It might seem counterintuitive, going somewhere else to do something you can just as easily do at home. But when the idea of holing up in brisk Nantucket with a silly little novel was floated to me, I couldn’t think of anything more seductive. Surely, if I plopped myself in a new environment, one as peaceful as coastal New England, I’d finally be able to get lost in that book I’ve been meaning to finish—a high I’ve been chasing ever since the long forgotten days of sustained silent reading.
It turns out I am not alone in my desire for a distraction-free reading retreat. According to Expedia Group’s 2026 travel report, “Unpack ‘26,” 91% of Expedia travelers are “seeking getaways focused on reading, relaxation, and quality time with loved ones.” As the #BookTok reader community continues to make chatter on TikTok, the search term “book club retreat ideas” is up 265% on Pinterest. Vrbo reveals that, in general, Gen Z travelers and Millennials are leading the charge toward more intentional, wholesome escapes.
In an effort to be as unbothered as possible, I decided to go at this alone. I arrived from New York City, book in hand, to my “Literary Oasis,” a light-splashed, two-story loft situated on top of the independent bookstore, Nantucket Bookworks, conveniently located in the heart of town. After ascending the staircase adjacent to the bookstore, I entered the scholastic living room, its floor-to-ceiling bookshelves colored by a rainbow of spines. Large, colonial windows revealed glimpses of the season’s golden foliage as well as the surrounding gray shingles so characteristic of Nantucket.
Although I made it a solo trip this time around, I could easily picture a group of friends filling the three bedrooms—one king, one queen, and one loft bedroom with double twins. The expansive kitchen, with its wooden island and leather stools, is the perfect place to get creative after a visit to Bartlett’s Farms (the island’s oldest farm, a 15-minute drive away), and the grand dining table is ideal for celebrating a meal well-prepared. I wasted no time getting comfy on the brown leather couch, ready to pore into Rebecca Makai’s The Great Believers. I appreciated how homey it all felt, the mismatched pillows and framed quotes from the likes of E.E. Cummings and Roald Dahl.
It’s not often I go on vacation with an intention as simple as reading. Although many Nantucket hotspots—Something Natural, Cru Oyster Bar, to name a few—had just closed for the season, it made my mission all the more attainable. I struck a nice balance between holding myself accountable and going off-script, sniffing out parts of the island that perhaps don’t get enough attention during the peak summer months. In between chapters, I biked along the Creeks salt marsh, taking in the quacks of ducks and the browning sea grass; ate my weight in clam chowder; and timed the infamous Bluff Walk with sunset, peering inside shadowy cottages that appeared stuck in time.
It was a particularly bookish moment to be on the island, as 2026 marks the 175th anniversary of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. (Oh, you haven’t heard?) Jokes aside, that dusty heft of a novel was set in Nantucket during the height of the whaling era, and it felt pretty cool to be staying right next door to the Jared Coffin House, a former captain’s mansion where Melville stayed during his first visit to the island (surprisingly, a year after he wrote Moby Dick).
