me and acquired an inflection forever colored by the events of that summer.” ~André Aciman, Call Me by Your Name

“Books are a uniquely portable magic." ~ Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the  Craft

Reading tastes vary, yet most summer reading is light-hearted and amusing.

Look below for links to help you choose books for summertime enjoyment:

 New York Times Bestseller List

See the Indie Reader for book reviews, articles about independent publishing, and book news roundup.

If you enjoy motivational and goal setting topics, see this Essential Health and Wellness List for inspiration.

Borrow eBooks, audiobooks, magazines, and more from your local library for free! Libby is the library reading app by OverDrive, loved by millions of readers worldwide.

Check out "A Fun Summer Reading Challenge for Adults," from Book Blogger Julianne a/k/a Jules Buono

See 50 Summer Books from Goodreads' Shelves

What books would you like to read this summer? Do memoirs, historical fiction, essays, poems, or short stories fascinate you?

Can you devote an afternoon or evening each week to curl up with a book, eBook reader, tablet, laptop, or audiobook? 

Please comment below in the space provided. 

How do you decide which books you'll read this summer? See a few suggestions at Great Books for Summer Reading

Do you have a favorite author or use a recommendation from a friend, newsletter, website, book blog, or other source of book information including the library?

I'd love to know.

I appreciate feedback, questions, and social shares about this and my other posts. Please reach out to me.

I also wonder if you're curious about the books I want to read this summer. Just ask and I'll revela them.

When you leave a comment, please don't put links in it or I won't be able to publish it. Thanks for understanding. 📚

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Summer Fun Activity Checklist to do at home

Come along with me as I share a summer fun activity checklist, wellness ideas, and tasty fun food recipes. Any of them can brighten the day, no matter the season or where you live. 

Post updated 6/5/2023

Most of the checklist items can be completed solo. Others can be done with a buddy or partner, and some will appeal to a brood of kids or grandkids. All are inexpensive or free, and need no fancy equipment.

This list works well for me, as I love puttering around my home and look for ways to relax, kick back, and enjoy a simple life.

Look at the checklist to see which ones interest you. I’m sure many of these pastimes will put a smile on your face, and be appreciated by your mates as well.

Summer Fun Activity Checklist to do at Home

Joy springs from within. Tap into it, as you sample these activities. Several use power from color energy to help raise your vibration (tips on ways to raise your vibration was written by Alexandra Panait. It appeared on Thrive Global, and improves your outlook.

1.    Celebrate the first day of summer with one of these

 five beautiful rituals to celebrate Summer Solstice from Chloe Rain at Explore Deeply

2. Set up a hummingbird feeder and see this amazing bird in action

  

3. Chalk sidewalk with awesome doodles and drawings

4. Display plants, greens, and flowers to boost happiness

5. Enjoy an in-home spa day and pamper yourself

  

6. Lighten up décor with accent pieces of sea blue and additional

   colors of nature

7. Add a coat of whitewash onto a picnic table or Chaise
 lounge to revive outdoor furniture and perk up surroundings

8. Blow soapsuds bubbles

9. Splash in rain shower puddles

10. Bike ride, while social distancing from others

11. Create a summer sanctuary and cozy up with a book

12. Read, paint, practice yoga, or compose a tune, story, or poem

13. Play tag, hopscotch, or other favorite childhood games

14. Look for fireflies at night, and see their glow

15. Learn how to breathe in health with Emma Seppälä, as she demonstrates ways mindful breathing encourages happiness

16. Nap in a hammock

17. Run under a sprinkler or take a dip in a backyard pool

18. Sleep with the windows open

19. Get creative and craft a kite, pinwheel, or vision board

20. Feast on plant-based tacos for Taco Tuesday. See recipe and photos at Dora's Table. She creates Mexican zucchini squash tacos that are easy, delicious, and fun to eat

Photo Dora L. Stone

21. Fix mouthwatering avocado basil gazpacho. Recipe by Judee Algazi. Serve this quick chilled soup with crusty bread, a refreshing one dish lunch or dinner for those sweltering summer days it's to hot to cook.

Photo Judee Algazi

22. Plant basil, parsley, and thyme to raise a mini herb garden

23. Spread a blanket outdoors, and gaze at a starry indigo sky

☆☆☆☆☆☆

Additional Ideas from Colors 4 Health

Budget Friendly Activities to Inspire Joy 

Wear Your Colors to Feel Great About Yourself

Recipe for Colorful Tasty Tucson Tacos

Pick and choose from my Summer Fun Activity Checklist above. Which ones interest you? 

Each one can improve your sense of well-being. 

Please comment below and re-share on social media with a link-back to this post.

Which ideas and pastimes motivate you to make plans to do them? 

Which pursuits are included in summer fun activities already? 

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

I love to hear from you, and read every comment.

Refrain from putting links in your comments please. I won't be able to publish them that way.

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Lively Colors to Nurture Your Spirit

As a holiday gift, I'm sharing colorful nature photos I designed just for you. I walk in nature and visit botanical gardens, arboretums, parks, woods, and beaches as often as I can. When I connect to the earth and its grounding energy, it helps shift my perspective, releases tension, and even elevates my mood.

Find healing, hope, inspiration, pleasure, and meaning in nature. Let the great outdoors be a place to breathe deeply, walk away stress, and help you get on with your day with positive intentions, ease, and happiness. 

I'm wishing you many opportunities to see beautiful colors in nature. Let nature's colors touch you, and create tranquility in your heart and life. 

Can't get outdoors? No problem. Close your eyes and visualize being in a place you enjoy. Perhaps you find it relaxing to imagine setting out a picnic lunch beside a babbling brook. Maybe you'd enjoy a hike in a mountain landscape, so imagine that. How about trying to pretend you're inhaling the sweet aroma of orange blossoms or the energizing green smell of a freshly mown meadow? All you need to treat yourself well, is to use your imagination. I encourage you to take the time to be creative as well as playful and have fun envisioning yourself in a beautiful outdoor setting. 


For additional reading about colors in nature, see Unique-Ways-Colors-are-Key-to-Survival.

Research suggests that whenever you relish the sights, sounds, scents, tastes, and textures found in nature your outlook improves. Spending time in nature can help calm a busy mind, improve health, and increase happiness. See this scientific report that indicates How-Nature-is-Good-for-Our-Health and Happiness.

Wishing You a Happy, Healthy, and Loved-filled Holiday Season and Many Colorful Moments in the New Year to Treasure!

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March, Relax with Aquamarine and Aqua

Aquamarine and aqua are the calming colors I'll explore during March. Green-blue colors promote a smooth flow of communication and are easy on the eyes. These shades reflect the colors in water and sky, and is a color family that creates a sense of expansiveness and tranquility.

Post updated 9/12/21

Please Note: Aquamarine is the name given to the gemstone and aqua is most often used to describe clothing, décor, or a paint color. Paint colors can vary, depending on which paint company you consult. See the photo above and get back to me about how many shades of blue-green you see in the water. I just love the first shade closest to the sea foam.

Put aqua in your life, if your thoughts are jumbled. Its color energy helps clarify perceptions as well as clear confusion in thoughts and speech. Wear an aqua cap or shirt and breeze through your work. Paint a wall with an aqua hue and notice if you feel more serene.

Don an aqua scarf or tie to help center your body and spirit. Use it when you feel you're in a rut, or find yourself judging the actions of others. Reflect on aqua to help restore your equilibrium and balance. 

To reduce stress, visualize yourself being bathed by the warm, healing waters one finds in the Bahamas or Caribbean. Sailors have used aqua and aquamarine as a good luck charms. Old mariners' tales confirm these colors assure safe travel on water.

Water is the Feng Shui element associated with blues like aqua. Items including a water fountain, aqua vase, or an aqua blue accent pillow can be placed in a room to express the water element. 

Then observe if the activities conducted in that room flow more freely. In Feng Shui, aqua is the color of the throat chakra, and symbol of fluid communication. 

Read more about the water element at How-To-Use-Color-for-Good-Feng-Shui.

Aquamarine is the modern birthstone of March, and in geological terms, is one of the members of the beryl group of minerals. Gemstones made of aquamarine can range from the palest see-through blue to a darker shade of light blue. Aquamarines are prized for their clarity and transparency. When made into jewelry, they are treasured as decorative necklaces, bracelets, and rings. See more about this lovely gem at Gemselect.com.

For additional blue color energy ideas see Tips to Help You Use Cool Spring and Summer Colors to Relax.

 

Include a touch more aquamarine and aqua into your life during March. Notice the results. Take a moment to reflect on the following questions:

1. How does aquamarine and aqua make you feel? 

2. What pops into your head when you see these shades of blue-green? 

3. What memories, people, or things do you associate with this March color? 

I sure would like to hear about it (respond below this post in the space provided). Please no links in comment, as it won't be published that way.

If you like what you see, please visit my Website for additional healthy lifestyle tips. Discover how my writing services can help you and your company thrive. 

I appreciate the support. 

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This post is intended for education and entertainment only. It is not intended as medical advice. If you have a health concern, consult your health care provider.