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Photo Credit: Kaylan Dula
Symptoms:
-Disinterested in books or reading
-Unable to complete a book
-Not being able to remember why you love reading
-Skipping from unfinished book to unfinished book
If you have any of the above symptoms (and if these are typically uncharacteristic of you), WebMD would diagnose you with a READING SLUMP (if not something more serious, wink wink). Reading slumps happen to the best of us, and occur as often as the common cold.
While they are obviously not detrimental to your health, they aren't much fun for the avid reader. I am currently on the mend from a reading slump myself. I say "on the mend" because there are a few tips to getting yourself out of a reading slump, since a magic potion straight out of Hogwarts probably isn't feasible to most of us. But before I jump into those, I was doing some thinking...
As an active reader and lover of BookTube , falling into a reading slump is something that seems very common. What causes this? Do you hear of avid movie lovers getting sick of watching films, or sports fans becoming disinterested in their favorite team or sport? In my experience, I don't, not as often as I hear about book slumps, that's for sure. I went to the blogs of other readers to find out their thoughts.
Kyra's blog, Blog of a Bookaholic , was amazingly resourceful. She says that reading slumps aren't caused by one particular factor, nor is it cured by only one method. My favorite cause for a slump that she references is that "Sometimes you don't feel like it". I couldn't have said it better. Sometimes you don't feel like reading, and forcing yourself to enjoy something you're not in the mood for only leaves you, well, slumpier. Kyra recommends that readers can try re-reading an old favorite, as well as recommedning that readers quit stressing (among other things).
Reading slumps are often not discussed, because there seems to be a sense of guilt and shame associated with them. You shouldn't avoid or dread something that makes you happy, right? Admitting that you've fallen into a slump seems to be equated with admitting you aren't as serious about your love of books as you once thought. Not true. You could view your book-life as a relationship. Weird, but hear me out. You have to nourish this relationship just like any other. No matter how much you love someone, you don't want to spend every single minute with them, right? You need your own time. No matter how happy something makes you, you have to take breaks or else it wears you down. Basically what I'm getting at is: There's no shame in the slump game.
I've consulted many different sites and sources for the best ways to get rid of a reading slump. The best advice I have found in all of the digging is to simply give it time. Sure, you can jump to a new book or make yourself read short books in order to get back into the groove, but my best advice is to just give it time. If reading is something you enjoy, don't force it. Don't turn it into one more thing you have to add to your schedule.
Lastly, I featured Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon in the above picture, because
1) I'm a sucker for cute covers, and
2) This is a perfect book to pick up after a reading slump.
It's super fast-paced and an overall enjoyable read!
I hope this post was at least a little bit helpful/educational/not a total waste of your time.
Currently Reading: Nothing. (I'm still in a reading slump.)
Until next time, Happy Reading!