Reading Blues: We all get them from time to time. What helps you overcome those reading slumps when nothing seems to grab your attention?
- Ginger at GReads
I love reading. I love it a lot, ridiculously a lot. Wherever I am, a book is never far away. Normally, my motto is so many books, so little time!The only thing that stops me immediately losing myself in another world within the covers of a book is the question of which do I read first?
And yet, even I get the occasional reading slump, when no matter how many books are piled up in front of me, in all kinds of genres and categories, I don't really want to read any of them. In these days, I could wander into a library, or a bookshop with £20 in book tokens, and come out empty-handed. In these times I actually feel a little panicky wandering the aisles, knowing that the right book is in there somewhere - but where? Why don't I want to read any of these books? Is my brain broken?
I find that the best way to cope with these times is to reread an old favourite. I've plenty of those: Anne of Green Gables, Neverwhere, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings to name just a few.
The other thing is - gasp! - to allow myself not to read. Instead I spend my evenings catching up on DVDs of the many TV series I never saw when they were first aired (like Firefly and The Big Bang Theory) or films, or do some kind of craftwork - I have a cross-stitch on the go at the moment, a thing you can't do with your eyes on a book! The reading blues don't tend to last very long, and when they're over, the books will still be there, waiting patiently.
I usually go for the 'give in to the slump' approach too. Rather than torturing myself by endlessly browsing my shelves screaming "THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING HERE! ANYTHING!" I just let it go for a bit and do something else.
ReplyDeleteQuite often this will involve catching up on blog reading, sorting through old magazines, listening to loads of music and singing along like a maniac, watching DVD box sets, or catching up with a few TV comedies or documentaries online. Eventually I'll catch sight of a book on my shelf, or stumble across a review online, or idly look through my library pile, and find my interest stirred at last - and then I'll know the slump is over and I can start reading like a madwoman again, often with twice as much enthusiasm as before!
time for tv, yay!
ReplyDeleteI'm a new follower!
In the Hammock Blog
Yeah that seems to be my problem as well. What to read next? Right now though I am working my way through some ARCs I got. But there's at least two I won't get to right away because I have to read the 2-3 books that come before it!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Friday Hops
Have a GREAT weekend!
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