The Truth About Reading Retreats: What We Didn’t Know Until We Hosted One
By Alli Neri
Some people call it a book retreat, some call it a reading retreat. Either way, the idea is the same.
When Sarah and I started Forest & Fawn, we were new to the idea a book retreat. We’d heard of wellness retreats, yoga retreats, even silent retreats. But a retreat where people get together an read? Never heard of it.
But when we thought about it more, it seemed like the perfect getaway: a whole weekend tucked away into a cozy hotel in the woods reading books with new friends who are as obsessed with our favorite books as we are. What else do you need?
I still remember pulling up to the Captain Whidbey on Whidbey Island, Washington for the first time in April 2024 and being nothing short of enchanted. An old fisherman’s style cabin with creaking floors and the best clam chowder I’d ever tasted. Let’s just say, it was a vibe.
Photo Credit: the Captain Whidbey Inn (Whidbey Island, WA), the location of our first reading retreat
So do people really travel just to read fantasy books together?
On that first retreat, we expected there to be a lot of silent reading a time. We thought we’d catch our retreat guests sitting on the dock, dangling their feet over the sea, nose deep in a re-read of ACOTAR.
Sure, we had some games planned and book club discussions of course. But we honestly thought we had overdone it on activities. We were worried that we didn’t leave enough silent reading time for everyone.
And we could not have been more wrong.
Turned out, there is not a single moment of silence from the time those 14 guests entered the historic Captain Whidbey to the moment we all departed and tearfully went our separate ways.
What is a reading retreat really about?
It didn’t take long before we realized that first retreat was so much more than we originally thought it was. That is wasn’t really about reading fantasy books together by the fire. Sure, there was some of that happening. And for the more introverted guests (myself included), that was a much needed cozy reprieve from the near-constant chatting.
But the majority of the retreat was actually not about reading. Yes, we talked about the books, spun wild theories, tested our trivia knowledge, and made our predictions for ACOTAR Book 6, but there was something happening underneath all of that.
And that something was community.
Maybe it should have been obvious when we were planning the bookish weekend. But it didn’t hit us until we were driving away from the hotel on Sunday afternoon, crying in the car that we finally realized what was so special about that retreat.
It was the instant connections that happened when people come together because of a shared interest (or in this case, obsession). It was the way that it felt like we’d all known each other for years and years. It was the way that the group immediately formed a book club and continued to meet monthly (to this day!). It was the inside jokes that you can only make when you are in a room full of friends—the kind of jokes that make you cackle and then cry from all the cackling. It was the way that we still remember those inside jokes to this day.
It was the people and the friends and the memories that they made together.
Community is at the heart of everything that we do
Our first-ever group of retreat guests, April 2024
From that first retreat on, we finally understood what it was that we were curating for our fantasy-loving readers. It brought new meaning to the idea of gathering in person, being there face-to-face with a group of people in a place that feels like a little bubble far, far away from reality even if just for 3 days.
So yes, pack your books. We’d never tell you to leave them at home. And if what you want is to silently read in a rocking chair while looking out over the sea, have some delicious meals, and partake in a book club or two, we’ve got you, and you are so welcome here.
And, if what you really desire deep down is to connect in real life with other people who are just as obsessed with the fantasy and romantasy genres as you are, then this place is for you. And if what you want is a place where you can be 100% unapologetically you, come on in.
From deep in the woods,
🌲 Alli
