How Percy Jackson took me to Cairo✈️

Happy Thursday, booklovers! 

If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to be in a room full of readers – a book club, an author event, maybe just your friend group – you know that sigh of relief that comes with knowing you’ve found your people. 

I had that experience recently in the most extreme setting: a 10-day trip across Egypt, Greece and Italy with 30 strangers. The adventure was part of EF Ultimate Break’s new line of BookTok-inspired international tours. They’ve got one for Harry Potter, A Court of Thorns and Roses and Emily Henry’s “People We Meet on Vacation.” I chose a trip inspired by Rick Riordan’s Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, visiting Cairo, Athens and Rome to learn about the ancient history and mythology that inspired the books. 

I could write an entire essay about everything I learned and saw (and I did), but what sticks with me most now that I’m home and recovering from jet lag is the community I found. Even a few days into the trip, I felt like I had known some of my fellow travelers for years. Starting with books as a baseline felt disarming. Our differing ages, careers, home states and backgrounds didn’t matter – we all were profoundly impacted by reading “Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief” and by books in general. 

And now, from the Great Pyramids of Giza to the Colosseum in Rome, we had completed a Percy Jackson-worthy quest of our own. Interviewing my attendees at our final dinner, many remarked that they felt they belonged more in this group than ever before. Here, there was no such thing as nerding out too much. There was always someone game to trek to the parking lot where Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus in “The Mark of Athena.” There were translated book copies and T-shirts to sign and many, many tears shed. I’ll never forget it.

Check out my full recap of the tour here, plus a feature on why readers are seeking literary tourism opportunities and community abroad.

What does your book community look like? Let me know at[email protected] or reach outon Instagram. Thanks for checking outUSA TODAY Books this week!