Today I want to talk to you about the bane of readers, the scourge of bookworms, aka the dreaded reading slump.
If you're unfamiliar with the term, this is the feeling when you start several books but none of them pulls you in like you want it to, you feel dissatisfied with reading. You slog through half a novel and get annoyed with the heroine, after which you put your book/e-reader away and feel worse instead of relaxed, like you usually do when reading.
Does any of this ring a bell?
Dear Reader, you are not alone.
First of all, a big hug to you if that's what you're currently experiencing.
It happens to me quite often - sometimes, the books I'm trying to read are a bad match for me (usually when I force myself to read outside my preferred genres). Sometimes, I'll have a book hungover - meaning that I loved a book so much, everything that comes after it is meaningless (which is totally unfair to those books but can't be helped). Sometimes, I'm dealing with something in my life that's so engrossing that mediocre books just aren't enough to pull me in - hello, global pandemic!
But I've been through this enough now that I catch myself pretty quickly whenever I fell into such a situation. Here are some of my preferred ways of dealing with reading slumps:
- Reread an old favorite. Whenever I find myself not finishing books, I grab one that I know I've loved before and immerse myself in my favorite story.
- Read in a new-to-you genre. It's good to step out of your comfort zone from time to time, and new genres can be fun to discover. Here's a list of my favorite books sorted by genre for you to try!
- Read non-fiction. It acts like a palate-cleanser and helps me recalibrate.
- Listen to an audiobook. I'm a fan of Scribd for this. Sometimes, switching the format of the story is enough! (My link will give you a 60-day trial instead of a 30-day trial, and I'll earn an additional 30 days as well! Win-win!)
- Stop reading for a couple of days. *gasp* I know, blasphemy! But by doing this, I catch up on my favorite series, listen to podcasts, or just sleep more, haha.
This way, when you return to your favorite genre, you'll be craving it - refreshed and with renewed interest. And you might discover a new favorite subgenre or author or learn something new by reading non-fiction!
Do you have a technique for beating reading blues? Comment below to let me know!
Did you know you can get a free book from me? Jinxed in Love is the prequel to my reverse harem paranormal romance series, and you can grab it for free right here!
