What is a Reading Slump? How to overcome it?
So, you are in a reading slump. Maybe you’re still longing for a series you just finished, or maybe it’s the anxiety caused by a global pandemic and subsequent quarantine. Or maybe you can’t figure out why you’re slowing down reading, but you know you’re not reading, even if you want to.
Last New Year’s, did you set a goal to read a certain number of books? Have you failed miserably? If reading has replaced social media, worldly worries, and other distractions in your life, it can be difficult to get back into the habit. These approaches will get you back in the swing of things. A reading slowdown is basically an inability to read. You can’t read books and it’s not because the book is too slow or you dislike the characters and are unable to finish it, it’s just because you are not able to read.
1. Start with a novella
They are shorter than a novel and more satisfying than a short story, novellas are the perfect way to reinvent your reading habits and test the waters with a new author.
2. Reread your favorite book
This is the simplest and usually the most effective treatment for reading deficits. Rekindle the book that sparks your curiosity to read. Reading an old fav is the solution recommended by us.
3. Set yourself small, achievable goals
In terms of reading, you can set yourself a goal of reading 20 pages a day. It’s such a small part that it shouldn’t take much of your day, but there are enough pages for you to really get into the story. There’s no such thing as the best time to read a book, but make it easy to incorporate reading time into your day before work or just before bed. Hopefully, after a few days, the story has really taken hold and you’ll want to start picking it up and your reading slump will be a thing of the past.
4. Try an Audiobook
While you may not be physically reading per second, audiobooks are still books! If you’re not reading as much as you’d like, let someone else do the reading for you. Once you hook up to a new audiobook, it’s easy to transfer that excitement to reading a new book from that series.
5. Read a book that inspired your favorite author
Reading books that inspire the authors you love is a great way to branch out while still staying in your comfort zone. This will allow you to see where your favorite author’s inspiration comes from – and if it inspired a writer you love, chances are, it might inspire you too.
6. Start a book club
You can theme them, such as allowing only sci-fi books, or only African American Literature as recommended by the Book Club. How about a bilingual book club (of course, you have to agree on the language in which to discuss)? You can do these in a pub, front room, park, picnic area, or haunted house. A fun option is to change the location depending on where each book is set. For some, book clubs are an excuse to read something they would never do on their own;
For others, it is a chance to jump between the lines of the book by bouncing around ideas. It will compel you to read it as the most inspiring of all British fears: embarrassment.
7. Don’t get mad at yourself for not reading
Remember that reading is not okay. This may sound like blasphemy to us Book Nerds, but if not reading is stressing you out, and that stress isn’t letting you read, then go ahead and give yourself permission to not read for a week. Think of it as a reading break: Take a week off and know that you’ll be back to study in a week the same way you take a break from school or work.
