I know I’m not the only bookworm who has faced the horribleness that is a book slump. In fact, in all my bookworm days (that is, going on fourteen years now), I have never faced anything worse than a book slump. (Okay, okay, that might be a bit dramatic, but come on. You’ve been there! You understand, right?) And if, in the rare case you don’t understand (oh, how I envy you), it usually goes like this:
As far as my book slumps go, it’s usually when I’ve read 5 or 6 books in a week… a supreme book high, which is AWESOME. Then… I read nothing. Usually as long as two or three weeks, I might get through one or two books. (Example A: when I read three books in the entire month of June.) I average about one book a week, even though, like I said, I’ll read 5 or 6 in a week. It all evens out when I don’t read but one every two-three weeks.
I think the length of a book slump depends on the reader. For example – Cait, at Paper Fury, is THE definition of a SPEED READER. She’s read over 150 books. SINCE JANUARY. Does she even GO through book slumps?! Agh. I’m so jealous! What I’m trying to say here is that book slumps can affect how many books you read, and how many books you read affect the length of your book slumps.
Just like in the video above, my TBR (To Be Read) stack is huge! (I won’t even bother counting the books I haven’t read that I own.) That’s not including the library books I check out and don’t read, only to re-check them out months later and love them. I’m pretty sure most of you can relate. As far as DNF’ing books go, most of the bookworms I’ve heard from either do, or don’t. (Sadly, I do.) (A whole other post on that is coming soon.)
My point is, usually when I’m in a book slump, the problem IS NOT that I don’t have enough reading material. There are several reasons I just end up not reading, really with no excuse. But I can tell you how I end up in this horrible situation.
Another thing that will get me into a book slump is being super busy with other things (school, extracurricular activities, trips, camps, you name it), and not reading for a little while – which is okay! Reading is a HUGE part of my life, but… it’s not everything. I (try, HA), to make time for other things, too, but often times I’ll go through a period of time where I have a lot on my plate, and then nothing at all. That leaves PLENTY of time for reading, right?! Wrong. The only thing I can gather from this scenario is I’ve forgotten the thrill of a book high. I don’t even know. I just don’t feel like reading. Typically, I don’t feel like doing anything after this happens, but it all depends. Thus, “The Busy Worm Who Is A Lazy Bookworm Syndrome.”
The third thing that will put me in a slump is reading THE BEST BOOK EVER, and afterwards wishing I’d never finished the book. I call this a severe “book hangover.” Clearly, there is no other book as good as this one, and I just can’t bring myself to read any other book. If I do try to pick up another book right away after reading a fantastic one, I end up giving the book a lower star rating than I would under other circumstances. Which stinks, because each book deserves a fair trial. I simply can’t compare any book to the one I had just read! I had a really bad case of this after reading The Heir and Code Name Verity.
So how in the world does one get OUT of a book slump??! Unfortunately for me (and thousands of book lovers all around the world), there’s not an official cure for this. (And if there IS, bloglings, DO tell. I’m dying to hear.) Eventually, I pick up a book and start reading, and BOOM. I’m back in my usual routine before I even realize it. I can’t really explain how I pull myself out of a reading slump, I just… do. (?)
There’s a lot more I could say about book slumps, but I’ll leave that to you. What else is there to add? I’d love to hear in the comments!
Ugh. I hate book slumps. The Heir gave me a horrid book hangover. I’ve been in a weird situation. Its been a struggle.for me to start a book but once I do I eat it up. Its weird. I am getting over it though. I think I’m going to walk to the library and read for a while( I can’t chexk out any more books). Or I may just read at home. But I think I’ll go to the library and read The Romeo and Juliet Code or soemthing else.
I can’t wait for the post on Friday ;p. I have a feeling its going to be really good :).
I remember you saying that. It gave me one, too!
I think I know what you’re talking about. I should add it to the list of odd types of book slumps… I haven’t really gone through it a whole lot, but I do know what you mean. It’s definitely not fun.
I wish I could walk to my library. My dad could, where he lived, growing up, and he said he spent a lot of time there after school. I would, too, if I could walk. I thought my mom could take me today, but we didn’t end up going. Hopefully, tomorrow, but my mom said she couldn’t make any promised. 🙁 Oh, the agony! I have two books on hold, too!
I do, too! It’s one no one will want to miss. 😉 (wink wink.)
Ohhhh The Heir! Sorry. Didn’t mean to get all excited. Hehe but GIRL YES. It happens to me all the time! After I read The Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout I had a bad book hangover and sad close to just reading the series again. No lie.
Oh, Lord, don’t EVEN get me started on that one. HOW COULD SHE DO THAT TO US??! Oops, I got started. Anywho. 😛
I’ve heard a lot about that series. I need to look it up. What’s it about?
Ugh, book slumps are the WORST. Usually happens to me when I’m reading a really big book that’s hard to get into. Then I end up picking up another book and can’t get into that one. I usually end up reading several books at time, but just can’t finish one! Something that might help with this is to pick up a smaller book that REALLY interests you. Or maybe to read an old favorite. For me, it’s always easy to get back into the Harry Potter series.
Yeah, I know what you mean! I forgot about that in the post. The exact same thing happens to me. It’s like, I want to read these three books but I can’t decide which one to read, so I end up reading all of them! It gets really overwhelming. That’s a great tip. 🙂
Book slumps are the absolute worst. Similarly to you, book slumps often happen to me when I’m extremely busy-especially during the summer. When I’m trying to juggle homework and studying and extracurriculars I come home tired and I just don’t have the energy to read. Or I simply have to go through a reading hiatus which makes it harder to ease back into reading regularly. HOWEVER, I THINK I HAVE FOUND THE CURE (it works for me, at least). Somehow, rereading a favorite book of mine (*cough* To Kill a Mockingbird *cough*) always makes me fall back in love with reading and get back into that reading zone again. Setting up a day to reread that book straight through (with snacks) is good, too, because reading a book straight through is a lot more exciting than taking a bunch of breaks. That’s significantly harder to do when you’re busy, though.
WHAT?! OMG. Ooh. I wish I could schedule a day like that. Then I could say to my mom, “Sorry, no can do with those chores sch-mores. My day is BOOKED.” Lol. I’ve always wanted to say that. 😀 Anyway, that’s a great idea. I used to re-read books a lot more than I do now. It’s something I really ought to get back into the habit of.