How to Get Out of a Book Slump

The title of this post is pretty misleading because I truly have no idea how to get out of the dreaded book slump. Book slumps are nefarious creatures. You can be totally happy, reading all the books and excited about all of the books when you start to slowly realize that you haven’t been picking up that book lately. Maybe you come home and instead of picking up your current read, you’ll turn on the TV instead or (gasp!) scroll through your phone for hours (I feel so unproductive after I do this but I can’t help it sometimes). Or you might find that you are starting books that are unsatisfying to you and you either push through and finish them (while not really enjoying it) or picking up another book in the hopes that something will pique your interest. This may go on for a week or several months. Whatever the actual time, it always feels like a long time.

Below are some of the methods I’ve employed when trying to get out of a book slump. Unfortunately none of these methods is guaranteed but they can help sometimes.

1. Re-read an old favorite or several old favorites – I find that this method actually works pretty well for me. If I am not feeling any of my new reads I will pull out something that I know I love and always pulls me in. Sometimes it’ll take just one book or sometimes I’ll go down the rabbit hole and re-read a whole series.
2. Ignore it and keep on as usual – I also do this a lot. I hate not finishing books. I don’t know what it is but the stickler in me does not like to leave books unfinished even though my friend would tell me that life is too short to read something that you don’t like. A lot of times I’ll just plod through whatever I am reading, however slowly, to try and get my mojo back.
3. Allow myself to stop reading if I am not enjoying – I know this one might sound pretty extreme to a lot of book lovers out there. Not read? That’s crazy! But sometimes if I am not feeling the reading momentum I’ll just step away and focus on some of my other hobbies like knitting or sewing. Eventually I will get the itch again and I’ll pick up a book.
4. Try an audiobook – When regular old paper or ebooks aren’t cutting it sometimes I’ll try to get into an audiobook. The change in medium can sometimes make it easier for me to consume a book and it makes me feel like less of a book slacker and can help pull me back into the reading game.

Recently I found that the dreaded book slump had crept up on me. Where did it come from? When was the last time I finished a book? Instead of trying to fight it, like I often do, I went with the flow and allowed myself to put books down that weren’t interesting me. It also helped that my Feb book club book was “Persuasion” by Jane Austen, which is an old favorite of mine (see suggestion #1).

While it did take me a minute to get back in the language of Austen having been reading mostly modern books for a long time, once I got into the flow it was a really easy and fun read.

Next up came “Well Met” by Jen DeLuca. I actually haven’t quite finished with it yet but this sweet Ren Faire romance is super sweet and plays on one of my favorite tropes of enemies to lovers. And the next thing I know, I am out of my book slump. I mean I am not reading a book a day or anything like that but I am excited about books again.

So what have we learned from this post? Nothing really except that book slumps will come and go but if you love reading, the joy will come back eventually. If you have any tips or tricks for getting out of a book slump, I would love to hear it!