Reading Slumps & How I Get Rid of Them | My Bookish Thoughts #1

How’s it going everyone!  Today, I’m going to be talking about something a little bit different...  It’s not another book review or an update, which I haven’t done in a while, but a new kind of post.  I’m calling it, My Bookish Thoughts.  I feel like this is a way I can express my own positive thoughts, opinions, and maybe some tips on some book related topics.

Recently, many book bloggers have been talking about reading slumps and I know we’ve all been there every once in a while.  My interpretation of a reading slump is when you kind of don’t want to read any books, they can’t grasp your attention for very long, even though the book is amazing and you want to keep reading.  Hopefully some of my little tips can help.  I know everyone is different, but this is how I personally get rid of them.  And let me tell you, I have had this slump several times over the past 2-3 years since I’ve become a book-aholic.  Here are my 5 tips of how I get out of a reading slump.

1.  Stop Reading & Take A Break

I believe that there are times when you need to take a break from reading.  Depending on whether you read for fun or you write reviews on a book blog, taking a break from reading won’t hurt you.  If you continue jumping from one book to the next without taking a break, all of the fresh information can overwhelm your brain.

That’s what I like to call TMI (too much information) Overload.  For example, when you go to school or work and you come home, you’re in this zombie like state and you are barely able to function.  The more you force yourself to read, your attention span and comprehension will decrease, until you can’t even finish a page without rereading what you just read.

2.  Find Books That You Find Interesting

If you have a book blog, you most likely read a very wide variety of books.  Sometimes you should find books that you find enjoyable to read.  Don’t force yourself to read a book that you don’t enjoy or something that you feel you have to write a review on.

Find books that you want to read and take you’re time to read them.  Don’t try to finish it in one sitting just because you have to or because someone might spoil the ending for you.  You have all the time in the world to read and finish that story, so read a little bit at a time and then take a break, your mind will be thanking you.

3.  Don’t Push Yourself To Get Out Of Reading Slumps

There are times when people say, “it’s just a phase, it’ll go away”, that’s true.  But the phase might not last as long as it did previously.  If you push yourself to continue reading, you'll make your slump even worse than it currently is.  I say this from personal experience.  It can last up to a couple of days for some, while others feel as if it’s never going to end.  Don’t push yourself to finish or continue reading.  Your opinion of the book may differ if you were in a reading slump compared to how you normally feel when you read.  So I say, “if it doesn’t make you as interested as it should, push it off and read it later.”

4.  Have A Backup Plan

I say that you should always have a backup plan.  If you get into a reading slump, try distracting yourself with something that can grab your attention longer than what you just read.  It can be anything; whether you want to play a computer game, listen to music, or do anything else that you might enjoy.  I suggest you change your back-up plan every once in a while so you do something different and it won’t become repetitive and boring.

5.  Try Reading Again After A Little Bit

Once you feel like the slump has passed, maybe a couple of days or a week (depending on how you feel), you should definitely try reading the book again.  Time away from reading isn’t a bad thing.  Like I said before, it can be a good thing for your mind.

If the book has the same affect on you, then maybe the book slump is still there and you should try reading something else, if you’re determined.  Come back to that book later, if you really want to read it, and maybe it will be one of your favorites down the line.  If another book has the same affect on you, then maybe the slump is still there and it may take just a little bit longer for it to go away.  You always have to take a chance and see if your slump has gone away, because you can’t wait forever.

I know some of these tips aren’t miracle workers and may seem kind of silly to some, but I do find them helpful whenever I go into my little slump.  I hope you guys liked my tips on how I get out of a reading slump.  Whether you’re facing them right now, or when it might appear in the future, we all go through them.  Maybe one of these little tips can help you.  If you have any tip suggestions, tell me in the comments down below.  I would love to hear your thoughts.

If you guys like this post, hopefully I can come up with some more of My Bookish Thoughts.  I found this one extremely fun to write and I want to do some more things that you might enjoy reading, instead of just book review every Friday, which I know can become extremely repetitive.

Want to check out my previous book review, Crystal Magic!

Thanks again everyone for reading this post.  I am sorry about this post being really long; I didn't expect it to be like a paper or an essay, but it couldn’t be helped.

Until next time!