How to Plan Your Book Crawl

Okay, this is a thing that might not actually need explanation . . . But when has that stopped me before? If you follow me on Instagram, you've likely seen pictures of my little human's and my annual book crawl. It's a day during one of her school breaks where we travel around our local area and visit libraries and indie bookstores and usually stop for a coffee/tea/sweet treat and/or a picnic.

Where we live, there are four libraries in a near straight line in the four nearest towns. If we expand our radius a bit, we can hit three more libraries and about four indie bookshops. That's a long day, though, and we try to shake it up so we're not just hitting the same spots every time. So we plot out what our goal is for the day, how far we want to go, and what the timing will look like. Sometimes, we just want to read, maybe do crafts, and take it slow which means more library stops. Other times, we want to explore new titles or otherwise support local businesses, meaning more indie shop and local food or coffee stops. When deciding on what to do in your area, be sure to look up a mix of all of the above to get a good idea of your options and route.

Another consideration is the spacing or timing of things. Drive times, traffic during specific times of day, when you'll be hungry, how long you want to linger at your stops, etc. Of course, if it's somewhere we've never been, we try to keep the timing flexible. In general though, we block out more time for libraries and shorter stints for the bookshops. And coffee shops or lunch stops can be longer when you add in reading/discussion time. Depending on where we are, we might also invite others to join us for specific stops, which, while fun, can definitely make your timing . . . Unpredictable. At least, that's true of my circle.

Lastly, if you're doing a book crawl with little humans, it's important to work in time to really stretch their legs and get moving and the all important bathroom breaks. Libraries can be good for both of these, but bookstores? Not so much. A park stop where you read a short book picked up from a shop or your local library and then send them off to play isn't a bad option, and, if you time it right, picnics are always fun for little humans. In general, we try to keep it on the slow and restful side, but I've found the successful trips to be the ones with a plan that's flexible and adaptable for what we feel/the books we find.

Most importantly, the point of the book crawl is to build on our love of books, learn more about our local libraries, and support local businesses. It's a fun day of reading, exploring, and connecting, and I cannot recommend it enough for book friends, little humans, or just a chance to treat yourself. In fact, I've seen a growing number of people doing their own versions of book crawls making the rounds on social media. I can't take credit for that, but I do really think it's something that anyone could enjoy or benefit from doing. If you decide to plot a crawl of your own, I wish you the best.

Happy reading!