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Book Clubs Lean Into Community Building
Phones down, books up // Illustration by Kate Walker
A new crop of in-person book clubs is turning solitary reading into community-building retreats.
Why It Hits: In general, reading as a recreational activity has declined significantly over the past decade — only 16% of Americans do so daily, according to the American Time Use Survey. Part of the reason for that is that people have forgotten how to carve out space for pleasure reading, especially as time spent commuting has dropped… so these retreats offer a curated itinerary and the social motivation to get lost in a book.
Between The Pages: For centuries, humans gathered to read books together as “a prompt for social engagement and discussion,” says King’s College London English professor Abigail Williams.
Now, several new retreats are recreating that experience, per Bloomberg.
There’s Ease Retreats in Wales, Ladies Who Lit across Europe, Page Break in NY and CA, and Bad Bitch Book Club throughout the US.
They offer various ways to get your reading done (whether it’s your own book or an assigned title): independently alongside others or by taking turns reading aloud.
Retreats typically cost $1,000 to $2,000 for a long weekend, including themed meals, gift bags, and local transportation.
They also host workshops, hikes, and discussions… but guests can opt out and keep reading if they prefer. Agendas are optional.
Last Chapter: Like many analog activities, reading is making a comeback thanks to BookTok and virtual book clubs run by celebrities like Reese Witherspoon and Dua Lipa. Like those celebrity book-club founders, it’s overwhelmingly women who are driving the popularity of reading retreats. Bloomberg notes that this reflects the modern publishing industry — the workforce, authors, and even novel buyers are predominantly female.
Next Novel: With independent bookstores making a comeback, expect some to lean into local book clubs as a way to grow their business.
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.