Let the Summer Ritual Begin
Dear Diary,
The first crickets have begun their serenade.
For me, this is the song of summer — soft, steady, like the season exhaling into the night. I can only imagine the South of France at this time of year, under the deafening vibration of the cicadas. You know the sound — that high, shimmering hum that signals summer has truly arrived. And with it, a very particular laziness that stretches through the hot days like honey.
Mornings are still fresh and enthusiastic. I check on my flowers with a cup of coffee in hand, just before the sun rises above the horizon. Don’t laugh, but I’m the kind of person who talks to her plants: they are the fruit of my excellent collaboration with nature, and that’s worth celebrating every single day. Most of them I’ve started from seed; others I’ve cared for as they settled into their new home. So summer mornings are moments spent welcoming new leaves, fresh blooms, and scented presents.
By lunchtime, the heat becomes oppressive, so afternoons are for shade. Some days at the office, others at home — pretending to organize bookshelves while actually rereading old favorites with one leg dangling off the bed. Summer afternoons make my soul feel just a little bit Spanish, longing for that siesta that gets you through the day.
But it’s the evenings I love most. The music begins just after sunset — only crickets and a gentle breeze lifting the curtains into my quiet Parisian nights, when the sun finally relents and the air becomes something you can breathe again. When it feels luxurious to do nothing but open a book — one you’ve been saving for a moment like this — and slip into it as if into a cool swimming pool.
There’s something about summer reading that isn’t just about the books themselves, but how and when you read them. The stillness. The soft rustling of leaves outside your window. The long light. The quiet spell cast over the world.
I think that’s why I’ve always loved the idea of a reading ritual — something slow and intentional. Something seasonal. And this year, I wanted to offer exactly that.
I say offer, but if I’m honest, I think first of all I wanted to get over my stubborn idea that summer is not for me. And while I still don’t feel my absolute best during the heatwaves that have become more and more frequent here, it was up to me to remember all the other things I cherish during the hot season. So putting together a Summer Reading Ritual has been therapeutic — a lesson in looking at the bright side, a safety kit for days when I’m more inclined to forget that I have the ability to enjoy each season of the year if I tune in to the natural rhythms instead of imposing my own agenda.
And from this intention was born the very first of what I hope will become a new summer tradition at The Ritual of Reading:
The Summer Reading Ritual
A free digital guide I created to help you shape your own midsummer mindset through books, little rituals, and soft joy.
Inside, you’ll find:
- A curated selection of titles that feel like sun-warmed linen and sea air
- Gentle prompts for tuning into the rhythm of the season
- Simple pleasures to make your reading moments more enchanting
Whether you’re taking a book to the beach, pausing for a chapter during lunch, or staying up until midnight with the windows open and a novel propped on your knees — this ritual is for you.
This guide isn’t about reading more. It’s about reading with presence. Reading like the summer version of yourself.
And what better moment to begin than the Summer Solstice — the longest day of the year, a luminous turning point that feels almost suspended in time. There’s something deeply symbolic about starting a new reading ritual on this golden threshold, when light stretches as far as it can, inviting us to stretch too — into new pages, new thoughts, new quiet joys. It’s a gentle reminder that time expands when we choose to live it with intention.
You can download the guide by signing up here. Use it in its digital format or print it out and make it your own, with a soft pencil at hand and some sun lotion spots around the edges, as you make your way through a lazy, slow summer.
And maybe tonight, like me, you’ll find yourself on the balcony or curled on the sofa, the sky still pink long after dinner, turning the first page of something new.
Happy Midsummer Night Reading, friends!
Written by Alexandra Poppy
Writer, reader & curator of The Ritual of Reading
I’m Alexandra, the voice behind The Ritual of Reading. Somewhere between a stack of novels and a half-finished pot of tea, I keep finding traces of the life I want to live—slower, richer, filled with stories. The Ritual of Reading is where I gather what I love: books that linger, places with a past, and rituals that make ordinary days feel a little more meaningful. I write from Paris, where elegant bookshops and old-fashioned cafés offer endless inspiration—and I share it here, hoping it brings a spark to your own days, too.