25 things replacing doomscrolling this summer

and a bunch of new mystery releases and a best seller from one of my fav authors!

My therapist has called me out on this. To get to the point, I’m supposed to be trying to do mindful distractions rather than phone distractions to help me get out of any spirals. The problem is that my OCD has identified that those mindful distractions literally work, and it tries to convince me not to do them.

It’s tough because I want to do these things. I want to do them desperately, so much so that I write about them here often. The act of doing it feels impossible sometimes. But today let’s work on them together. Here’s my list. What’s yours?

1. Watercoloring

2. Puzzles (side note, does anyone have a puzzle board? looking for recs)

3. Reading on the balcony

4. Walks with no headphones

5. Baking

6. Photography

7. Coloring

8. Hikes

9. Bookstore tour in my city

10. Micro travel days (exploring suburbs and surrounding towns)

    

    via unsplash ; by DA VECTOR

11. Go to the art museum

12. Attend a sports game

13. Take my dog to the dog bar

14. Flower pressing

15. Junk journaling/scrapbooking

16. Create & continue a reading journal

17. Play tennis

18. Park tours with my dog

19. Clean one thing/space

20. A masterclass, linkedin learning, or research into something I find enjoyable

21. Write a letter

22. Call a friend I haven’t spoken to in awhile

23. Paint my nails or do a face mask

24. Go to a bakery with a book

25. Volunteer

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Upcoming Releases

All links are affiliates through bookshop.org to help support indie bookstores.

1. The Housewife by Natalie Barelli (Mystery): June 30, 2026

2. Moss’d In Space by Rebecca Thorne (Romance, Sci Fi): June 30, 2026

3. What Happened To Those Girls by Carlyn Greenwald (YA Mystery): June 30, 2026

4. Enter the Nightmare by Jayne Castle (Romance): June 30, 2026

   1. note: this is tagged as romance but it sounds more like romantic suspense/might have some darker tones.

5. The Neighbors are Watching by Aggie Blum Thompson (Mystery): June 30, 2026

6. The River She Became by Emily Varga (YA Fantasy): June 30, 2026

7. These Immortal Truths by Rachelle Raeta (Fantasy): June 30, 2026

8. When Dealing with Dragons by Dana Swift (YA Fantasy): June 30, 2026

New Bestsellers

Books I’ve compiled from a variety of bestseller lists. I add the books I haven’t before, since I’ve caught up to the new additions. If you’re curious, last week’s post can be found here.

1. Choke Point by Brad Thor (Thriller)

2. The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston (Romance)

Recommendation

If you have a book recommendation to share, send me a DM or email me at thesundayreads@gmail.com! I would love to share it here.

1. Ashley Poston! I haven’t grabbed The Someday Garden yet but I just love her writing. Magical realism is so difficult yet she’s able to grasp it so well. Love her.

That’s all for today. Much love

Izzy