Readers pay to step into fiction’s real-world worlds

BookTok turning – A Percy Jackson–inspired trip through Cairo, Athens and Rome, built with quests and matching tattoos, shows how BookTok’s online communities are turning literary fandom into real-world spending—alongside cheaper ways readers are recreating the magic at home.

When a group of Percy Jackson fans landed in Cairo and began following a mythology-themed itinerary, it wasn’t just sightseeing they signed up for—it was the feeling of being pulled back into a childhood world, this time with other people who understood the reference instantly.

On Monday. June 22. 2026. during an episode of The Excerpt podcast titled “What would you give to live inside your favorite fictional world?. ” Books reporter Clare Mulroy described how a Percy Jackson-inspired trip through Cairo. Athens. and Rome offered quests. visits to ancient sites tied to Rick Riordan’s stories. and a community that continued after the trip ended. The result: a closer look at why readers are spending real time and money to connect with books that shaped their lives.

Mulroy said the trip she joined was run by EF Ultimate Break as part of its “new line of book tours. ” where the company adapted existing routes and made them more specific to the books themselves. The tour visited sites connected to Riordan’s mythology series—Egyptian mythology through The Kane Chronicles. Greek mythology through Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus. and Roman mythology.

The itinerary, she said, wasn’t designed only to entertain. It was built around the places that became “historical hyper-fixations” for fans as kids—locations that now feel reachable again, especially for readers who want to trade the page for the physical world.

Mulroy tied the timing of this boom to BookTok. saying that BookTok blew up during the pandemic and helped rebuild or intensify communities around reading. She argued that many people—teens during the pandemic. young adults. and even adults who were reading then—found new communities online and are now seeking a way to connect in person.

She pointed to a practical reality for many travelers on the Percy Jackson trip: several had either never traveled outside their country, never been on a plane, or never solo traveled. For them, the book wasn’t simply entertainment—it was a shared doorway into social connection.

Influencers and online groups mattered to the trip’s momentum too. Mulroy said the trip was led in part by Zoë Mahler. who runs the New York City-based book club and social media platform at NYC Book Hoe. Mulroy described Mahler as “helpful” as a liaison between the book and the destination. including by staying in touch via a WhatsApp group chat with trivia questions and helping with planning. Mulroy also said she worried the trip might become dominated by followers seeking the influencer’s attention. but many people had never heard of Mahler before and found the trip because of a viral video she posted.

Mulroy said she believes book influencers can help reach the right audience—but that the kind of literary-tour experience she described could also happen without influencers, as long as there are passionate readers ready to create a real-life version of what pulled them in online.

BookTok also changed what readers are willing to revisit. Mulroy described BookTok as particularly helpful for “revisiting old favorites” and finding new favorites published a decade ago. keeping series like Percy Jackson in the spotlight. She also referenced other authors and fandom shifts—naming Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros—and said romantasy titles that were published years ago are being rediscovered through rejuvenated fan experiences. For Mulroy. the common thread is a longing for in-person community and the chance to get offline after connecting through TikTok. Instagram. and YouTube.

The trip’s emotional center was nostalgia. Mulroy said the experience was “entirely” about reliving childhood wonder. She described one traveler who told the group she never thought she would get this kind of experience again. let alone as an adult rather than a kid. Mulroy said half of the group got matching Percy Jackson tattoos. and described watching the tattoo moment as “pretty special to see.”.

Mulroy herself did not get a tattoo. She said she is a tattooed person and that she skipped the tattoo. but she said the group chat remained active afterward and that people were still planning to get the tattoos done at their tattoo artists now that they were home. She also said the tattoos in Rome were part of a “strong coalition. ” and that the design was created by one of the attendees. which she said made it “even more special.”.

The costs of all this are not small. Mulroy reported a base cost of about $3. 500. with additional expenses tied to flight excursions. meals. souvenirs and tips. and even tattoos—though those figures were tied to the specific experience she described on the show. She said what readers are paying for is more than logistics. For her, it was the chance to travel without planning everything themselves.

As a person who plans trips with an itinerary and a “very color-coded Google doc. ” Mulroy said it was a relief to turn off her planning brain. She described the practical advantage of being with a tour group. including not having to worry about how to get into the Vatican or how to skip lines. She also said the experience was strengthened by traveling with locals. describing how local guidance helped her learn history in a way she thinks she wouldn’t have gotten by walking the streets alone—whether visiting the pyramids or doing a walking tour and a food tour in Athens.

The trip blended education with fan play. Mulroy said the early portion in Egypt was “go. go. go” from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM or later every day. and she said she was “slightly disappointed” in parts that it wasn’t more directly tied to The Kane Chronicles and that the book wasn’t discussed as much as she expected. She said Zoë Mahler was there during some moments to keep the group focused through trivia questions and lunchtime conversations.

When the tour shifted to Greece, Mulroy said the Percy Jackson references intensified. The tour guide split the group into groups. and the schedule included a claiming ceremony and cabins based on godly parents. Each day brought quests—sometimes multiple quests—where travelers ran around the Acropolis searching for “proof of the gods” while taking pictures. Mulroy said the pattern carried through to Rome, culminating with the last night, which included sudden-death trivia and mythology skits.

That mix, she said, helped the group bond through being split into randomly assigned teams and by giving them a playful through line that felt like being close to living the story’s journeys—specifically the journeys Percy Jackson takes with his friends at Camp Half-Blood and beyond.

Mulroy also addressed the obvious question for readers curious about literary tourism but wary of spending thousands of dollars. She said literary tourism doesn’t have to mean traveling across the world to the exact location tied to a favorite book. She argued that the favorite book could be “in your backyard. ” “down the street. ” or “a state away. ” and that in-person experiences can be built locally.

She suggested lower-lift alternatives. including small-scale retreats with friends—renting a cabin. hotel. or Airbnb in a meaningful place; creating a mini book club retreat where people read. talk. and share in a way that can make them feel transported. She said book lovers could do it in a park nearby. at home. or in an apartment. and described book club meetings with friends where they sit and talk and feel carried away by the conversation.

Mulroy also offered a range of creative options: dressing up as a favorite character. developing a costume look. cooking food inspired by a favorite book. or simply visiting the places connected to a story on your own. She emphasized that you don’t need a guided tour to visit places like the pyramids or The Acropolis. For her. the real requirement was finding a community—at least another person—who sees the meaning of the book and how it influenced them.

In the end. Mulroy’s description of the Percy Jackson trip through Cairo. Athens. and Rome points to a single driver behind the spending: the desire to live inside a story without losing what made it personal in the first place. For some readers, that means paying for a highly structured international experience. For others. it means keeping the same impulse—wonder. fandom. and belonging—closer to home. just with fewer flights and less paperwork to plan.

The episode closed with Mulroy thanking host Dana Taylor and returning to the show’s usual sign-off, with Taylor saying, “Thanks for listening,” and inviting listeners to reach out at podcasts@usatoday.com.

literary tourism BookTok Percy Jackson EF Ultimate Break Cairo Athens Rome Rick Riordan NYC Book Hoe Zoë Mahler fandom travel tattoos book communities