I’m not trying to sell you a timeshare, and there’s no snake oil involved. All of this is true. All that’s required is: a book. This is not bait-and-switch, y’all: I am earnestly recommending that you take to your calendar, locate a free coming weekend, and make plans to get away—all for the cost of a paperback and a hotel room. It’s the best kind of staycation: one where you’re technically still local, but not actually at home. I’ve done this for readathons before, and it’s totally worth whatever reasonable rate you secure on Orbitz or Airbnb: you pack an outfit to read in, your toothbrush, and your chosen books; you grab some coffee drinks, water, and snacks on the way; you check in to your overnight place; you fill the ice bucket for the victuals; and you veg out to books. You can read all night without loved ones interrupting you, without getting distracted by undone dishes, and without being prodded for love by your pets. It’s just about you, even if it’s just for one night. You can be in the same town and feel worlds away; or you can go a few towns over and be foreign enough to make a walk outside between chapters or books still feel…distant. Separate. Like the nettlesome things that command your attention at home have truly been vacated for awhile.
There’s no passport required, and no one’s going to ask if you’re up on your shots; you don’t have to brave airport lines or crowded buses. You’re there almost instantly, and then you crack your book, and you’re already somewhere else. It’s magical. Here are a few places that you can escape to now, with very little planning required:
Paris
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
New York City
Open City by Teju Cole
The Caribbean
The Sly Company of People Who Care by Rahul Bhattacharya
Miami
Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel
Spain
Iberia James Michener
London
NW by Zadie Smith
Australia
Rain Birds by Harriet McKnight
South America
One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel García Márquez
The South Pacific
Frangipani by Célestine Vaite
Iceland
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Vietnam
No Man’s Land by Duong Thu Huong
Newfoundland
Thoughts on Driving to Venus by Christopher Pratt Please, leave your own readcation recommendations in the comments. Happy travels! ___ *Room and board not included.
