Tax Deadline, Washington DC and Emancipation Day Holiday

What do these have to do with books? Not much, but they have a lot to do with this newsletter this time of year

Hi readers,

Most every year, the tax deadline falls on April 15th, but this year it happens on Monday, April 18th. It’s normal for the deadline to move to a Monday when the 15th falls on the weekend, but the 15th was on Friday last week, so why was the tax deadline yesterday? You can read about why here, but this means another quick one for today's newsletter. I’m writing this on Easter Sunday, so I’m not working, but I am exhausted. Just one more day to get through.

I’m taking off work Thursday and Friday this week to recuperate and catch up on some reading and relaxation. In May, I’m taking an entire week off work for newsletter planning and a few days for a reading retreat, which I’m so looking forward to. What is a reading retreat? Keep reading to find out.

• As a kid, I can remember the bookmobile coming through my neighborhood, even though the library was less than a mile away. Here is a quick history of the bookmobile.

• This article is a few years old, but I found it so interesting. I often wish food looked as good in real life as it does in the commercials.

• If you cheered when Coda won Best Picture at the 2022 Oscars, you need to read Sara Novic’s latest book, True Biz. But before you start the book, peruse this Electric Lit interview with her about the book.

• It’s getting close to summer travel season, and many people travel by car instead of flying. People constantly request the “best audiobooks” for road trips. This Bookriot article lists great selections for solo, duo, and family road trips to make the time fly.

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Have you heard about reading retreats before? I was signed up to go to one with 8-10 other women in April 2020 (this one), and we all know how that turned out. Maybe your desire is for a few days alone, away from your everyday life and responsibilities, to do all the reading and relaxing you can. Reading retreats can be big or small, planned or flying by the seat of your pants; it’s yours to design a retreat to meet your needs and provide opportunities to feed your book-loving soul. Here are a few links to help you plan your reading retreat, with or without others involved.

• I’ve followed Courtney on her blog, The Incessant Bookworm, for a couple of years; here is what she says about her solo reading retreat. There’s also a YT video she recorded during her retreat.

• Create your own DIY reading retreat with help from articles like this and this.

• If you want to go “all-out” on your reading retreat and travel away from home, here are a few articles to give you some ideas: 7 Great Vacations for Readers, a bookstores and Airbnb reading retreat, and splurge on a group reading retreat at Sea Ranch in California.

• If you’d like to stay with the bookish theme but take a break from reading while on your retreat, here are a few ideas to add to your experience: you can watch past bookish festival events here, here, and here; watch author interviews for the Stay At Home Book Tour, which helped authors who’s book tours were canceled at the beginning of Covid, or visit an independent bookstore. One of these in this article might be close to where you are retreating.

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I’d love to hear about your plans for a vacation this year; do you do anything special like a reunion or family vacation every summer, or something different each year? Do you get lots of reading done or find there is no time to read? If you’ve ever planned a reading retreat for yourself, please tell me all about it. I’m open to any ideas.

I hope you have a great week doing what’s important to you, spending time with family and friends, and of course, reading a good book or two. Next Tuesday is my feature on Independent Bookstore Day; maybe your local indie will be one of the featured bookstores. If not, let it inspire you to check out your local indie and help celebrate this special day with them. Happy reading!