Happy Fri-YAY, friends! Hope you all had a great week! The beginning of my week was full of curriculum writing. I write 5th Grade Language Arts and Social Studies curriculum for my school district. It is one of the things I love about my job — I write with two other awesome 5th grade teachers and I always feel so re-energized by the two of them and their classroom ideas when we get together.

I also finished my first book of the summer this week. I’ve been reading I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Mary Higgins Clark since Spring Break/Mid-March (#teachertruth). That just goes to show how different ‘teacher wife’ and ‘summer wife’ really are. Our backyard (with lots of hard work) has turned into the perfect place to sit and read on summer mornings (coffee in hand!). So as I continue working my way through that tower of books that have been sitting next to bed most of the school year, I thought I’d share a few with you that I’ve read recently and some that are on my must-read list this summer.

Books I’ve read recently:

The Vintage Teacup Club and The Seafront Tearoom, both written by Vanessa Greene, are two books I would recommend as fun, beach-reads. I actually read these last summer, but loved these sweet stories so much I wanted to share them with you again. They each tell the tale of friendships abroad and I grew to love the characters and Greene’s writing style. Think ‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ meets flea market finds!

Yes, I also LOVE to read autobiographies of strong female actresses/TV personalities and when the new episodes of Gilmore Girls aired on Netflix this fall I couldn’t wait to read Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham. If you are a Gilmore fan, her book is funny, thoughtful and inspirational.

I’ve Got You Under My Skin is just one of many Mary Higgins Clark murder mysteries I’ve read over the years. Her books are quick reads with very short chapters. And who doesn’t love a good mystery?!

My upcoming summer reads:

The Magnolia Story, Someday, Someday Maybe and Expectation Hangover are next on my list to read this summer. I’ve been on a self-inspiring book kick one might say. But with summer being a time for renewal I tend to gravitate toward books that inspire and are just enjoyable to read.

Expectation Hangover is a book written by Christine Hassler, who also wrote 20-Something, 20 Everything. She is a relationship and life coach and I just love her books! If you are in your mid-20s or 30s I highly recommend these reads. She also had a podcast called Over It and On With It, if you’re more into that sort of thing.

So, those are just a few of the books on my current shelf, but I’d love to hear more of what you’re reading this summer too! My favorite genre is historical fiction, so if you have any great historical fiction recommendations, please, please share.

Happy reading! Oh, and have a GREAT weekend!