anzee
Agatha Christie Whodunnit
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Post by anzee on Feb 14, 2018 11:55:58 GMT
There was an item on Radio 4's 'World at One' yesterday about reading retreats - holidays for people to catch up on their reading in peace. I didn't get all the details, e.g. cost, location, as I due to attend my monthly Arts Society lecture and rushing around getting ready to leave, but I wondered what people think of this idea.
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peppercricket
Book Assistant
Batley Townswoman's Guild presents the Battle of Pearl Harbour
Posts: 7,075
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Post by peppercricket on Feb 14, 2018 12:39:35 GMT
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Post by windysisters on Feb 14, 2018 12:47:21 GMT
I guess most of us on here do enough reading that we don't feel we have to go away to do it but I can see the benefit to people who claim to not have enough time to read (Make time for crying out loud!) Also, I guess part of the retreat might be that you meet other book-minded people and discuss books. Again, because we do that on here and some of us are members of reading groups I suppose we satisfy that need already.
I'm lucky that MrW also likes to read and whilst he doesn't do much at home, when we are on holiday he can go through a novel a day and so our usual summer holidays are a bit like reading retreats!
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Post by janetandjohn on Feb 14, 2018 14:18:16 GMT
My retreat is in the living room in front of the woodburner in the winter, and in the garden in the summer. I can read in the car, on buses, trains etc, so I listened to the article but decided having to pay for an environment in which to read was just "over the top".
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anzee
Agatha Christie Whodunnit
Posts: 284
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Post by anzee on Feb 14, 2018 17:01:05 GMT
Thanks for the link, Janice. I think you'd need to be pretty desperate to have to pay for somewhere to read and if you end up discussing books you certainly wouldn't get much reading done. I see they offer "a 'device sitting' service where we can look after them for you whilst you stay with us to keep distraction to a minimum." Fortunately, I don't have that problem, since I own no devices. In addition, "at each retreat we also welcome an author, who joins us for dinner, to talk about their writing and their own enjoyment of reading." Could be interesting, I suppose, depending on the author, but on the other hand he or she would no doubt hope to flog their books! As for the so-called Reading Prescription - "If you are looking for inspiration ... we will prepare a personally tailored reading list" - I find a lot of inspiration on these forums!
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Post by janetandjohn on Feb 14, 2018 17:34:41 GMT
Thanks for the link, Janice. I think you'd need to be pretty desperate to have to pay for somewhere to read and if you end up discussing books you certainly wouldn't get much reading done. I see they offer "a 'device sitting' service where we can look after them for you whilst you stay with us to keep distraction to a minimum." Fortunately, I don't have that problem, since I own no devices. In addition, "at each retreat we also welcome an author, who joins us for dinner, to talk about their writing and their own enjoyment of reading." Could be interesting, I suppose, depending on the author, but on the other hand he or she would no doubt hope to flog their books! As for the so-called Reading Prescription - "If you are looking for inspiration ... we will prepare a personally tailored reading list" - I find a lot of inspiration on these forums! Hahahaha! That's just like Amazon saying "..... based on former purchases we suggest....." and then they go on to suggest books I read years ago, or something I.do.not.want.to.read! I too get more inspiration on here than I have ever had on Amazon - and paying for a personally tailored anything is beyond the pale, really! |
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anzee
Agatha Christie Whodunnit
Posts: 284
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Post by anzee on Feb 14, 2018 19:55:51 GMT
Exactly. I've found some great books mentioned on here and have often gone on to suggest them to my reading group, e.g. 'The Little Paris Bookshop.'
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Post by geminii on Feb 14, 2018 20:38:48 GMT
I love reading in my garden, sitting on a blanket at a park, or at the coast on any sunny day .. you can always find a quiet spot for free .. Not only does any money spent on a retreat means less cash available for book buying, you are having to fit in with someone else's timetable .. It's a no brainer for me ..  |
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Post by pennyt on Feb 15, 2018 8:10:09 GMT
mandyj went on several reading retreats with Guy Pringle from Newbooks magazine and Nb subscribers. They had a house in France and from what I remember the format was very similar to what anzee describes above. They always sounded like a nice idea for a break with like-minded people - but as the rest of you have said, I don't feel I need to get away from it all to be able to read and I get all the recommendations and bookish chatter I need from you lot, on here, at meets and so on. (I miss that old hug emoji!)
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Post by janetandjohn on Feb 15, 2018 8:44:11 GMT
mandyj went on several reading retreats with Guy Pringle from Newbooks magazine and Nb subscribers. They had a house in France and from what I remember the format was very similar to what anzee describes above. They always sounded like a nice idea for a break with like-minded people - but as the rest of you have said, I don't feel I need to get away from it all to be able to read and I get all the recommendations and bookish chatter I need from you lot, on here, at meets and so on. (I miss that old hug emoji!) |
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Post by windysisters on Feb 15, 2018 10:34:25 GMT
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Post by geminii on Feb 15, 2018 11:21:20 GMT
Not the same as the old one but close enough? That is soo cute ..  |
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Post by mandyj on Feb 16, 2018 14:48:09 GMT
mandyj went on several reading retreats with Guy Pringle from Newbooks magazine and Nb subscribers. They had a house in France and from what I remember the format was very similar to what anzee describes above. They always sounded like a nice idea for a break with like-minded people - but as the rest of you have said, I don't feel I need to get away from it all to be able to read and I get all the recommendations and bookish chatter I need from you lot, on here, at meets and so on. (I miss that old hug emoji!) I loved those "retreats" with Guy Pringle - we had such wonderful times. I certainly didn't "need" to get away but to spend some time with like minded fellow readers, discover new books and talk about them AND have a chance to explore a corner of France was too good to miss. I look back on those trips with great fondness and nostalgia..... |
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Post by jen on Feb 17, 2018 10:47:24 GMT
I've heard of writing retreats and I'd love to go on one. I'm just not brave enough to go off on my own. I never heard of a reading retreat, I don't get much reading done when I go on holiday because my boyfriend is not a reader. I love the idea of meeting up with other book lovers and chatting but you could do that anywhere. I only know a few book lovers and we're not all into the same books. My mother prefers historical and my sister I have no idea. I love chatting online and reading book blogs, don't really have a retreat at home but can't wait to move and finally have room for more books  And a proper garden to read in the summer. |
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And a proper garden to read in the summer.