Tuesday, 9 October 2018

Features | The Curse of the Reading Slump



It’s finally happened. I have fallen victim to another reading slump. It’s been months since my last one which is just long enough ago that I had almost forgotten how bad they can be. I had settled into a pattern of 1-2 books a week and was confident that I could maintain it for the rest of the year.

Too confident, arguably. If you’ve been following my reading updates on #TNGreads, you will have noticed that I have slowed right down when it comes to how much I’ve been reading. I’ve been loving the books I have been reading but I just never seem to get around to picking them up and actually doing some reading. There are plenty of reasons for this, which I won’t share right now, but the simple fact is that I have found myself in a reading slump.

I’m hoping that I will see the other side of it soon but in the meantime, here are my tactics for coping with a reading slump:
  • .      . Take the pressure off. For the longest time, I beat myself up about not reading. As a blogger who talks a lot about books, I felt like I was doing something bad by not racing through endless books every month. This isn’t true. The world hasn’t stopped spinning just because I haven’t been reading and I am more than entitled to a break!
  • .       Try something else. It could be a new genre or a new author but sometimes a little variety can be enough to reignite your spark for reading. If that means DNFing a book, so be it.
  • .       Make reading manageable. When I’m in a reading slump, I find myself turning to poems and short stories. They’re just so much more approachable than a novel and I can get the sense of satisfaction of finishing something even if I don’t have the time to read 500 pages.

What are your tips for surviving a reading slump?

Kelly

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