A boozed-up book fair is coming to Boston, Chicago and LA this summer

Attention recovering overachievers, bookworms and nostalgists: Something good is coming.

For those of us who still yearn for a personal pan pizza upon finishing a book or remember the glory days of the Scholastic Book Fair (is that what the Walls Fargo wagon was like during pioneer times?), Bucket Listers has got you. This summer, the organization will roll out the Boozy Book Fair, an adults-only pop-up headed to Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.

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The Boozy Book Fair takes a core childhood memory and reimagines it as a 21+ experience, complete with cocktails, cheeky games and plenty of browsing. The setup leans hard into retro school-day aesthetics—including scantrons!—along with a mix of cult favorites, banned titles and offbeat finds, plus analog extras like bookmarks, gifts and throwback trinkets.

But this isn’t just about shopping. The event is designed as a full-on social experience, layering in interactive activities like drunk spelling bees, “Read the Wine Print” book clubs and lecture-style events. Elsewhere, you’ll find oversized, Lisa Frank–inspired photo backdrops, life-sized I-Spy installations, stereogram walls and even interactive cup-stacking stations.

There’s also a built-in book swap component, where guests can exchange a previously owned book for a mystery-wrapped title to take home.

Each ticket includes a welcome drink and a small merch credit, encouraging attendees to lean into the impulse buys. Pricing, venues and exact dates vary by city, with details released through Bucket Listers as the launch approaches.

The Boozy Book Fair fits squarely into a growing wave of nostalgia-driven experiences aimed at millennials and Gen Z, who are increasingly looking for ways to reconnect with analog pleasures. By blending books, booze and a heavy dose of childhood memory, the event manages to feel both ironic and genuinely earnest.

In other words, it’s less about quiet reading time and more about rediscovering why you loved books in the first place. This time, though, you get a cocktail instead of a pizza. Like a real grownup.

For more information and to join the waitlist for your city, click here: Boston; Chicago; Los Angeles.