It’s been five years since I’ve put my feet in the sand at the beach.

I practically grew up at the beach. We lived only two hours away.

I regret ever moving so far away from it. The ocean, the smell of salt water … it all slows me down and nourishes my soul.

This summer, we are returning! We couldn’t be more excited.

I don’t even care if it rains the whole week. OK, that’s a tiny lie …

I plan to unplug while I’m there.

Mission: Slow Summer begins digging our hands into the cool, wet sand and watching birds fly above us.

But, slow summers can happen anywhere and at any moment with a little inspiration. I’ve heard from many of you who are also on a slow summer mission of your own. So, I’ve gathered a few additional resources you can draw on as you plan.

Here is a list of Summer Reads to Inspire a Slow Summer because, yes, sinking into a fictional story is great but we all need reminders of what life could be like if we stopped cramming our schedules with too much stuff.

“Slow Family Living: 75 Simple Ways to Slow Down, Connect, and Create More Joy,” by Bernadette Noll (affiliate link). I was graciously gifted a copy of this book by the author, who I’ve gotten to know on Twitter, and I can’t recommend this book to you enough. Noll has written a book that I might have written had she not beat me to it! It has so many refreshing, original ideas that even I hadn’t heard of before. That’s says a lot.

Some of my favorite ideas that we’ve already started implementing: pantry dinners to prevent going to the store so much, a night in the park with friends, and this summer I’m going to start Happy You Day, where each child gets a special day of their own.

I love how this book incorporates actionable items — because I’m all about action — as well as good, solid parenting advice. It’s very clear that Noll gets this whole busy parenting world down.

There are just too many great ideas for me to list and I can see that I’ll be blogging about some of them in my Playful Family series soon. But, get your copy anyway and read it now. It compliments The Playful Family Adventure very well.

“Minimalist Parenting: Enjoy Modern Family Life by Doing Less,” by Christine Koh and Asha Dornfest (affiliate link) — This is the brand new book out this year and being hailed as the parenting book of the year by some. Any book that gets us thinking about doing less and buying less is important to me. This is on my list!

“The Field Guide to Now,” by Christina Rosalie (read it, love it and will read it again) (affiliate link). Rosalie is a phenomenal writer and storyteller. When I want to be inspired to write, this is the book I pick up.  But, more than that, she helps inspire me to slow down, too. Gorgeous book with some great action steps as well. Definitely worth having around the house to read at a moment’s notice.

“Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids,” by Kim John Payne (affiliate link) — I’ve written about this book before briefly but it really is a game changer in the world of slowing down and taking more control of your life as a busy family. Highly recommend this book for any family looking to slow life down.

“The Rhythm of Family: Discovering a Sense of Wonder through the Seasons,“ by Amanda Blake Soule and Stephen Soule (affiliate link) is probably now considered a classic but definitely worth reviewing time and time again. This book takes us on a journey of creating family connections and memories while also walking us through the cycles of the seasons in nature. It’s always the antidote to a rough week, in my opinion.

DISCLOSURE: By the way … all of the links in this post are affiliate links, which simply means that I get a very tiny percentage of any purchase you make if you click through to Amazon from this page. So, get click happy, in other words. 

What books are you reading this summer?

Photo Credit: gaelx