Through some unknown influence in my 20’s, I had an unshakable dream of road-tripping up the California coast. When I was 33, the woman who would later become my wife, took this trip with me.

California is a, um, big state. So we set aside dedicated time to plan. We talked about how we liked to travel, what we wanted to experience, and learned, among other things, that both of us need decompression time every day.

By the time the trip arrived, our excitement was sky high (even with a 5:30am flight to Los Angeles). Over the following seven days we laughed, argued, smiled, and kept returning to each other as if being drawn together by a mysterious force, softly urging us to:

We plotted through five cities, scene after scene. We saw ancient trees that dwarfed us, felt sapphire water that jolted our heart, and listened to locals speak their truth in strange words. My favorite was our nightly debrief, eyelids heavy and daylight fading, reliving the day’s details through an ebullient gratitude you hope never leaves your body.

We wandered and got tired. We rested. We forged ahead and arrived at a cloudy San Francisco. A 400-mile story that was vividly ours.

That trip is a core memory. The places I went and the person I went with are melded together as one experience, inseparable and enduring. Lately, when people ask what’s the benefit of reading together, I tell this story.

We’ve talked about how so many readers are hungry for shared commitment, and a book certainly demands commitment. It transcends the more passive, short-form media that has come to dominate our media consumption. Books take work. That’s part of the deal. And, in return, they give you the reflection, pride, wonder, meaning, and memories that can only emerge from real commitment and effort.

I’ve spoken to readers who bring a level of commitment and effort akin to an Olympian training for the podium. But when I ask about reading with others, they look at me like I’m pressing on an open wound.

“I tried it but the conversation was short - we couldn’t get into it.”

“My book club hardly talks about the book. It's basically a social group.”

“I go to Reddit to see what others think about the book, but I don’t have anyone to really talk with.”

I clung to this, needing to learn why this wasn’t working. The main failure point seemed to be balance. Specifically, overbalancing to one side.

Too much time spent on the book, you end up on your own journey with your thoughts still buried, unmined, and too raw to share. Too much time spent on the other readers, you lose the shared connection point of the book and grasp for other things to fill the void.

This imbalance comes from an approach that sees one part as a secondary extension of the other: “I’m reading this great book and really want to find some people to talk about it with after I’m done.” or “I’m meeting up with my friends, and we’ll talk about the book for a few minutes and then really catch up.”

On a trip, like my California trip, the journey and the travelers often become deeply intertwined across the whole journey. They’re on even footing and co-creating the experience together. Planning, checking-in, debriefs, attention, astonishment - all the things you do to make a trip special and memorable. Now apply it to reading with others.

Since I was young, I’ve always needed to have an upcoming trip to look forward to. This year I’m mostly homebound with two young kids (so needy), but do have great trip on my calendar: Lonesome Dove.

The 900+-page saga some say is the definitive western of our time. I’ve got my fellow readers lined up. I’m running the herd and hoping to take us through an unforgettable experience that echoes into the future. I’ll demand (okay, encourage) the travelers show up and be counted. It’ll be worth it, I tell them. I promise.

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Women Are Quietly Revolutionizing the Travel Industry - and It’s All About Taking Book Clubs to the Next Level (Travel + Leisure, By Opheli Garcia Lawler, published on February 14, 2026)

This article details the rise of multi-day book retreat excursion. Groups travel together and the entire experience is curated around reading and books. From celebrity book clubs to more specific themes, the reading-centric vacation offerings are rising in popularity in multiple countries.

Readers are looking for ways to infuse deeper connection with their reading. Travel takes you out of your daily distractions and gives you the time and place to focus on the reading - and connect with others. There’s something to this desire. And we want to keep pulling the thread so we readers can find this special connection, on a trip and in our everyday lives.

“I want to learn, to understand the text deeper than maybe I can understand it just on my own. And it's to participate with others. It's another tribe - a group to be endeavoring in something with.”

-David, member of Passage community, on why he reads with others

Books are a journey. Fully sharing the journey with people you care for creates shared experiences that can echo through the years.

Thanks for reading and happy travels.

-Joel