Pack your books for my fall reading retreat!
Relax and read in Washington with new bookish friends from Oct 27-29, 2023.
It’s here! The very first Book Huddle reading retreat. For our first retreat, we will have a quintessential fall weekend in Kenmore, WA, at The Lodge at St. Edward State Park.
With a limited number of attendees, this weekend will leave you feeling cozy, inspired, and connected with avid readers who love books as much as you do.
Your ticket includes:
Your weekend’s book of choice, mailed to you in advance
A designated book club crew for the weekend with guided discussion prompts
A private room and patio with soft seating, reserved just for our group!
All meals, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages
Single or shared room accommodations (with a custom pillow menu!), complete with private modern bathrooms
A welcome gift bag with reader-approved goodies
A cocktail-making class with book-themed drinks (and mocktail options!)
An afternoon winery trip, pickleball tournament, and forest walks—all optional
All taxes, resort fees, and gratuity as required by the venue
Outside the winery tour and cocktail-making class, a cash bar will also be at our Friday and Saturday dinners!
This retreat will be full of quality book discussion, delicious meals, quality tea, quiet time, nature, and opportunities to make friendships with fellow readers. I can’t wait to meet you!
Want privacy? Then you might like your own room with a king-sized bed. (And don’t worry, there will be plenty of opportunities to make friends this weekend!)
Looking for a roomie? Select a shared double-queen room. You can put in a request for your roommate, meet one in Discord, or be matched up!
Note: Air and car transportation to/from the retreat is not included in the fee.
Spend a weekend at an idyllic historic boutique hotel immersed in a state park.
Our retreat will be at The Lodge at St. Edward State Park from Fri Oct 27 - Sun Oct 29, 2023. It’s quiet, beautiful, and steeped in history, and it was ranked as one of TripAdvisor’s Traveller’s Choice Hotels for 2023.
Here are some additional details about the space:
It’s a boutique hotel located 45 minutes from the Seattle-Tacoma Airport
The hotel is immersed in a 326-acre forest with 70+ nature walks alongside Lake Washington
The property was built in 1931 and was recently restored
It offers wheelchair access and reduced mobility rooms
There’s a library with vintage board games, fitness facilities, a pickleball court, art gallery, and access to bikes
Our retreat will have a dedicated private space for the weekend, complete with soft seating for reading and book discussions
There’s 24/7 security and a strong adherence to health and safety protocols
We’ll have complimentary wifi the entire weekend
Want to enjoy a slice of history with like-minded bookworms? Grab your spot below!
Book club! Nature walks! Wine tasting!
This weekend is whatever you want to be. All activities are encouraged, but nothing is mandatory, so you can make this weekend exactly as you’d like it.
Want to read all weekend? Go for it. Feel like partaking in a cocktail-making class? Step right up. Want to check out a nearby winery? There’s a time for that as well.
The itinerary will be solidified to the needs and desires of ticket holders, but in the meantime, here’s what I have in mind:
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Afternoon check-in (and a thank-you welcome bag from me!)
Cocktail/mocktail-making class
First discussion with your weekend book group
Dinner of heavy appetizers with an optional cash bar
Cozy reading for the rest of the evening
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Breakfast on site
All-day private area with soft seating reserved for us to read!
In the late morning, second meeting your book group!
Optional pickleball tournament
Takeaway lunch boxes and then get into a shuttle to go for wine tasting at a nearby winery! We can bring our books and read in the beautiful vineyards, and you're also welcome to stay at the hotel and relax/read there or do a small group nature walk on one of the nearby trails
In the late afternoon, third meeting with your book group
Buffet dinner and cash bar with some fun surprises!
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Breakfast on site
Nature walk on one of the nearby 70+ trails
Final meeting to discuss the last chapters of the book with your group
Room checkout at 11am
For the rest of our final day, we have our private soft seating area, where we can read more and chat with our new friends
Your sleeping accommodations include luxury bedding, modern bathrooms, and—yes—a pillow menu.
For the retreat, you can choose between a shared double-queen room or a solo king room. All guestrooms include:
Luxury bed linens, hypoallergenic down duvets, Beauty Rest Black Napa Luxury Mattress, and a custom pillow menu
50” or 65” HD flat-panel televisions with streaming capabilities. (Although, let’s be honest: We’ll be reading!)
A Nespresso coffee machine, iron and ironing board, hairdryer, robe, and slippers
An in-room safe and desk
If you choose a shared room, you’re welcome to submit a request for a roommate after you secure your retreat ticket. We’ll have a Discord set up for all attendees, so there will be ample time to meet your roommate before the retreat begins!
The solo room ticket includes:
Your own room with a king-sized bed
All meals, snacks, tea, and non-alcoholic beverages from Friday check-in through Sunday late-morning
Activities such as a cocktail-making class, pickleball tournament, winery trip, and nature walks (all optional)
Your weekend book of choice mailed to you in advance of the retreat
A welcome gift bag with goodies
The shared room ticket includes:
A shared room with your own queen-sized bed
All meals, snacks, tea, and non-alcoholic beverages from Friday check-in through Sunday late-morning
Activities such as a cocktail-making class, pickleball tournament, winery trip, and nature walks (all optional)
Your weekend book of choice mailed to you in advance of the retreat
A welcome gift bag with goodies
Once you’re in, you’ll vote on your weekend book track!
For the weekend’s books, we’ll focus on recently published works. This way, we’ll all read the books together for the first time!
All attendees can vote on the weekend’s fiction, fantasy, mystery, or romance book, and then you’ll pick your genre book track for the weekend. I’ve narrowed down some options for us to consider, which include women and BIPOC authors and LGBTQ+ storylines, and I’m open to suggestions as well!
Based on your book track, you’ll be assigned to a group of people who also chose that book, and you’ll meet in four intervals throughout the weekend to discuss your book in quarters.
You’re welcome to read your book in full before (or get a headstart) or read it while you’re there. Regardless, your book will be shipped to you before the weekend begins!
Our potential retreat books:
Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue
The Woman at the Wheel by Penny Haw
Beholder by Ryan La Sala
Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle
The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker
The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon
Night of the Witch by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis
Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake
Tempting the Player by Rebecca Jenshak
A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee
What We Kept to Ourselves by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok
The Voice Upstairs by Laura E. Weymouth
Get ready for an unforgettable getaway.
Organizing this retreat has been a dream come true. The demand for this event has been nothing short of mindblowing, and I am endlessly grateful for your interest. I want this to be a life-changing getaway that helps you relax, recharge, and make bookish friends.
Thanks so much, as always, for your support in helping this come to life. I looking forward to meet you!
Join the fun on TikTok!
Let’s talk books, cozy living, and (of course) Sarah J. Maas on my TikTok!