Anyone done a reading Retreat?

[schmalex]

Just saw this weekend break for book lovers in Muddy Stilettos. Has anyone done anything like this? I just need to persuade my husband to look after the kids...
bookloversretreats.com/

I've never tried a transatlantic to be fair @Lollygaggle . Maybe all the authors would take my mind off it!

This would be my ideal. Cosy cottage or lodge, hot tub for a bit of relaxation, and a pile of books. To be fair though, I easily read 2/3 hours a day, but could always manage more, especially when I'm not feeling guilty about the pile of washing or cleaning to be done!

I always intend to DIY this.
Book a Hoseasons lodge somewhere nice, with a private hot tub,walks on the doorstep (£250ish)
Do a big shop in M&S, lots of snacky bits and wine and ready meals, posh bread for avocado on toast and bacon sarnies (say £100 or so)
Sleep, eat, walk, tub, read, sleep, eat, walk, tub...you get the drift.

@rightoguvnor
That sounds absolutely sublime.
I would have to bring a huge box of chocs too.

@keiratwiceknightly
That also sounds fabulous..please post link.

@MonkeyTennis34 Im afraid she only runs them for her friends - we keep telling her to make a business of it but she doesn't want to. Sorry!

I am setting up a Reading Retreat right here on my sofa for the whole afternoon with Wolf Hall.
I have the heating on, candles lit, biscuits and tea at hand and when dusk falls, I will have a glass of red wine and some crisps.
I am not to be disturbed until I move from the sofa at 6.30, when I will sort out supper.
It's 1 pm now and I have just formally welcomed my backside to the sofa.

@ExpensiveBiscuits
That sounds so luxuriant and gorgeous.
Enjoy 📕 🩷

Love anything Tudor but found Wolf Hall hard going . Enjoy the retreat .

Thank you @MonkeyTennis34 and @Lollygaggle

It went just as planned! I read 220 pp of Wolf Hall . It isn't easy but I think knowing that I had an uninterrupted chunk of time-my very own Reading Retreat-really helped to relax and sink into it.

I can't afford a "proper" Reading retreat-they sound great-but plumping up the cushions, hoovering the room, lighting a candle, using my best china and making it look generally welcoming, fed into the illusion that someone had prepared something lovely just for me, so that i could read in peace.

The only one who broke the rule of leaving me alone was the cat but she added to the general aesthetic and maybe Reading Retreats do have cats, so I allowed her in.

I think I will do it for an afternoon every month-that would be the plan, anyway.

My friend and I are doing a sort of DIY reading holiday next month - staying at a lovely, but budget-friendly, hotel in the Caribbean, and we’ll spend all day just lying on beach loungers and reading as much as we can with nobody to tut disapprovingly at us. We do this once a year and it’s our idea of utter heaven.

@Expensivebiscuits I think that's the best way to read Wolf Hall. I didn't really start to enjoy it until I stopped dipping in and out and started to read for longer.

That sounds amazing!

Honestly, I think that’s for people who don’t really want to read. Reading requires nothing other than you and a book. It doesn’t need expensive time away, and encounters with cosy crime writers? Besides, if I were somewhere nice and Cornwall, I’d want to be outdoors, exploring, rather than something I could just as easily do at home!

If you fancy something a little more rustic/simple then you should try Gladstone's Library in North Wales. It's a residential library and is so peaceful.

Residential library you say?

Beautiful looking place https://www.gladstoneslibrary.org discounts for members of the clergy etc .

It's gorgeous.
The rooms are quite basic but the restaurant, library and grounds are stunning.

They do a nice Sunday lunch as well.

No but it sounds nice. Prices very expensive for a single room.

This sounds utterly, utterly lovely 😍

Check they’ve got your type of book before you go. They don’t have any Georgette Heyer and only have Dorothy Sayers’ religious books

Maybe when I win the lottery I'll buy some gorgeous baronial hall and turn it into a place for reading retreats and make it into a commercial enterprise. Serving up fabulous food and cocktails and charging a fortune.

Or I'll just live in the baronial hall all by myself and spend my days reading in a different spot for every day of the year.