Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Hi everybody, and welcome to a new Top Ten Tuesday!
Today’s topic is about ‘bookish events I want to go to’, but I’m tweaking the topic just a bit and changing it up to ‘bookish activities I wish were more common’. Because sure, I want to go to bookish events, but really I wish we had MORE and MORE KINDS OF bookish events. So here are just 10 bookish activities I wish were more common:
Reading retreats
I am of the opinion that everybody should get a few days off from work, specifically to read. This would be the perfect time to go an a reading retreat in a little cozy cabin in the middle of nature with other book lovers and just spend all days reading, snacking and having impromptu dance parties.
Socializing, but everybody’s reading
Sure, I Iove going to gatherings and hanging out at family or friends’ houses, but why can’t it be socially acceptable to spend your time there reading? I like being around people I love, and being able to hang out with them and read together would be perfect. I mean, a lot of people spend their time browsing their phone anyway, so doesn’t reading together sound way more fun and cozy?
Being read to
It’s not just for little kids, okay! I wish I could be read to more often or that I could fall asleep every night with somebody reading to me. We can switch of course since I’d be happy to be the one reading as well. Just… I want bedtime stories, okay?
Launch parties
If movies can have major premieres, why can’t books? I’d love to dress up all fancy and go to an event where the author is interviewed and reads an excerpt of the book and afterwards we can all buy the book, get it signed and then go home and read it.
Book bars and book coffee shops
I want there to be more places where you can go during the day or in the evenings to have a drink or a tasty snack, but where they also have a huge selection of books! Have breakfast and read a book. Have a tea and read a book. Go for cocktails and read a book. I know I’d definitely be going out more if places like this were more common.
Book fairs
Here in Belgium, we have like one major book fair a year. I want more. And I want a bigger variety of international authors to attend them because I get so jealous of seeing other book bloggers going to fairs and meeting their favorite authors.
Book clubs and bookish discussions
Maybe in some places it’s a common thing, but here in Belgium I’ve only heard about book clubs through movies, TV or other book bloggers. I want to join a book club in my neighborhood as well! I guess I could always start one though, but I worry I’d be the only member…
Bookstore tours
When visiting a new city, can we have more bookstore tours? Like, a nice guided tour throughout all the city’s bookstores, with plenty of time to browse at each one. Sounds perfect, right?
Bookish cosplay parties
I would really love to see more bookish cosplay. I’d love to go to a party dressed up as my favorite character and then guessing who other people are and striking up conversations with them because they are dressed as a character from your favorite book so obviously you’re immediately best friends right?
Publishing open house
I am so intrigued about the publishing world and I know there are sometimes company open houses where you can go and visit a company and I really want to do this for publishing houses. I want to see how they work and what an average working day looks like.
Tell Me:
What kind of bookish activity do you wish was more common?
OMG these are all genius!! I would do a dance if there was a bookstore tour in a city I was visiting. That would be even cooler than going on a ghost tour. Also, I’m all for the launch parties, book reading parties, cosplaying parties– just all the bookish parties!!
We definitely need more bookish parties 😉 I just don’t understand why bookstore tours are not a thing yet, haha!
I would love going on a book retreat!!!!! And Lindsey we should ask other Belgian book blogger if they would organize a booj event with us with English and American authors! We’d have also YA authors and romance and crime so everyone would find someone to meet! Maybe we could time it with some book release and have a launch party? And then if we rented a B&B or…for us bloggers we could take turn reading to each other!!!!
What do you think of my dream?
I would love to meet you, Inge, Maud and we’d speak English, Nederlands, French whatever. ?
OMG, that sounds like the best bookish combo, combining all the best bookish activities! I would totally love to go to that event!
And yes, it would be awesome to meet up with fellow Belgian book bloggers! (Perhaps even Dutch or French bloggers as well, if not too far and after the pandemic obviously) 🙂
Great twist on this week’s topic! I would love to have a go at some bookish cosplay, that sounds so fun.
Thanks! Bookish cosplay just sounds like so much fun indeed, I wish we had more of it 🙂
Reading retreat sounds like a dream come true <3 I'd love that so so much. Although, my bf would probably get so bored, he is not a big reader and he can't stay still for more than a minute 😀
We also only have 1 book fair, usually during July / August and this year it's obvs cancelled 🙁 But even during the fair, there are not a lot English books and the prices are still too high for my liking.
Haha, I understand, my husband is also not a big reader and not a fan of sitting still 😀 Maybe the non-readers could do another activity together or something 😉
Here it’s the same, one book fair a year (cancelled this year), but with very few English books and indeed pretty expensive…
I would love to go to a reading retreat someday. It sounds so lovely! Sterling Books in Brussels used to have a book coffee shop but I guess it didn’t do so well because they changed back to just being a book shop, sadly enough. 🙁 And about book fairs… are you talking about de boekenbeurs? This year it’s canceled so we don’t even have that *sobs*
I’m definitely a bit obsessed with the idea of a reading retreat, haha 🙂
Oh I didn’t even know about Sterling Books, but that’s such a pity that it’s no longer a book coffee shop! If I could, I’d start one myself but that’s a dream for another day…
Yes, de boekenbeurs! I went a few times and liked it, but I want more of them, with a big English selection 🙂 I’m so bummed it’s cancelled, though I heard they were considering some smaller events or something virtual so here’s hoping!
These all sound so wonderful! I love the idea of reading retreats! The author Staci Hart has a book bar running through some of her books; the characters work there or visit their friends. They have cool book-related events, too.
Oh yes, I read Wasted Words by Staci Hart last month and fell in love with the book bar! I so wanted it to be real, because I’d probably hang out there A LOT, haha 🙂
Oh, these are fab ideas! I love the idea of a book launch party. I know big books like Harry Potter and Twilight had midnight release parties, and I wish that was more common, because they were so much fun. I would totally go on a reading retreat. That sounds amazing!!! Also, I’m someone who hangs out with friends and we just read quietly and it’s the BEST!
-Lauren
Yeah, I remember those launch parties! I went to purchase the last Harry Potter on a sort of special premiere day (not really a launch party, but the bookstore was open specifically for that book) and I already thought that was the coolest thing ever, just everybody lining up for the same book. I can only image how cool a real launch party would be 🙂
That’s so fun that you can hang out with friends and read together! My friends would need some convincing, but I’m prepared to make a presentation to convince them if need be, haha 🙂
I would definitely love to go to a reading retreat as well! An entire weekend of reading sounds blissful 🙂
It does sound so blissful, doesn’t it? I really, really want to do one one day! 🙂
I love the idea of reading retreats! That would be so cool! And I need more launch parties too!
If I could, I’d make a yearly reading retreat mandatory for all, haha 🙂
Reading retreats sound awesome- we need more of those! And I had to laugh at the people browsing their phones part- right? If they’re gonna do that we might as well all just read read, right? Ha! Also, would love to have places that have both food and books…
We definitely need more reading retreats – like they could be a yearly thing!
I’ll never understand why browsing phones all the time is okay, while reading a book would be anti-social 🙂
And books and food is the best combo ever, so I don’t know why it’s not more common.
A reading retreat should be part of everyone’s employment package. We want people to be lifelong learners, right?
I’m always asking my husband to read to me. That should have been something I put in my marriage contract.
Reading retreats should definitely be part of employment packages! Haha, yeah, I should totally have put reading to me in the marriage contract as well 🙂
I need a reading retreats in my life! Such a great idea. I love what you did this week!
We definitely need a yearly reading retreat, it should be mandatory haha 🙂
I also want sitting around and reading together to be more of a thing!!
With the bookish reading spots, what it sounds like you want is for your local library to partner with your local coffee shop. What an interesting idea!! There’s actually reasonable rotating services that already exist, and this wouldn’t be too difficult for a library to do! Ooooooo, now I’m excited! I’ll have to write an email to one of the librarians nearby and suggest it to them!
Oh I hope you’ll get it to happen at one of the libraries near your home – keep me posted if they would do something like this, because that would be awesome 🙂
Such an amazing list!! I love all of these so much. A reading retreat sounds heavenly. And someday I want to join a bookclub! 😉
Thanks! I’d be so happy if I could go on a reading retreat or be part of an actual book club 🙂
You reminded me of the scene in Fangirl where Cath reads to Levi. 🙂
A lot of authors do launch parties… but they’re often local and people don’t dress up.
Haha yeah, that scene was awesome!
Yes there are launch parties, but I wish they’d be bigger, kind of like movie premieres. And it would be handy (though probably not practical haha) if they could all happen close to my home 😉
I’m nodding my head the entire time I was reading through your list. This all sounds like heaven to me. 🙂
It would definitely be heaven to have all of these activities be common! 🙂
Loved your twist on this prompt! So much yes to all of this. I’ll order one of each of these events, please. xD Reading together is definitely more fun than it sounds, and hubby and I do it almost every evening. It’s definitely something I think should happen more! I would LOVE to go to a bookish cosplay party!
Thanks! We definitely need more events like these 🙂
Aww that’s awesome that you and your husband read together! My husband’s not a reader, but sometimes I read while he’s browsing his phone and I’m like ‘this also works’ haha 🙂
This list of activities is like a dreaaaam. 🙂
I know, right? Wish it were real though 🙂