19 Mar Books & Breakfast

On Sunday, March 15 (2026), we held our first cat-themed Books & Breakfast.

It was wonderful.

But what exactly is a Books & Breakfast?

How did it come about? How did we organize it?

I’ll try to explain.

Books & Breakfast, born from the collaboration between Standard B&B and From Outer Space—Agnese’s independent bookstore, located just a few steps away from us — is the result of friendship, shared interests, the love for books and the desire to create something together.

Here’s an article I wrote about FoS and Agnese

After a few Silent Reading Parties at the bookstore—where I’d occasionally bring cookies to provide a sugar boost for readers immersed in their books—I said to myself: “Why don’t we host a Silent Reading Party right here at Standard?”

I talked to Agnese and that’s how the idea for a themed Silent Reading Party was born.

A leisurely Sunday morning where you don’t have to think about a thing, not even the book to bring along to read, because you’ll have already chosen it from a selection curated by Agnese and me, a convivial breakfast before diving into your reading, making the most of every corner of our Standard B&B.

For this first edition of Books & Breakfast, we chose the theme of cats because contemporary literature has an incredibly vast number of titles on the subject and also as they are creatures for whom we share a great love.

I’m almost tempted to say that it was the cats who chose the first Books & Breakfast, and it was magic right away.

So on this Sunday in March, bathed in spring light, we found ourselves together.

The Standard B&B was ready to welcome the readers: there was a small book corner, a table set with a cat-themed spread, the selected books waiting for the readers, and plenty of extra pillows on the beds to ensure maximum comfort.

The morning slipped by, sweet and intense.

Laughter, chatter, coffee, and then the silence and intimacy of reading.

The infinite within the experience of reading.

What nourishes me—inspirations and dreams

Over the years, I’ve discovered that reading is many things: a personal experience, yet at the same time, a collective one.

When you find yourself talking about the same book you’ve read and loved, a special bond forms between people; being part of a book club helps you discover different perspectives and broadens your horizons because sometimes it seems like people are reading completely different thi

ngs on the same pages.

For me, over the years, discovering shared reading from a distance through Claudia’s libroterapia and the various groups I’ve participated in—both online and in person—has completely changed my perspective; it has opened new rooms in my heart and soul, showing me how reading can be an infinite number of things.

In recent months, while participating in a Bibliophila reading retreat organized by Viviana, I’ve also discovered just how intense the experience of reading together can be.

Sharing a space and a moment, carving it out for oneself from the daily grind and making it unique and special by tending to every little detail.

Each of us in our own book, in our own pages, yet immersed in a special time and place, all for us.

Because it seems easy, but it’s not simple to carve out time for oneself to immerse in reading in these fast-paced days, full of thoughts and distractions.

What we’ve tried to create and bring to Books & Breakfast is all of this combined with our experience and skills, and we can’t wait to do it again because when conviviality and intimacy come together, they create a magic we so desperately need—and one we’ll never stop seeking.