How to Create a DIY Reading Retreat
This past weekend, I attended a Reading Retreat sponsored by Golden Bee Bookshop, my local fave. It reminds me of the left-progressive indies of the Boston area that I miss. I’ve attended silent reading groups and write-ins there, I order books from them… and when this retreat came up, I jumped to join. Partly because, well, it’s a retreat where the only thing you have to do is read all day; and also because it took place where I attended summer camp from ages 8-12. Nostalgia trip!
We had a book for all of us to read pre-trip, to discuss on Friday over dinner. Other than that, we brought our own perhaps over-optimistic stacks of books. When we arrived, we also got a tote full of ARCS (Advance Reader Copies of upcoming books). AND we held a Book Swap, where we each brought a wrapped book with a brief, tantalizing explanation of the contents. Over the weekend, there were extra ARCS that didn’t fit in the bags, and books that people finished and left for someone else to read. In other words, I came home with a lot of books.
It was a fun group - just eight of us - and boy, do these women love to read. They made me feel like I barely read a thing (and I read 65 books last year, 15 so far this year). It also reminded me just how many books are out there to be read.
The setting was a beautiful house in the woods, by a lake. Big porches to read on, a beach, a spa with soothing music piped through and comfy lounge chairs facing the woods.
I balanced reading time with long walks on trails through the woods. I saw deer, an otter swimming, loons diving in the lake. No signs of spring yet. The air was chilly, the trees devoid of any budding green leaves. Still beautiful, if somewhat melancholy, seeing the old camper cabins decaying and tumbling down. As I retraced old paths, everything, including the lake, seemed much smaller than I remembered, which is no surprise.
On Saturday, Liz from Edgy Pages came to show us how to decorate the edges of journals using paints, stencils, and brush pens. You could also decorate the covers with special transparent stickers. This was so much fun, and now I want to decorate all my journals by hand. It was the perfect bookish activity, and I was astounded by how beautifully some of the other journals came out.
For food, we brought our own breakfast and snacks. Amazing, delicious dinners were provided by the venue, and we had more than enough leftovers for lunch the next day.
Mostly, we sat by the fire in the large stone fireplace and read. I finished two books: the second book in my friend Allison Keeton’s Midcoast Maine mystery series, Arctic Green, and Elizabeth McCracken’s A Long Game: Notes on Writing Fiction. The first is a twisty, characterful, fun read with great characters and vivid setting (if you’ve never been to the Maine coast, you’ll feel you have by the end of this book). I don’t read many craft books anymore, but I enjoyed McCracken’s, since it includes both her own process as well as some really useful nuggets toward crafting better fiction. I may re-read it a section at a time as inspiration before my daily writing.
Intrigued yet? Maybe a little jealous? There are bookshops and organizations like Ladies Who Lit that create done-for-you reading retreats, sometimes in amazing places all over the world. If you can’t spring for a pricey international retreat, though, you can always create your own.
You may choose to gather a group of friends, or go solo. You may choose to include writing as part of the retreat (I definitely snuck in a little writing on the beach).
Your timing: Will it be a one day retreat? A weekend? A week?
Who you’ll invite (if anyone)
Where you’ll hold it - this should be somewhere other than someone’s home. Even if you live alone, getting away to a retreat means you’re not pulled in by all the other “life stuff.”
Food: how will you handle meals? If you’re not having them catered, I suggest something that involves the least amount of work for everyone. People can bring their own breakfast, lunch, and snacks. For dinner, you can order pizza or find some other easy options. Not doing a lot of cooking and cleaning up is ideal.
If you’re doing it with a group, will you all read a book before the retreat, and discuss it there? Or will it just be for individual reading?
Activities: even though the main goal is to read, you may want to include some optional activities. These may be book-related, like decorating a journal or painting a bookmark. Or they may involve taking a hike or doing some other activity. What might be a group activity vs something done solo? This will of course depend on where you hold it and what is available.
If you’re doing the retreat with others, do a book swap, where each person brings a wrapped book with a little description to share.
You may not have access to ARCS, but a little swag bag for each participant is nice. You may include pens, stickers, tea, or other items. You can combine this with the book swap, where you include a few fun items with the book.
What books will you bring? This is the most important question, of course! Feel free to bring more than you think you’ll finish. You never know what you might feel like reading at the time.
You may want to consider a theme: Fantasy, Regency, etc. You may choose to just do a theme dinner based on a book or series (there’s a Lord of the Ringscookbook, for example). You could do trivia, or a murder-mystery dinner…
Consider bringing your journal, sketchbook, pens, etc. But not too many other distractions!
Consider leaving your laptop at home, and putting your phone away and only checking it at designated times for messages.
Of course, you can plan as many activities as you want during the retreat. It’s up to you. Reading retreats have become popular for a reason: they’re a fun way to take time out for a favorite activity that sadly, many of us don’t make as much time for as we used to (me included).
Have you been on a reading retreat? Would you like to plan one? What would you include?
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