Thursday, February 22, 2018

On getting through a reading slump

Confession: I have reading slumps fairly often. Sometimes they’re shorter (like a few days) and sometimes they’re longer (like a few months). At one point, there was even a full year of reading slumps. As someone who has gone through plenty of them, I feel well-qualified to tell you how to get out of a reading slump.

  • Get excited about reading - If you’re having trouble getting enthused about reading, it may be time to remind yourself why it’s important to you. There are lots of ways to do this.
    • Look back at old books you loved.
    • Tell someone you know why reading is something that matters to you.
    • Read a book blog that you like (like this one!)
    • Look into the most recent book awards in a genre you like (or the Goodreads Choice Awards if all else fails).
    • Write down all the benefits of reading.
    • Start writing a book/story - and start appreciating what authors go through.
  • Find a good book to read - Most of my reading slumps happen because I’m not reading something I’m interested in. If you’re working your way through a tough or dense book that you still want to finish, take a break to read something that you enjoy more. Or get a good book recommendation.
  • Give yourself a break - It’s okay to take a break from any hobby and reading is one thing that you can stop doing for a bit. Fill your time with something else that’s important - a different hobby, family time, catching up on homework, sleeping, nature - and once you’ve had your fill of that (for now), start easing reading back into your life.
  • Power through - Sometimes, you can’t afford to have a reading slump. In those cases, it’s important to keep going. In cases like this, I force myself to read during certain times of day - twenty minutes before bed, over my lunch break, waiting for my car’s oil to get changed, etc. Reading might not be fun during a reading slump, but if you must read something, might as well get through it as quickly as possible.


How do you get through a reading slump? What books help you get back into reading?

16 comments:

  1. Good suggestions! I go through reading slumps from time to time and they're tough.

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    1. Exactly why I wrote this - it was partly to help me get through one.

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  2. Your suggestions are great!

    My reading slumps are usually brief and due to taking my reading to seriously. Sometimes, life demands too much and my reading needs to be nothing but delight. When that happens, I do best if I choose a book that I haven't yet read from an author I love.

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    1. That's an awesome suggestion! You're right - taking reading too seriously definitely makes it unpleasant.

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  3. I agree with Joy. Light and fluffy saves me sometimes

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    1. FLUFFY READING IS SO MUCH FUN. And I think that's a good way to not take reading too seriously.

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  4. When I'm finding that I'm not really inspired by anything new on my TBR, I will go back to old favorites to help get me back into reading again!

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    1. That's a great idea! It's so much fun to revisit old favorites!

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  5. These are really good tips! Whenever I'm in a reading slump, I tend to stick to shorter books to. Usually, if I find a really amazing book in my short reads stash, it'll help me get out of my reading slump! Happy reading!

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    1. Shorter books are a great idea - and I think it gives you smaller senses of accomplishment. Like "look how many books I'm finishing!"

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  6. I rarely every have reading slumps because I read 6 books at the same time :D so when I'm bored, I just switch to another one. I guess it would be very easy to get in a slump if you just read 1 book and then it was slow or boring.

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    1. Bahaha that's awesome. I sometimes will have 2-3 books going and none of them are catching my interest and I get into a slump. Obviously I have to start reading more at once.

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  7. AH yes, I'm in a bit of a slump right now. I read too many books I didn't like back to back... put that together with how busy I am... Oye! I'm slowly making my way through a GREAT read though, so I'm hoping my slump is almost over.

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    1. Yay! A great read is the best way to end a slump. I'm glad it's getting better!:)

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  8. I pretty much agree with everything you said.

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