'Book people are my people': Why your next vacation should be a book retreat

Prologue

We could be on our way to camp — 24 of us are crowded in a charter bus headed north of Los Angeles, our luggage packed in tight underneath the vehicle, the bus swinging widely around scenic turns. We wind our way along the ocean, on Pacific Coast Highway, passing fruit stands, seafood markets and at least one sunflower farm.

But there are no raucous rounds of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" to pass the time on this road trip, no macramé-ing of friendship bracelets. And archery, horseback riding and kickball are not on the agenda this weekend.

The main event? Books.

We're on a readers retreat. This is not to be confused with a writers retreat, where aspiring authors attend instructive workshops and spend chunks of time, alone, working on their manuscripts. Nor is it an authors retreat for published writers to attend panels and network with other authors and publishers.

This bookish vacation — three days in the Santa Ynez Valley wine country — was organized by book magnate of Zibby Media. Her for book lovers, each in a different part of the country, could be considered yet another offshoot of her, which began with a 2018 podcast, "Mom's Don't Have Time to Read Books" (on which she interviews authors) and grew to include a book club, a magazine, classes, a podcast network, a publishing company and now a bookstore in Santa Monica, .