It’s no secret that Kiwis like to read books – especially women, with a recent survey showing a whopping 91% of females in Aotearoa picked up a novel in the past 12 months.
Hanna Rauch is one of those women. The 29-year-old has been a book lover ever since she read the Harry Potter series while growing up in northern Italy.
Recalls Hanna, “I must have been seven or eight when I read the first Harry Potter book. I remember thinking, ‘I can’t wait to read the others.’”
Reading was an obsession all through high school, while Hanna did a marketing degree in Austria and Belgium, and when she came to New Zealand on a gap year.
“I travelled around with a friend and fell in love with this country,” she tells.
It’s also where Hanna fell for Belgian physiotherapist Jeroen Mattheus.

“We met on Rakiura [Stewart Island] while my friend and I were on a 10-day hike,” she recalls. “But we ran out of food and ended up at a DoC hut where Jeroen was also staying.”
The couple returned to Europe but never forgot about Aotearoa. They decided to move here in 2021, settling in Kāpiti, where Hanna had worked while on her gap year.
“I’ve continued running my social media consultancy with clients from Europe but also picking up Kiwi clients, such as the Kāpiti Food Fair,” she says.
With more free time on her hands, Hanna’s love of reading kicked into overdrive, especially for the psychological thrillers and fantasy novels she devours.
Eager to share her passion for literature, Hanna helped set up a local book club. They still meet once a month.
But she realised she could take that passion to another level when she spotted a reading resort on TikTok.

“It was a UK retreat where you basically spend the whole weekend reading books uninterrupted,” she enthuses. “It really appealed to me because so many people say they love to read but just don’t have the time. There are many women I’ve met who’re raising kids and working full-time, which doesn’t leave much capacity for reading books.”
Hanna’s research uncovered similar retreats in the US that were similar to low-budget summer camps, where guests slept in bunk beds and helped with chores.
“But I had the idea of something more luxurious. Someone else would do all those daily tasks, so you could just read for the whole weekend,” tells Hanna. “Most women spend all their time taking care of others. This was a chance to have someone take care of them.”
A video Hanna recorded for TikTok about holding a Kiwi reading retreat went viral, with hundreds eager to sign up.
“Nothing like it exists here,” she says. “People from all over the country wanted to know how they could be a part of it. That’s when I established the Busy With Books retreats.”

An upmarket Airbnb in Hawke’s Bay was the setting for Hanna’s first retreat in November last year.
“I capped the number at five women because many book lovers can be introverted and might not feel comfortable speaking in a large group,” she explains. “We created a cosy atmosphere for the participants who snuggled down and read books. One of them, a mother of young children, walked in and said, ‘Listen to that glorious silence!’”
Hanna called on her Italian and German background to cater for the weekend.
“I cooked dishes such as lasagne, pizza and tiramisu,” she says. “But also apple strudel because I ate a lot of that growing up near the Austrian border!”
While attendees brought their own books, Hanna also provided some for a book swap and initiated what she calls a “blind date with a book”.

She tells, “I wrapped them so that guests didn’t know what genre it was. It’s a way to broaden your comfort zone and read a book that you might not have otherwise picked up.”
Hanna is surprised at how popular Busy With Books has proved. She has around 700 people on her mailing list and others are added daily.
“I work in marketing, so I know how to get people excited, but I’ve been blown away by the response,” she enthuses. “I did a second retreat in Martinborough at the end of March and I’m scouting locations for a South Island retreat because lots of South Islanders have reached out asking when I’m going to bring the concept south.”
Offshore trips could also be on the cards, with locations such as Australia, Fiji and Bali all possibilities.
“I’ve got lots of ideas,” she reveals. “But first I want to make sure I can provide Kiwis with a great reading experience before I go further afield.”
To find out more, visit busywithbooks.com.