You may feel like your coworkers are illiterate, but the reality is that Americans are reading more, not less.
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Americans spent 22.9% more money on recreational books in 2020 than they did in 2019, and time spent reading ticked up at about the same rate. And that’s not just a COVID-bump. Reading has been on an upward swing since 2012. Couple that with the rise of “BookTok” and it’s no wonder reading retreats have become one of the hottest trends in luxury travel.
Read between the lines and a lit-focused vacation makes sense: It’s all the buzzy travel trends — like self-care, community-building, slow and solo travel — rolled into one.
For former hospitality worker Megan Christopher started Ladies Who Lit to connect with other women while on holiday. She had reserved a villa in Tuscany for that purpose, but it wasn’t until the owners told her it was time to pony up cash that she took her idea seriously. Somewhat short, she panic-posted to her social media account “Ladies Who Lit,” asking for others to join her, then went to bed.
“I had 16 followers on TikTok. But when I woke up, my post had gone viral,” she said. “The trip was sold out.”
It was so successful that she quickly booked another villa in Barcelona and it, too, filled in hours. She came home and quit her job. “It was one of the best experiences of my life,” she said, describing the vibe as “a yoga retreat without the yoga, where you sit around and read and drink a lot of wine.” “You’re with people who have a shared interest with you, which means you can connect in a way that you wouldn’t on a traditional solo trip.”
Little did she know she was part of an emerging trend that authors themselves are eager to book.
After the pandemic, author Jonas Saul and his writer wife, Rania Stone, also decided to create a unique retreat to engage with their readers. So last June they convinced best-selling author Mark Edwards (“The Magpies,” “Here to Stay”) to come to their adopted home, the island of Amorgos in Greece, for an open-to-the-public bookworm escape. With a little publicity, all 37 spots sold.
“With what’s happening in the world, people barely have time to read,” said Saul. “This is a chance to say, ‘I’m done, I’m going to sit on a beach for a week with fellow book enthusiasts.’”
This June, he’s hosting a future trip with JD Barker (“The Fourth Monkey” series) and Clare Mackintosh (“I Let You Go”). “These are the rock stars of the publishing world,” he said of his host authors, “who hang out with a bunch of readers by the pool, discussing their work.”
Looking for a delightfully prosaic trip yourself? These four companies offer different takes on the book retreat concept.
For women | Ladies Who Lit
Guests spend five days drinking, playing, eating and reading on Megan Christopher’s literary getaways. A typical retreat starts with a welcome dinner and a book swap, “which is really an icebreaker dressed up as something better,” Christopher said.
Other activities include a murder-mystery dinner party, an outdoor screening of an adapted novel and a night of book discussion. Daytimes are focused on chilling out, with a location-specific excursion thrown in to get travelers off-property. In the Caribbean, guests climbed a volcano; in Tuscany, they visited a vineyard.
Christopher selects a popular novel prior to departure and sets everyone up on a WhatsApp group so they can keep the book talk going when they get home.
From $1,500
For fanboys | Greece Retreats
Canadian best-selling author Jonas Saul gathers 30-plus fiction fans in Amorgos, Greece, in June to then mingle with fellow bibliophiles and a couple of chart-topping authors.
The week starts with two days in Athens, then the group heads off to the breezy island by ferry. Most mornings include an excursion — from a shipwreck to an ancient monastery and local villages — with afternoons left unscheduled, allowing plenty of time for reading the 15 books the host has selected for Kindle downloading.
Saul guarantees fans have face time with the headlining authors, who switch tables each night for dinner.
From $1,400
For solos | Books in Places
Paul Wright had been running a book club in Bristol, England, when he realized that reading a novel set in Turkey actually in Istanbul would be far more exciting than discussing it at the local Turkish restaurant. He launched Books in Places in 2023 and now hosts around two journeys each month.
This April, he’s taking book lovers to Portugal for five nights to read Sandie Jones’ “The Guilt Trip” at the newly renovated Casa Rosa, in the south of the country; later this year he’ll lead a nine-day trip to Egypt for devotees to the Agatha Christie classic, “Death on the Nile.”
Solo travelers make up the bulk of Wright’s guests, so Wright helps them mingle during scheduled dinners and excursions, but leaves loads of time open-ended. “What better place to talk about a book than in the city where the book is set, after soaking up the atmosphere of the place with fellow book lovers?” said Wright.
From $1,800
For the overstressed New Yorker | The Saratoga Arms
Frazzled New Yorkers who love to read, but can’t find the time or place, can head up to the newly restored Gilded Age hotel, the Saratoga Arms Hotel. Its new Reading Retreat Package provides just the right setting to get lost in a great read.
Guests are given two books upon arrival — their pre-selected pick, as well as a “blind date with a book” based on their genre preference — along with a Moleskine journal, a gift card to the local Northshire Bookstore, a canvas book bag and more.
Come while the revered artists’ residency program is running at Yaddo, whose Saratoga Springs mansion hosts public events weekly all summer.
Past Yaddo artists include James Baldwin, Sylvia Plath and Truman Capote, plus Edith Wharton’s last novel, “The Buccaneers” and E.L. Doctorow’s “Billy Bathgate” both use Saratoga Springs as their backdrop.
You couldn’t ask for a more literary setting.
From $159
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