My solo reading retreat was an experiment. I’ve always wanted to do one of these weekends, ever since I heard Meredith talk about her reading retreats on the Currently Reading podcast. (She goes with friends.) But I wasn’t sure if I would love it. Would I get lonely? Would it make reading feel like a chore? Would I be bored? What if it wasn’t as fun as I envisioned it to be?
Thankfully, none of my fears came true. This was one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time! I was living my very best life over these past few days, being able to burrow away in an Airbnb, read as much as I wanted (and in as many locations as I wanted!), and take breaks here and there to do things like nap or work on my novel or read blogs. It was sensational, and I’m already thinking about when I can do my next reading retreat!
Let’s take a step back, though. I want to talk first about the Airbnb and specifically why I chose it.
Finding the perfect Airbnb for a reading weekend
I had very specific parameters for the Airbnb:
- I wanted it to be at least an hour away from where I lived, so it felt like a “getaway”
- I wanted it to be a house in a safe location
- I wanted there to be plenty of places to sit—ideally, there would be a cozy couch or sectional in the living room, a sitting area, and a patio
- I wanted a full kitchen (I saw way too many Airbnbs with these teeny-tiny fridges, no thank you!)
- I wanted to have separate rooms so I could wander to different locations throughout the day without feeling cramped
- I didn’t want to pay over $500
I had quite a few Airbnbs to choose from based on these parameters, and it took me some time to finally decide which one to stay at. In the end, I chose a two-bedroom house in North Port, which is about an hour south of me. The house had a great kitchen, two big bedrooms, and soooo many places to sit. There were two couches, two dining tables, and two beds in the house alone. Then, there’s a large sunroom with another couch and multiple chairs. Then, there’s a screened-in porch with yet another couch, more chairs, and a patio table. And finally, there were loungers in the backyard.
My plan for the weekend
I didn’t want to set myself up for failure with this retreat, so I didn’t have a strict reading schedule. Rather, I let the reading happen naturally over the weekend. And I was curious how much reading I would get done if I didn’t have a schedule for it. I set three goals, like all you crazy runners do for your races:
Goal A: Read for a total of 24 hours
Goal B: Finish 5 books
Goal C: Enjoy the shit out of this weekend of no plans/responsibilities
I’m happy to report that I hit my B goal! While I did not manage 24 hours of reading time, I did finish five whole books with a grand total of 18.75 reading hours.
Curating my reading plan
Most things about my reading life are slightly chaotic, and my reading plan for this retreat was no different. When it was time for a reading block, here’s what I would do:
- Use an online spinning wheel to choose the book I was going to read during that reading block (I had four different books going at one time: a thriller, a romance, a fiction novel, and a science fiction book)
- Choose a spot in the house for this reading block – did I want to lounge inside on the couch, take my book to the backyard, or relax in the sunroom?
- Open my Toggl app and start a timer, labeling it with the book I was reading, and then read silently for an hour
Sometimes, I would pull up an ASMR room on my phone to add a little noise to the quiet house, but most times, I enjoyed the silence. As someone who often reads in spurts, it was good for me to really sit down with a book for a full hour and not let myself be drawn in to other things on my phone.
Here’s how things broke down each day:
Thursday
- Total reading time: 3 hours
- Total pages read: 271
- Books read: The Appeal and Dungeon Crawler Carl
- Places read: Living room couch, primary room bed
Friday
- Total reading time: 7 hours, 30 minutes
- Total pages read: 742 pages
- Books read: First-Time Caller, Yesteryear, Dungeon Crawler Carl, and The Appeal
- Places read: patio couch, chair in the sunroom, backyard lounger, secondary room bed, living room couch, sunroom couch, primary room bed
- Naps taken: 1
Saturday
- Total reading time: 8 hours, 15 minutes
- Total pages read: 782 pages
- Books read: Best Offer Wins, Yesteryear, Dungeon Crawler Carl, and First-Time Caller
- Places read: patio table, primary room bed, sunroom couch, secondary room bed, living room couch, dining room table
- Naps taken: 1
Overall totals
- Total reading time: 18.75 hours
- Total pages read: 1,795 pages
- Total books finished: 5
My final thoughts
This reading retreat was everything I wanted it to be. It was relaxing and fun and maybe slightly unhinged with the amount of reading I was able to get done. I think two full days of reading time was perfect. I think I would have started to have some cabin fever if I had done a third full day (when booking the Airbnb, I debated between three nights and four nights). Next time, I might opt for a place that has a pool (maybe a condo, although space can be limited) so I could switch things up a bit more. I couldn’t be outside for very long because there was no shade in the backyard and it was in the upper 80s (even the sunroom/patio got stuffy near midday).
I’m really glad I took this trip! The experiment was a success. I will definitely do a reading retreat like this annually because it was so good for my soul. Could I have done something similar at home? Of course. But there is truly something about being away from my house where I’m not tempted to tackle any cleaning chores or to-dos. I had booked this place for reading, and reading is what I did.
Do you have any questions about my reading retreat? Would you ever want to do something like this?
That sounds like a fabulous weekend! You got so much done! I love this. I often struggle with drifting towards my phone or computer, so I started instituting a 1 hour reading morning. I get up, make coffee, and put my phone on charge, or away from me completely (and on silent). I then read steadily and don’t stop until my hour is up, and sometimes even go a bit longer if I am into it. Then I can do whatever else, but not before. I have gotten a lot of reading done this way and am not missing the distractions of my phone, which generally are not as productive! I am so glad it was a success for you!
I was doing something similar with my mornings, but have gotten away from the practice now that I’m going to the gym (most) mornings. But I need to get back to that habit because it was such a nice way to start the morning!
That sounds super fun. Did you start any of those books prior to the weekend, or did you actually READ FIVE WHOLE BOOKS? Either way, impressive! I have a few of those books on my TBR (in the library queue, will take forever to get them)
I was about 100 pages into The Appeal, and then 50 pages into First-Time Caller. But I hadn’t started the other three!
This sounds so delightful! I would love to do a reading retreat like this someday. But first, I really want to do the reader retreat hosted by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, GA. But it’s hard to commit to a weekend away while I am traveling so often for work… so I don’t think either will happen for several years when the kids are at easier-to-manage ages.
I did do a readathon many years ago where I read an entire book in a day (We Were Liars) and that was really fun – that was prekids/marriage!
Lisa, you HAVE to let me know when you want to do the reader retreat with The Bookshelf. I will be there in a heartbeat! I’ve looked it up and it looks like SO MUCH FUN.
What a perfect Airbnb! You nailed it with your search! It’s so smart to do this away from home and not feel like you have to be doing other chores, like you said. I’d love to do something like this. My soul needs quiet time away to myself so badly.
18.75! 👏 That is amazing! And not unhinged at all. I love that you were reading different genres and how you chose which to read.
The solo time and silence was SO nice. I thought it might be too much for me, but it really rejuvenated me. I loved not having any responsibilities or even anyone I had to talk to/take care of for two full days!
I think your reading retreat sounds amazing! The Airbnb looks so beautiful – a true vacation destination. I like how you planned out your “reading schedule”, and used a timer app so you could keep track of everything. Those are some impressive stats!
My questions are: Who took care of the kitties, and were they quite indignant that you left? What kind of food/snacks did you have? What is the ASMR room noise?
Thank you! My mom checked in on the kitties once a day, and I spied on them using the camera I have in my apartment quite frequently, ha. They actually get SUPER clingy and lovey-dovey when I return. Isn’t that crazy? They don’t make me “pay” for my time away, ha.
I ate like a teenage boy! I had chips and dip, too many cookie options, pizza, and one night, I ordered in Greek food.
ASMR rooms can be found on YouTube. They play calming sounds, like rain or thunder or pages turning or a crackling fire, and have really nice little visuals so you can feel like you’re tucked away in a coffeeshop, or Hogwarts house, or a large library in a home. Ha!
What a fun, relaxing weekend! I think I might get cabin fever, so I would probably leave at least a bit every day. (This is why I go to the grocery store every day..I work from home and go a little stir crazy if I don’t see any other people all day…) The AirBnB looks amazing, and that’s a really good price for 3 nights.
I have an annual goal to “get outside once a day” because I am the type of person who can HERMIT. There have been multiple days in a row where I don’t leave my apartment or get any fresh air. HA. I am doing much better with that this year! Having two days to hermit was REALLY nice.
You know I want to do this!!! It sounds amazing. 8 hours of reading in one day- I love it. I also love how you had very different books and alternated between them. I’ve never done that. I’ll have to try it sometime. I know I won’t be able to get away for a reading retreat anytime soon, but I’m going to look at my calendar and figure out when I could do one at home. I agree, it’s not quite as relaxing as going away somewhere. But it would be better than nothing!
Having the different books and in very different genres was really helpful! It kept from anything feel too boring, I think. I want to do a few daily readathons throughout the year where I try to read a book in a day because I just enjoyed myself so much!
Reading retreat FTW!!! The closest that I’ve been to this is when I go on beach vacations, either by myself, with Hubs, or with the full fam. I end up reading nearly a book a day if not more.
I really want to read Yesteryear. Only 7 weeks to go on my LIbby hold…
Yesteryear is worth the wait! Please text me with your thoughts while you’re reading it (if you remember this comment in another two months, LOL.)
I want to be the sort of person who says I would love this, but I know myself well enough to know that I would NOT. Being left alone with my thoughts is not ideal. Ha! I’m glad it went well for you, though. It certainly does sound like you got a lot of reading done!
I was really curious if all of the alone time would be too much for me, but it really wasn’t. I guess I’m more used to it since I live alone!
I love the idea of something like this; I find flights tend to do something similar for me. I am forced to sit in one spot for hours and I DEVOUR books. I think if I was at an Airbnb I might have a hard time concentrating (oddly enough).
I have Yesteryear on my library holds list along with half the population of Canada, haha.
What’s funny about your comment, Elisabeth, is that’s how I feel about reading on planes. I WANT to be someone who can devour books on a plane ride, but I find myself so distracted and I tend to just watch movies/TV shows, lol.
Your reading retreat sounds like it was truly amazing 🤩 makes me want to do the same!
I had the BEST time! I hope you can make it happen for you!
I would absolutely love to do a reading retreat once day. I have done a Moms night away where I rented an Airbnb and spent the night alone in an in laws suite. I think it was in 2022… yes May of 2022!
I am way overdue for another one 🙂
You are definitely overdue for a mom’s night away, especially with all the solo parenting you do! GO FOR IT.
Whoa! Of all the stuff on your front page, this sounded so intriguing… and it really lived up to the title.
How absolutely hedonistic! I’m glad you had such a great time. But it sounds like you came prepared with ideas on how to maximize your time here. Lovely!