What about this for an idea for a trip? Getting away to relax, read and enjoy the serenity of a lakeside resort in the mountains? Do you like to read? Does this sound like fun? You have heard of it but never tried it? We will stop with all the questions and get right to the reading and the retreating!
We had the chance to join a weekend reading retreat at the Mill Falls Resort Collection in Meredith, New Hampshire. The Mill Falls is on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee.
Arriving on a Friday I was greeted by Lee, at the front desk, who was very friendly and checked me into a great room in the Birch Lodge, which was part of the Church Landing section of the property on the resort. The room was spacious with a large bathroom and sitting area complete with balcony overlooking a perfect view of the lake. Two important elements of a room for a reading retreat, the room had a fireplace and a wonderful reading nook!
The Mill Falls Resort Collection at the lake comprises a little village with four restaurants, twelve shops, and a full service spa. You encounter it just as you enter the town of Meredith. Church Landing is just across the street from the Mill Falls Marketplace. There is even an Innisfree Bookshop that is (next to a Ben and Jerry’s) in the marketplace with a wonderful waterfall running through. This time of year it was quiet and in between seasons but still very active at the property.
The next person we met was Angi. When I met Angi, she introduced herself as the Director of Fun. Angie was responsible for creating and setting up the reading event. She is a reader and she wanted to put on something that was accessible to a wide range of reading tastes, and planned a careful schedule where you could participate as much as you like where participants also had the freedom to just do their own thing. Her enthusiasm for reading came through but also understanding the nuances that it is a solitary activity that can and should be shared. Who doesn’t like to talk about books?
We met by the library of the hotel to get our gift bag and close by there is a small cozy area with plenty of books to choose from.
When you’re a literary traveler you’re really never traveling alone. A book is a great conversation starter and trustworthy companion. You’re always a part of what you’ve read and the excitement that fills your imagination is a shared experience.
People came to the reading retreat from as far away as Georgia. Two from Rochester, New York and other parts of New Hampshire and a few from Massachusetts. All were looking to get away to talk about reading. Reading is a great escape. It can set your imagination free and energize you to face life head on. Readers are not shy, they’ll give you their opinion and tell you what it is, if they like the book or if they didn’t or they put it down or they read them all twice. I met moms and friends and sisters just looking to chill with a book. Also they weren’t shy to say, “look I put the book down, I couldn’t finish it.” It was fun to speak with them all and talk about books and hear what they liked and all of their various recommendations.
Lake Winnipesaukee sets a good backdrop for reading event. Being on the edge of the lake makes it feel like a bit of a different world. As the seasons were changing, there were still people ice fishing during the day and over the winter the lake is busy. Earlier in the season there were multiple hockey rinks not far from the shore when the ice is firmer. And in the summer the lake comes alive and becomes an even greater focus of activity. A warm day at the end of winter makes you think of how great summer could be here with a book by the water.
On the first evening we had a welcome dinner complete with butternut squash, Caesar salad and macaroons.
And later after dinner we enjoyed s’mores around the fire and got to know each other a bit more. Many were on the trip to get away and take a breath. There were a few parents with young children who deserved a short getaway. Sometimes you like to get away to appreciate what you have.
At the start of evening if the weather is right and the sky is clear, you will have a beautiful view of the Moon rising in the evening directly on the opposite shore and in the morning the sun also rises in the same spot.
The lake is a really a large lake and this is just one small part of it. Two sisters who were on the reading retreat were big readers and they told me what it was like to grow up in the summer on Pine Island (a small island at another part of the lake). They described how they would spend the entire summer there and read by the water or wherever they could) and now that they had their own family and the island is part of the fabric of their lives and they read books to their children over the summertime when they bring their children there.
The agenda for the weekend included cocktail receptions, lunches, buffet dinners, book swaps, wine and chocolate tastings, yoga, dinners, lunches, bookstore visits, discussions with publishers and don’t forget reading.
The Mill Falls has plenty of places just to relax and do whatever you feel like. There is even a pool room, and an adults only pool and jacuzzi (which was also on the agenda).
The restaurant had plenty of cozy spots to sit and relax and people watch and enjoy some late night snacks at the Lake House Grill.
We had the chance to visit the (Independent) Innisfree Bookshop, where we were able to browse their great selection but also there was a chance to meet with representatives of Simon and Schuster and Harper Collins to get recommendations on new releases and what summer reads were not to be missed.
The weekend was really about going away to read and relax. And honestly it was good to be in “the field” with other readers. One of my favorite things about the weekend was that we were encouraged by Angi that we should all give recommendations and bring or take books in a book swap. Confession – I am audiobooks all the way. I live and breathe them. Classic, Fiction, Non Fiction and Personal Development. I picked up a few books to start and feeling a physical book was fun. But once I got on the road back home I grabbed the audiobook version of Jackie Collin’s Thrill and I couldn’t put it down (stop listening.) Also I now have a list of book recommendations that I got from actual readers that I met in person including, The Women, Fourth Wing, Outlander, The Storyteller. One interesting thing I never thought of and this came from serious readers – was that they will put on an audiobook if it is non fiction or play it while they are working or doing things around the house, but when it comes to fiction, they change to a physical book – “I don’t want anything to take away my attention. I am going to give it all to the book.”
Literary Travel is in many ways about seeing what’s in front of you, but also putting a little distance between your normal life with all of it’s challenges that confront you and stepping into your imagination. Reading is traveling, and there is nothing better than connecting with other readers and exploring your literary imagination. Reading alone can be fun but with a group to cheer you on you’ll get more done.
To learn more about the Mills Falls or take a Resort Vacation in New Hampshire please visit https://www.millfalls.com/
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Francis McGovern is the co-founder and founding editor and publisher at Literary Traveler. He has run the site for over 27 years. He was at Walking Magazine and then worked at the search engine Lycos.com where he served as a product manager for their suite of personalization products including My Fidelity and My Lycos.
Francis has also run a search engine consulting practice as well as serve as Vice President of Operations for the reviewed.com network. He has helped to lead and develop many literary tours and cruises and loves to discuss books and ideas with a group of travelers as they discover new places.
