Has a book ever been so consuming that it takes virtually you somewhere new? Well, join the bookcation club!

Book sales are down, as in -40% since 2003. Yet real readers remain a loyal bunch. And they’re taking to the skies to immerse themselves in the settings of favorite books and authors—like romance writer Emily Henry’s “People We Meet on Vacation.”

How fitting! Because since many of these trips are gatherings, even if you hole up on a Croatian beach (like Henry’s main character does), you’re likely to meet some folks a lot like you.

Elaine Lusac’s story in the the NYTimes recently summed up the trend with insights like…

• Although the enthusiasts may skew older, there’s a noteworthy desire to leave behind screens and experience real, 3D places.
• People’s fandom for book locales is, for them, about being in a place through the eyes of the author and character—something guidebooks and travel sites can’t accomplish.
• Hotels and resorts are taking advantage—hosting book clubs and authors, sponsoring and providing titles on a regular basis, and marketing ‘literary sabbaticals.’
• Popular books like Nelson Mandela’s ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ and Elizabeth Gilbert’s ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ did much to create the trend.
• Fans often use the time at the location to…guess what?…read the book (or another related title), rather than go gonzo-traveler and try to see all the touristy sites.

The author is usually asking you to sit with a place rather than rush past it.

As my legs (which are full of metal) age (along with the rest of me), a bookcation sounds pretty good right about now. Especially if the novel takes place in fave, magical locations like, say, the Caribbean, New Zealand, or New Orleans.