La Story (Les Echos) Analysis: The Bookmates Reading Camp—The Solo Travel Boom Born from Social Media
August 4, 2026
Overview
In this episode of La Story, the daily podcast from the French economic newspaper Les Echos, host Clara Grousis reports on a day spent at a "reading camp" (camp de lecture) in Seignosse, in the Landes department of southwestern France, as part of a special feature exploring new ways to spend summer vacations.
A reading camp is an experience where book lovers spend a week of vacation in the same location, reading by the pool and discussing the books they have read. Most participants are women in their 20s and 30s, with diverse professions including lawyers, doctors, teachers, students, and web developers. This phenomenon emerged from social media, particularly the "BookTok" reading community on TikTok, and has gained popularity as a movement that brings online connections into the real world.
The episode focuses on an interview with Mathilde Chalère-Lassuisse, founder of The Bookmates, the company that operates the camps, and incorporates the voices of participants to delve into why these camps are so well-supported.
A Day at the Seignosse Reading Camp
This reading camp is held in a large mansion in Seignosse, Landes. Surrounded by nature and equipped with a pool, a yoga room, a sauna, a cold plunge, and numerous bedrooms, this is where 24 participants spend a week.
A Tuesday morning in July begins at 8:00 AM with aqua gym in the pool, led by the camp's creator, Mathilde Chalère-Lassuisse. After the exercise, everyone has breakfast prepared by chef Nadia De Codin. Throughout the week, participants can join sports or craft workshops, or simply read by the pool. On this day, a workshop for customizing book pouches was scheduled.
While men are not excluded, only a very small number have participated since the camp began in 2023. About 95% of participants come alone, and it is said that even for introverts, the common topic of "reading" makes it easy for conversations to arise naturally, even among strangers.
The participation fee for this year's cheapest plan is 1,050 euros (approximately 190,000 yen, calculated at 1 euro = 181.00 yen) for 7 days and 6 nights, which includes all activities, accommodation, and three meals a day.
Voices of the Participants
Juliette, 27, who is attending for the fifth time, says she learned about the camp through videos by literary influencers. She has participated in themed stays (romance sessions, fantasy sessions), summer camps, and retreats in mountain chalets in the autumn. She says she values the ability to cut off her busy daily life in Lyon for a week and share her interests with fellow book lovers.
Sonia Demal, 32, has been reading since she was a child. She explains that while her family has a grandmother who reads classic literature, there are few people around her who read the "romantasy" (a portmanteau of romance and fantasy) that she enjoys, and she had been waiting for a place where she could discuss her hobby with like-minded people. She says the camp offers the freedom to immerse herself in her own world without being disturbed, and it is comforting to be well-cared for without even needing to prepare meals. She notes that while people around her are a bit puzzled by this way of vacationing, they do not disapprove.
Mathilde, 24, is a first-time participant. She says that during a period when she had drifted away from reading due to her studies, she found the children's section unsatisfying and was not interested in thrillers or self-help books. When she encountered the "new genre" shelves on social media and in bookstores, she realized it was an extension of the books she read during her adolescence. She was strongly drawn to works with mature perspectives and intricate world-building. Even though she is not usually social, she said she felt at ease from the first day at the camp.
The Rise of Romantasy and BookTok
Romance novels gradually increased their presence among bookstores and publishers in the 2010s, with young adult and subsequently new adult titles leading some authors to success. Today, the new genre of "romantasy," which combines romance and fantasy, has established itself as one of the most vibrant sectors in the publishing world. While 2025 is considered to have been a somewhat quieter year, this new literature is spreading through social media, especially BookTok, and the success of the reading camps is not unrelated to this trend.
At the camp, there is a system where participants can choose from three common books proposed directly by publishers specializing in these new genres. One of the assigned books for this week was a romance novel by Béa Fitzgerald, inspired by the myth of Pandora. Every evening, participants gather for an aperitif and discuss the parts they read that day.
Founder Mathilde Chalère-Lassuisse on The Bookmates
The Bookmates founder Mathilde Chalère-Lassuisse previously created literary content on social media. She says the idea for the reading camp was sparked when she realized that "there is no dedicated space for readers to meet" after experiencing the charm of worlds shared and exchanged by readers while attending events featuring authors.
She suffered from acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the age of 12 and spent three years of her adolescence in the hospital. She says she became obsessed with reading after a book she borrowed from the library because she was bored with movies, and she hasn't stopped since. She describes reading as "a quiet time to face myself, where I can escape from reality," and says her desire for that escape is why she reads so much fantasy.
In 2023, when the idea was posted on social media, the response spread instantly. The founder built a website, rented a lodge near Seignosse, and with the help of seven close friends, made the first camp a reality for 24 people. This inaugural event was a huge success, and the first retreat was held in October of the same year.
This business was initially launched not as a business plan, but as a pursuit of the founder's "ideal form." After finishing the first camp, the founder realized that the essence of The Bookmates lay in "family-like warmth, compassion, and a safe place." In a fast-paced society, there was a demand for a space where people could reconnect with themselves, leave their household burdens at home, and think only about "what to read." As part of efforts to support readers and authors, they also partner with publishers to introduce quality works that lack marketing budgets and host small-scale meetups with authors.
The founder was a teacher in Switzerland but quit after the first camp, working at a cafe while preparing for future camps at night. After setting a six-month deadline for herself, she resigned in the fourth month to focus entirely on running the camps. She currently operates the business with Nadia, a chef, and Justine, who handles communications. She reflects that having a teaching qualification provided a sense of security—knowing she could return to her job if things didn't work out—which encouraged her to take the leap.
Reservations filling up by the minute and a growing community
Demand is extremely high, and when registration opens, it often fills up in minutes. For this summer's camp, about 120 spots, combining pre-sales in December and general sales in April, sold out in about 20 minutes. Participants say that, just like with concert tickets, they open three screens at once when sales start to try and secure a seat.
About 95% of participants come alone, but communities born from the camps are emerging everywhere; people who met at the camp go on vacations together afterward, or gather in groups of 10 or 15 at reading festivals to take commemorative photos. The founder says that seeing a community grow through the solitary act of reading is her greatest joy.
The feedback from participants that stays with her the most is, "For the first time, I was able to be my true self." Reading was once often considered "uncool" or an activity to be done in secret, but at this camp, it is perfectly normal for 24 people to sit in a room and read intently without saying a word. The founder feels that this space, where social norms are stripped away, has become a salvation for many people.
Moving forward, in addition to themed stays such as horror or romance sessions in partnership with the publisher Pocket, she plans to continue the reading camps and retreats. She said she wants participants to return home feeling that "there is a place for me in this world, and I am someone who matters."
▶ Previous article in this series: La Story (Les Echos) Analysis: "Co-voyage"—The New Trend of Traveling with Strangershttps://note.com/yondo/n/n4ba855d9ffbd
▶ Read more articles on this theme: Magazine "Overseas Business Programs Not Available in Japanese"https://note.com/yondo/m/mefd2fd5a305c
#France #EconomicNews #LesEchos #ReadingCamp #BookTok #Romantasy #Publishing #SNS #Vacation #TikTok #Reading #Community