On My Radar #34
Grown-up box cake, my fave reads of 2025 (so far), and sunscreen talk
What’s your favorite setting for reading in warm months? I absolutely adore reading under blankets, hot beverage in hand, in front of a fireplace, with snow falling outside. I know, Vermont definitely delivers. But in the summertime, I lean in hard to lake/beach reading. There’s something about being a little overheated, chugging a summer shandy, hearing lapping waves, and hardcore zoning out while immersed in a captivating read. And those are 100% the vibes I’m cultivating for the remainder of this month! What about you? What’s your ideal reading setting for the warmest months of the year?
Let’s talk about books, baby.
*everything bookish*
Yeah, yeah, it ain’t the end of June yet, but I’ll be in NC for the final nine days of the month, so I figured I’d do my pretty Substack wrap-up of my “first half of 2025 faves” a bit early. It’s entirely possible I’ll read the best book of the year before the end of the month (honestly I’m listening to Born a Crime and it’s amazing so who knows), but I’ll make you a deal: if that happens, I’ll dedicate my entire bookish section of post #35 to talking about its greatness 👏🏻👏🏻
Without further ado, and in no particular order, these are (probably) my top ten reads of the first half of 2025! And I want to hear whether we overlap and, most importantly, I want to know your top reads of 2025 to help enrich my reading plans for the remaining months of the year!
One Day I’ll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman: A Mother’s Story: A heart-wrenching memoir of a community turning against the mother of a trans child. Every single person needs to read this book. My full review is here.
The Names: I did *not* expect this super hyped book—all about the power of names to shape life paths—to be so damn good, but it was so damn good. Also so damn traumatic. But I adored it.
Run for the Hills: I love Kevin Wilson’s quirky, hilarious, but surprisingly deep writing, and this story of lost and found family on a road trip is the perfect example of Wilson at his best.
Slanting Towards the Sea: This book was torment in, like, the best way? A Croatian woman sharing her journey out of marriage—but not love—this one shattered me. I may have featured it a few times already on Substack because I’m so obsessed, but it truly is the perfect summer read.
The Hollow Half: At a time when Palestinians are being misunderstood, dehumanized, and erased, this memoir of a Palestinian-American woman’s embodied and intergenerational trauma is one of the most important books I’ve read in a long time. Also, at the sentence level, it’s a work of art. Aziza is unquestionably now an auto-read author for me.
Soldier Sailor: One of the most raw, relatable depictions of early motherhood, this book was nothing short of perfection from my perspective.
Blood Over Bright Haven: A feminist, creative, magical standalone fantasy novel that I could not put down!
Wild Dark Shore: My favorite author ever published a new book (#neverforget my quest to obtain it early), and even if it couldn’t dethrone Once There Were Wolves, it still offered brilliant environmental commentary meets slow-burn literary thriller meets romance, and I was devastated to read the final page and know that I’d have to wait another few years for her next book.
Tilt: Hoooow did this tiny book about a pregnant woman during an earthquake manage to be laugh-out-loud hilarious, heartfelt, terrifying, and satisfying? I have no clue, but I love that it did!
Fundamentally: Still quite possibly my favorite read of the year, this brilliant story of a woman working in a deradicalization program for ISIS brides is unique and unforgettable and so important.
Let’s talk about books, babies.
What are the kiddos reading these days?
Teddy: We were gifted Living Bridges via the Simon Kids influencer program, and we all love it (especially Teddy). It’s a well-written and beautifully illustrated story about living root bridges in a village in India, about preserving history and protecting the future, and it even features actual pictures of these bridges! So cool!
Lolo: We’re being honest here, right? Lolo won’t leave this Peppa Pig scratch ‘n sniff book alone. I hate it. I hate the sounds it makes. I hate the smells. I hate that Lolo wants me to smell the smells and listen to the sounds and pretend to act interested. But if you’re a kinder parent than I am, maybe you’ll feel differently.
Love your mother.
*sustainability inspo*
Sunscreen has always been a hot topic for me. I grew up in Florida, spending much of my time in the blazing sun in my yard, in pools, and on tennis courts, and plenty of time on various beaches. My parents did their best to slather us in sunscreen, but when my paternal grandfather passed away after only a two-month battle with melanoma during my senior year of high school, we all understandably became obsessive with our sunscreen.
The weird thing about sunscreen is how hard it is to get a straight answer about it. Ask a dermatologist, and they’ll say that the “best” sunscreen is the one that you wear every day (it should also, ideally, be 30+ SPF, broad spectrum, and water resistant). This makes sense, given that apparently people are turning on sunscreen. I’ve seen multiple posts/videos explaining why no, you can’t replace sunscreen with watermelon. Yes, really. But beyond that, ask 10 different people and you’ll get 10 different answers about the “best” sunscreens.
Before I go any further, I want to say something important: many people around me have been blasé about sunscreen my entire life. I get it. It’s not a particularly fun thing. But when my grandfather died two months after being diagnosed, his skin cancer looked like any other cancer. He was a hollow, shrunken version of himself the last time I saw him. It was horrific and will stay with me forever. The idea that skin cancer isn’t as serious or deadly as any other cancer makes me rage. The idea that people use tanning beds without a care in the world makes me rage. The idea that people are totally dismissive about sunscreen makes me rage. Which brings me back to the dermatologists’ point: the best sunscreen is the one you actually use.
From an environmental standpoint, there’s a big push for using “reef-safe” sunscreen, but even that term isn’t regulated. Save the Reef says to avoid spray/mist sunscreens and ones that include HEL list substances, a choice that’s especially important if you plan to swim in the ocean while wearing said sunscreen. You can read more in this article about why certain chemical compounds (namely UV filters) from sunscreen can cause serious damage to coral reefs and impact fish fertility. Hawaii has even banned the sale of sunscreens with certain ingredients to help protect their waters/reefs.
If you’re looking for a good sunscreen for ocean swimming, a good rule of thumb is to select a mineral sunscreen vs. a chemical one. Speaking from experience, yes, it does kind of suck because the mineral ones generally leave a white sheen and are harder to apply because they’re zinc oxide-based. My favorite sunscreen ever is Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen, which is not something I want to wear on my body if I plan to go into the ocean. But when you consider the environmental impact, switching to an environmentally conscious one for ocean swimming seems like a pretty easy sacrifice to me. This article has a few reef-safe suggestions that supposedly won’t leave a white sheen (bonus points if you choose a fragrance-free option!), but again, given the lack of regulation, I’d suggest doing your own research by comparing ingredient labels to the HEL substance list. For the kids, I’ve recently fallen in love with Badger sunscreen. This one takes a bit of work to put on, but it stays on and works well—and smells great! For adults, I’ve tried a few (most recently Blue Lizard), but I don’t have a current fave, so if you have one, let me know! TBH, I’m currently obsessed with Supergoop PLAY, which is NOT reef safe, so I’m on the hunt for a good one for ocean trips!
I’d love to know your favorite sunscreen recs! And again, I want to reiterate that protecting the ocean is hugely important, but so is protecting your skin from cancer. Trust me. So please, please wear sunscreen.
*yummy things we’re eating*
Sweet: A few weeks ago, Billy said he was craving a baking project and told me to pick a recipe from our favorite King Arthur cookbook (srsly obsessed. Best cookbook ever). I know, I know. I’m blessed. 🥰🥹 Anyways, I followed his instructions and picked this birthday cake recipe on a whim. Y’all. This cake. It’s the elevated version of a classic boxed mix cake + prepackaged frosting combo—light, airy, perfectly sweet cake with frosting that gets that hardened, crackly texture around the edges. The end result is nothing short of perfection. He made it again last weekend when we had people over and again, it was heaven.
Salty: The same night we enjoyed our first slices of cake, Billy and I ate our go-to taco salad. This recipe is one of our own—a combination of a few recipes that we’ve merged over time—and it can be anything from vegan to meat-heavy. We start with kale (massage it first, people!), add this baked quinoa, and top with the cilantro vinaigrette from this recipe (err on the side of extra cilantro). The rest is up to you! We generally add a can of great northern beans, sautéed frozen corn, sautéed ground turkey for Billy, and some chopped tomatoes, but there’s room for flexibility. Plus, after eating a big ole salad for dinner, I feel very much prepared for a big ole slice of cake for dessert 😏
Odds & ends.
*the uncategorizable, but also very likely just more books*
ICYMI, I’ve started a virtual quarterly book club #ItsAHardbackLife! I’d love to have you join the fun 🥰🥰
I mentioned my book imprint tote collection in my previous post, and last week, I dedicated a solid 15 minutes to pairing and filming outfits and totes and books, and then I sped it all up so you couldn’t see some of the crazy 😂 Plz appreciate: this reel was the end result, and I was very proud. Until my kids demanded my attention at the same time that I was trying to put away books, totes, and clothing, at which point I questioned my life choices. Which bookish tote is your fave?
I feel like I’ve talked about the magic of my 200-year-old Vermont home at least a few times, but it just keeps surprising me in the best ways. One such instance is last week, when a random bush I’ve walked by 1000x revealed itself to be a peony bush. The flowers smell outrageously good, and I feel outrageously spoiled by my home. Oh, oh! The most important yard thing of all! When we moved here last summer, we discovered an ailing little apple tree in the yard. Billy attached Japanese beetle catchers to some branches, but by the end of 2024, we were pretty sure it was dead. But then this month, we got the best surprise! Little apples have started to grow!!! My excitement is unreal!
Fellow The Will of the Many superfans: if you want to make yourself miserable, you can read an excerpt of The Strength of the Few here. And then you can join me in twiddling your thumbs until November.
A lot of bad shit is happening, and a lot of it is happening because of the US administration. You can support immigrants by donating to GoFundMe campaigns, signing petitions, calling your reps, and putting your body on the line if you’re local, butttt you can also help disrupt things a bit (even from a distance) by inviting the children in your life to complete Usha Vance’s summer reading challenge with exclusively DEI books and submitting the forms accordingly. Just, you know, a friendly recommendation.
On the topic of reading challenges, if you want a better option, join the National Book Foundation’s summer reading adventure for a chance to win incredible prizes…like the chance to ATTEND THEIR ANNUAL AWARD CEREMONY?!?! Simply by entering, you’ll also get a free Libro.fm audiobook credit and a discount code at Bookshop.org!
This book just won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, so I guess it’s time to finally read it!
You go on and have the day you deserve, now.
🤍🤍 Torie
Loved reading the blurbs about your 2025 favorites so far (and have a few on my list!) 💖