Some of my blog posts contain affiliate links to products that I may receive a commission on when purchases are made through these links. This is at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.
Well, here we are – another summer just around the corner, and you know what that means…it’s time for my 2025 Mrs. Lazy Spoon’s Summer Reading Challenge!
If you’re new here, here’s the deal – every year (this is my seventh), from the May long weekend to Canadian Thanksgiving, I challenge myself to read at least 10 books.
May and June are a whirlwind around here – a blur of seeding, endless house and yard work, and wrapping up another school year. That’s exactly why this challenge is so important to me. It’s a self-care strategy that reminds me to slow down, even as we hurtle toward summer. Because soon enough, I’ll be parked in my Boler at the lake, soaking up the sunshine and getting lost in book after book for a few glorious weeks.
And, I’m not alone. My Facebook book club has grown into such a wonderful community of readers – and if you’re not in it yet, what are you waiting for? We swap reviews, share recommendations, and have a bit of fun from time to time. (Seriously, join – it’s like a cozy bookish corner of the internet.)
So, without further rambling (I see you, scrolling straight to the list – no judgment), here it is: my 2025 Summer Reading List.
Whether you’re aiming for 10 books, 2 books, or just one really great read, I hope you find a story that feels like a mini-vacation for your soul this summer.
Happy reading, my friends!
Oh, and hey…just a heads-up: the links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. It costs money to keep this website running so I can share my book list every year. It costs you nothing extra to shop using these links (totally understand if you choose not to), but I get a tiny little coin injection if you do.
2025 Summer Reading Challenge Book List
What I’m Reading
Here’s a list of books I’m adding to my ever-growing home library. Now, funny story – The Farmer recently treated himself to a Kobo (just two weeks before his birthday, when I already had one purchased and wrapped – timing, right?). He’s since discovered Libby, and after a little adventure reactivating his library card (which likely hadn’t seen the light of day since 1982), he’s fallen in love with his new gadget. Every day, he’s showing me another one of its bells and whistles.
But as for me? I’m still a die-hard physical book lover. There’s just something about holding a book – the weight of it, the whisper of turning pages, and, yes, that unmistakable book smell – that I can’t give up. I know many of you are all about supporting your local libraries (which I LOVE and I really should do that more), but I’m just too impatient. I want the book now. LOL.
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. ~Amazon
We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes
Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated. So when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach you: about love, and what it actually means to be family. ~Amazon
The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia
Twist upon twist, layer upon layer, where nothing is as it seems, The Business Trip takes you on a descent into the depths of a mastermind manipulator. But who is playing who? ~Amazon
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.
When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.
And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad . . . depending on who’s telling it. ~Amazon
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Book 1 of 3
Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.
But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.
They don’t know what I’m capable of…~Amazon
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined―and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us. ~Amazon
The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
The Last Letter is a haunting, heartbreaking and ultimately inspirational love story.“ ~InTouch Weekly
I think we’ll need a box of tissues for this one!
All The Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman
A mom will do anything to save her kid. Anything.
Florence Grimes is a thirty-one-year-old party girl who always takes the easy way out. Single, broke and unfulfilled after the humiliating end to her girl band career, she has only one reason to get out of bed each day: her ten-year-old son Dylan. But then Alfie Risby, her son’s bully and the heir to a vast frozen food empire, mysteriously vanishes during a class trip, and Dylan becomes the prime suspect. Florence, for once, is faced with a task she can’t quit: She’s got to find Alfie and clear her son’s name, or risk losing Dylan forever.
The only problem? Florence has no useful skills, let alone investigative ones, and all the other school moms hate her. Oh, and Florence has a reason to suspect Dylan might not be as innocent as she’d like to believe…~Amazon
Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
Same As It Ever Was traverses the rocky terrain of real life, exploring maternal ambivalence, intergenerational friendship, and the happenstantial cause-and-effect that governs us all. Delving into the core of relationships—how they grow, change, and sometimes end—Lombardo proves herself a true and definitive cartographer of the human heart and is, without doubt, among the finest novelists of her generation. ~Amazon
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars. ~Amazon
What I’m Listening To
I spend a lot of time in my car, logging miles on the treadmill or along our gravel roads, so having something to listen to is a must. Throughout the year, I’m usually tuned into podcasts or personal growth books…anything that keeps me learning and growing. But come summer, I like to keep things light.
That’s when I trade the self-improvement for stories, especially biographical non-fiction. There’s just something about hearing real-life stories told in the author’s own voice (or a great narrator’s) that makes those miles fly by.
Here are a few audiobooks I’m excited to tune into this summer.
The Tell by Amy Griffin
In her search for the truth, to understand and begin to recover from buried childhood trauma, Griffin interrogates the pursuit of perfectionism, control, and maintaining appearances that drives so many women, asking, when, in our path from girlhood to womanhood, did we learn to look outside ourselves for validation? What kind of freedom is possible if we accept the whole story and embrace who we really are? With hope, heart, and relentless honesty, she points a way forward for all of us, revealing the power of radical truth-telling to deepen our connections—with others and ourselves. ~Amazon
I’ll Have What She’s Having by Chelsea Handler
Surprisingly vulnerable and always outrageous, Chelsea Handler captures the antic-filled, exhilarating, and joyful life she’s built—a life that makes the rest of us think, I’ll have what she’s having. ~Amazon
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
From the owner of one Barefoot Contessa shop to author of bestselling cookbooks and celebrated television host, Ina has blazed her own trail and, in the meantime, taught millions of people how to cook and entertain. Now, she invites them to come closer to experience her story in vivid detail and to share the important life lessons she learned along the way: do what you love because if you love it you’ll be really good at it, swing for the fences, and always Be Ready When the Luck Happens. ~Amazon
And there you have it…my 2025 Mrs. Lazy Spoon’s Summer Reading Challenge! Whether you’re flipping through paperbacks, scrolling on an e-reader, or letting an audiobook keep you company, I hope you find a story (or ten) that brings you joy, sparks your imagination, or just gives you a little escape.
Remember, this challenge isn’t about hitting a magic number – it’s about carving out a bit of time for yourself in the midst of all the busyness. It’s about turning the pages (real or digital), getting lost in a good book, and maybe even discovering a new favourite genre or author.
If you’re joining me in this challenge, let me know what you’re reading – and don’t forget to pop into Mrs. LazySpoon’s Book Club on Facebook to share your thoughts and connect with other readers.
Wishing you all a summer filled with sunshine, stories, and a little extra time for you.
Happy reading, my friends!
Until next time,
