I have been in a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad reading slump lately. So today I asked my best friend and pen pal Brooke to offer some of her best advice on how to break book slumps. I’ll be back Saturday with a monthly recap. Until then, here’s Brooke! – Emily
Hey guys! Today I thought I’d talk about something most bookworms face at some point… Book slumps.
I know, I know. The idea of a a book slump is horrifying. While I haven’t faced one this year (yet), I understand the struggle. So when I volunteered to do a guest post for the lovely Emily, I knew I needed to address this life threatening predicament. So without further ado, here are a few things to do when you’re in a book slump.
1. RE-READ SOME OF YOUR FAVORITES. Read a book(s) that you know you love. Revisiting some of your favorite characters and settings may help you get that reading itch again. And even if it doesn’t, at least you read a fabulous book. A few of my favorite books are Harry Potter, anything by Rick Riordan, The Lunar Chronicles, The Book Thief, and The Maze Runner.
2. MAKE SOME BOOKISH THINGS. By making something book themed, maybe you’ll get inspired to read. Even if you don’t you’ll be left with some gorgeous things. I usually make bookmarks or book necklaces. But you could make anything. A Ravenclaw scarf (Ravenclaw for the win!), fan art, a book clutch, ect. Play towards your strengths.
3. LISTEN TO AN AUDIO BOOK. The change from reading to listening to a book may be what you need. I like to listen to audio books when I’m too busy or distracted to read. That way I can listen to a book while doing whatever I need to get done.
4. TRY READING SOMETHING LIGHT. Being in a reading slump is the perfect time to pick up that fluffy contemporary you’ve been meaning to read for ages. I’m more of a fantasy person, but sometimes after a few of the same type of books they start dragging. So I like to change it up to make sure I don’t get bored. I recommend Morgan Matson, Amy Clipton, and Heather Vogel Frederick.
5. EMBRACE THE SLUMP! Now is the perfect time to do all of the things you’ve been meaning to do. Without the draw towards books, you’ll probably have some free time on your hands. Watch that show you’ve been eyeing on Netflix. Go to this mysterious place called “outside”. Start a business. Make a friend IRL. Even if you don’t have the motivation or time to get anything done, don’t feel guilty. You deserve a break! Eventually you’ll find yourself picking up a book and getting sucked back into the book life. But until then, enjoy yourself!
So there you have it! My tips for getting out of a book slump. I hope you enjoyed reading this. 🙂 What are some of your guy’s tips for breaking out of a reading slump? I’d love to hear them! Hopefully you’ll be seeing more of me around the blogosphere soon… *wink* *wink*
– Brooke
Thank you for having me! I had a lot of fun writing this post. And taking a picture to display my wonderful art( oh and look at that. I may start an etsy store to sell that same stuff. What a coincidence!) haha.
I hope you get out of your slump soon! Maybe you can use one of these wonderful tips? Haha.
I haven’t been doing a lot of reading the past two weeks because I’ve been super busy. And I probably won’t be doing a ton of reading in August. Because I’ll be traveling.
I really need to sit down on the computer and work on you know what ;p.
I’ve been having a lot of fun bookstagraming. You would be so good at it. Too bad you can’t have one. *sigh*
Hi Brooke! Great post- just what I needed! Emily, I’m in a book sump too. I know how you feel. I’ve only read 12 books this year so far! Can you believe the year is more than half way over??
That was a fantastic post, Brooke! 🙂 Very well written and of course super helpful! I hope that you make a blog someday because I think you’d be a great blogger.
Thanks for all the tips!
AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! This year I had two blogs slumps (I just got out of the second one by reading CRESS) …. my first ever. I embraced it. I binged watched NUMB3RS (“binge” meaning 4 episodes over two days … I don’t watch much TV on my own). I got over it. 🙂
Brilliant post!
Love this post, Brooke! I find that most of my book slumps happen when I ‘have’ to read something… Like, someone lends me a book. Even if I kinda wanted to read it, if I didn’t pick it up willingly on my own, I will probably take months to read it, and then not read anything else during that time (because I can only read one book at a time XD )
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Well, keep your eye open. That might just happen very soon… 😉
My pleasure!
Great tips! I completely agree. 🙂 Rereading some of your favorite books or reading something light is a great way to get out of a slump. Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous post! <3