Happy summer y’all. It’s time for my annual #summerreads blog post in which I bravely foolishly list the 9 books that I plan to read during the months ahead, while also watching the soccer World Cup (This is a phenomenal World Cup book!)and the tennis at Wimbledon. Podcasts are my go-to during the school year, perfect for my 60+ minute commute, but reading is my summertime self-care selection. Waking earlier than the rest of the house and diving into a book, accompanied by a pot of coffee, is my preferred start to the day.
I will read some of these books for pleasure, some for personal and professional development, and hopefully, some will fulfill both categories. At the end of the blog post I share a collection of fantastic book list suggestions from other sites. There is ALWAYS something for everyone in my annual #summerreads blog post.
Ditching Weight Stigma by Cait O’Connor
Learn how anti-fat bias, weight stigma, and fatphobia show up in P-12 educational spaces and how that bias impacts the learners, educators, and communities where it happens.
This important book, one of my HPE Summer Book Club selections, written by Cait O’Connor reveals common problems with anti-fatness toward students in the classroom, in the curriculum, across subject areas, in the cafeteria, and after school. She also discusses anti-fatness toward teachers and staff. Throughout, she helps educators reflect on these issues and offers concrete solutions and equity fixes.
This is a vital roadmap for creating a weight-neutral, inclusive environment where every body feels safe to move. In a recent podcast interview I suggested that this book is a must-read for anyone in the health and physical education space. Check out Cait’s Substack here.
The Way of Excellence by Brad Stulberg
“An absolutely beautiful book that captures a lot of what I believe as a coach. The gratification that comes from truly losing one’s self in that process is an amazing gift. It brings joy, peace of mind, and a sense of pride. These are things we frequently talk about with the Warriors, and I believe are part of our success.” – Steve Kerr, 9 time NBA Champion, Coach of the Golden State Warriors and Team USA
This book shares how to pursue high performance and mastery without the burnout. Check out Brad’s Substack here. Additionally, if you order a copy of this book, Brad will send you a personalized signed book plate!
Getting Real About Sex Ed by Shafia Zaloom
Another HPE Summer Book Club read, Shafia Zaloom offers educators, administrators, and caregiving adults concrete language and strategies for integrating sexuality education into daily practice, beginning with students in kindergarten and carrying through to high school graduation. The book highlights how comprehensive sexuality education scaffolds the sexual development of students as it gradually layers in age-appropriate information, skills, and positive values to practice and prepare for safe and fulfilling relationships, as well as how students can take responsibility for their own sexual health and well-being.
This book will help with navigating dignity, consent, and the real-world questions our students are asking. Educators can join a video chat to discuss this book at the end of July.
On Sports by David Macfarlane
On Sports reads like a conversation between friends at the ballpark in those golden days before the kiss cam and college co-eds with T-shirt cannons spoiled the fun; a book that feels like the sun on your forehead and the breeze in your hair, beer and laughter on your lips; a book that celebrates communion and friendship and the beauty of these games—whether it be baseball or football or soccer or tennis or cricket—that we’ve designed to distract ourselves from the end of the world. It’s about what 7Up tastes like when drunk from the Grey Cup, how much work it takes for talent to shine, and the near impossibility of language to properly capture athletic excellence.
This pocket-sized book is a beautiful, philosophical look at why sports matter to the human spirit. Read an excerpt from On Sports here.
Body Electric by Manoush Zomorodi
Witnessing students, my family, and if I’m totally honest, even myself spending more hours scrolling online and yet claiming not having enough time to be more active, this book seems like a valuable addition to my list.
In Body Electric, Manoush Zomorodi, host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour and the Body Electric podcast, draws on expert interviews, cutting-edge research, and real experiences from tens of thousands of everyday participants in her own citizen experiment to reveal the surprising physiological costs of our digital existences, from posture problems and dwindling eyesight to disrupted breathing and weight gain, and shares scientifically-backed, easy-to-manage tactics and solutions for better health and well-being.
Visit Manoush’s Substack here.
Bodies of Learning by Guy Claxton and Emily Poel
Shout out to Caroline Williams for putting this book on my radar, one that promises to stretch my learning and perhaps improve my teaching.
Bodies of Learning is a bold reimagining of education through the lens of embodiment science. Claxton and Poel challenge outdated assumptions that separate mind and body, revealing the interconnectedness of the ‘bodymind’. Drawing on cutting-edge research in embodied cognition, this book offers a transformative vision for education that integrates heart, gut, brain, feeling and action into the learning process, reshaping how we think about intelligence, learning and teaching.
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
I haven’t got around to reading Robin’s Braiding Sweetgrass yet, despite it being recommended to me by so many friends, but I hope that this short book will help tide me over until I do. Hailed as a “bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world”, my hope is that this will inspire me to consider the role of generosity, kindness, interconnectedness, and restraint in my life.
Get Steady: Essays at the Foundation of High Performance by Jim Davis
Full disclosure, I work alongside Jim Davis, a coach, educator and philanthropist whom I admire highly. He’s one of the very few people I consider to be part of my Brains Trust. If you’ve seen me speak at a conference, you’ll realize that Jim’s thinking influences mine, and this book, full of bite-sized and easy to consume chapters, is one that I will return to often.
Get Steady explores what it means to perform at a high level in a sustainable, meaningful way. It challenges the constant rush of modern life – our focus on speed, productivity, and nonstop ambition – and offers a different approach built on self-awareness, balance, and intentional action. Jim’s book offers short, practical essays meant to be applied in daily life. Readers are encouraged to slow down, reflect, and align their actions with what truly matters.
Read more about Jim and his Good Athlete project here.
Listen: How To Be You In A World Where You Can Be Anything by Ryan Fahey
Ryan is a long-time contributor to the slowchathealth site, in addition to being a two-time Canadian Best-Selling author, speaker, educator and entrepreneur. He widely share his insights on personal growth, education, entrepreneurship and well-being and Listen will be the book I read just before the return to school in the hope that it will focus my thoughts and prioritize what is most important. It sounds like Listen will perfectly accompany Jim Davis, and Robin Wall Kimmerer’s books as it encourages readers to better listen and understand who we are becoming, where we are going, and what is really happening in our lives.
Learn more about Ryan and his work here.
Other reading lists from which you might find inspiration:
Summerreads 2025 see what I read last summer
UC Berkeley has a cool summer reading list for new students with their theme this year being “Mutuality”
The Summer Reading Guide from The Atlantic
Best Non-Fiction Books to Read This Summer from NPR
16 Books for Guys to Read This Summer from Huckberry
The Novels Everyone Will Be Reading This Summer from New York Times
A Reading Roadtrip Across the U.S.A. from Goodreads
The Great American Read downloadable checklist of 100 great books
Please share what books you plan on reading this summer on social media or in the comments section below.
If you’re interested in what I’m listening to right now, here’s my 2026 playlist of songs that have caught my eye/ear this year to date.
#slowchathealth 