It's officially summer and we're celebrating by kicking off our sandals and cracking open some new warm-weather reads! Whether you're looking for an engaging travel partner or a treat for a morning at the beach, these books are sure to inspire:

For yarn lovers eager for a laugh-out-loud funny collection of essays about a well-knit life:

Stockinette, ribbing, cables, even the humble yarn over can instantly evoke places, times, people, conversations, all those poignant moments that we’ve tucked away in our memory banks. Over time, those stitches form a map of our lives.
—From the Preface

For readers who love their stories with a side of DIY:

To make anything by hand, whether it is to feed or to warm or to shelter yourself, to succeed in meeting some small—or not small—need that exists within us, this is what we and every other thing with a heart that walks this earth are meant to do with our hands and with our days. And when you are inside a structure that you have built yourself, whether your walls are made of plastic or grass or brick or beans, you will be at home.
—From How to Make a Teepee from Plastic Flowers

For creatives looking for that little push to break new ground:

Now that people know I paint—I've included my artwork in books I've written, made public my darling pleasure—they not only want to attend writing workshops, they ask me when I will teach painting. I jokingly say, Never. But if they pay close attention, I'm teaching painting all the time when I talk about writing.

—From the Introduction

Happy reading!