Today I wanted to make a quick discussion because I've been stuck in this terrible slump. Nothing I pick up seems to catch my attention and the books I have been reading seem to bore me and fall in the 3.5 stars range. I don't know what to do anymore and I know we've all been there before.
While I was discussing this with a friend last night she suggested I take some time away from reading. Catch up on some tv shows, watch some movies, do something else with my spare reading time. This sounds fine until I look at my shelves and long for the wonderful writing and the crazy worlds I know are within those pages. I want to read!
(something that will make me do this to anyone who attempts to approach me)
So I was thinking maybe a really great murder mystery that will keep me turning the pages through the night would be a good way to drag me out of the slump. Or maybe rereading one of my favorite books, for example City of Bones, since the movie is coming out soon anyway. Or even picking up a fun contemporary, something that will make me laugh.
I just really need to get out of this reading slump and back to enjoying what I love to do. I would love to hear your suggestions and ideas as to how you get out of those oh so dreaded slumps. Any go to genres you have when you know you're about to fall into a slump? Any go to rereads? Or do you take a step back and go do something else like my friend suggested? Maybe one of your ideas will end up helping me!
I think we ALL get into these slumps! Definitely okay to do so! Whenever I get in them, I generally do something to "check out" of reading - watch TV/movies, listen to music, go outside, hang out with friends... just something to involve myself with that DOESN'T require reading or books! Typically, those help, but I'm like you... I WANT to read. So I switch book types. I may pick up a favorite book that I haven't read in a few years. Or I watch a movie that is based on a book (the Narnia ones are my faves!). We all have our ways of getting out of our slumps; hopefully you can find something that works for you!
ReplyDeleteI just came out of one, where nothing I read interested me. I was gobbling up all sorts of fiction as if the apocalypse had been spotted. And then the only thing I wanted to do was puke it back up and get my time back. (Eww, enough with that analogy.) I didn't want to stop reading, I had piles of review books that I needed to get through. So the first thing I did was took a break from blogging. ( I love it, but it's kind of annoying to have to try to remember things to point out in a review.)Then I switched from fiction to nonfiction. I'm also writing my first novel so it was the perfect time to get some research done. This is what I discovered- I had fallen into the trap of reading the same type of book and it was draining my brain- nothing was original or exciting anymore. But I read about the 300 Spartans and loved it! I also looked at my bookshelves, and realized that I had a very diverse collection of books, and if I randomly selected titles they would fall in different categories (war, crime, young adult, adult, fiction, nonfiction, criticism etc..)After that, when switching back to fiction, I picked up a comfort book. For me that is anything by Octavia Butler, I re-read Fledgling and felt rejuvenated. Explore, breathe and see where it takes you. You may end up killing Zombies or learning about ancient tribes. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteWhen I have a slump, I sometimes go to rereads, but my surefire fix is to step out of my usual genres. If I've been reading a ton of YA dystopians, I switch it up and read an Adult realistic fiction novel. Hopefully that will help!
ReplyDeleteMy strategy for avoiding reading slumps is to always switch up the genre I'm reading. For example, if I just finished a contemporary, the next book I'll read will be a dystopian or mystery and vice versa. This strategy really works for me because it helps me not to become bored from similar stories. Maybe it will work for you too? I hope you get out of your reading slump! :)
ReplyDeleteJulia @ That Hapa Chick
I think switching genre does help when you get into a slump. I read mainly YA and if I find reading the different genres within YA isn't working I move to Audlt fiction and Classics.
ReplyDeleteOhmygosh! I was just in a major reading slump. No joke read through at least 5 books that were just ehhh. Nothing seemed to capture my attention, but I kept on picking up book after book hoping to find that book to fix my dilemma. I found Black City and Masque of the Red Death to be really good reads. Good luck with getting out of your reading slump!
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