In Summation | May 2023
On accomplishment, rest, and reckoning with priorities
Do you ever have those moments when you feel completely and totally in love with your life? Not happy per se—or not just happy—but just enraptured by the place you are at this moment in time?
These moments are rare, I think, and so I like to notice and celebrate them when I can. In spite of some extreme frustrations, a stretch of bad sleep, and a period of work-life imbalance, I spent a lot of May feeling extremely fortunate. I thoroughly enjoyed putting together my 2023 Paperback Summer Reading Guide, and I was bowled over by the level of enthusiasm in response to it. (This is as good a time as any to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who subscribed or purchased the guide as a standalone. You make this work possible and keep me going in more ways than one!)
The 2023 Paperback Summer Reading Guide
Hey, readers! I am so excited to be sharing the 2023 Paperback Summer Reading Guide today! As a reminder, the complete PSRG with 48 backlist titles is available to all paid newsletter subscribers and Patreon members. Patreon members, you should already have the PSRG in your inboxes now. If you don’t see it, please visit the
This month I felt a level of growth and creativity in my work space that I haven’t experienced in quite some time. I went on a really fun trip with Miles, Louise, and a couple of our friends, and I felt so dang lucky that two of our childfree best friends still want to travel with us, toddler in tow! Louise is in a really fun stage right now—maybe the first stage that I’m achingly pre-nostalgic for…I’m really going to miss these early toddler days! And to top it all off, the weather has been glorious, making it easy for us to spend nearly all day out of the house and in the sunshine.
In today’s In Summation, I’m sharing a few of the habits and practices that I think have made for a particularly great month. I’m also including a few behind-the-scenes details on my Paperback Summer Reading Guide and highlighting some of what I loved and learned this May.
In Summation posts are an exclusive offering for paid newsletter subscribers. Upgrade your subscription now to read this post, get the complete 2023 Paperback Summer Reading Guide, access all past paywalled content, AND listen to my Summer Samplings podcast series. In the first episode of the series (available now!), I talk through the entire Paperback Summer Reading Guide sharing even more insights into each and every book. The second installment will drop Friday, June 2nd, so upgrade now to get it in your inbox!