It is co-hosted by (Linda from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Roberta from Offbeat YA, Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About, Berl's from Because Reading is Better than Real Life and me)
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Question: How do you get out of reading slumps?
Answer: In my 13 years of blogging, I have tried all the methods to get over reading slumps.
Re-reading old favorites
Try a new genre
Read novellas/shorter stories
Set a schedule/read a certain number of pages per day
Read in a different format
Take short breaks from reading
Really, reading slumps only started for me after I started review reading/blogging. It changed my relationship to reading and made it feel like a job and caused more slumps. Add to that, I'm a mood reader, and the reading schedules just broke me.
Those are all the answers for what I used to do. And they didn't work. Now? I take the message my brain is trying to tell me and...don't read.
I say this as someone who no longer takes books for review (or very, very few) so I don't have obligations to read or review. I understand this isn't an option for those who do or want to keep a regular blogging schedule. Because, clearly, my blog is suffering due to my lack of reading lol But I'm happier with my reading so it's all good.
It's interesting that you cite the "job" part of blogging with slumps. I can see that being an issue. I like that I cut way back on my review books and read what I want more. I also don't feel the pressure to write some sort of "professional" review.
ReplyDeleteI had way too many review books and the scheduled reading did me in lol
DeleteAlso, review brain - where I don't just relax and read but always have a review going in my head.
DeleteI don't have reading slumps very often, but when I do, I read a cozy mystery. My problem is not having enough time to read/review/post/blog-hop/instagram. I don't know how some people do it all!
ReplyDeleteYes, it's that pressure added to the reading that put me in most of my slumps. Reading (or not) for fun again has been freeing.
DeleteSlumps can be so difficult to get out of. My best advice is don't get into one haha but normally what works for me is picking up an author that always pulls me into a story. So a really addictive type of writing that sweeps you off your feet completely. I do have a short list of authors and that really helps.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm in a slump it's more because I'm burned out and can't read ANYTHING. The more I try the more frustrating it gets so I've learned to just take a break. But blogging does suffer.
DeleteYep, I request very few arc's now because when I get too many the pressure always sends me into a slump. I'm very a much a mood reader too so being on a timeline is too difficult.
ReplyDeleteIt's so freeing!!! I read so slow now (weeks to finish a book instead of a day).but I'm happy.
DeleteExactly... if your brain is saying it doesn't want to read, then don't! But I do love the tried and true tricks for getting out of a slump, other than forcing yourself to read so much each day. Right now, I find I'd rather be doing something else than reading, which makes me sad!
ReplyDeleteThis is how I fell now. I just don't feeeel like reading. Which is fine, but it's just weird having read a book a day for so many years. I don't want to read but I also feel like a part of me is missing.
DeletePerfect timing to discuss this, I've been in a reading slump, though I think I'm coming out of it. And I did what you do. I just didn't force myself to read. Listened to lots of podcast episodes!
ReplyDeleteAudiobooks have been really helpful for slumps. I just listen when I drive, about 30 minutes a day, and do other things the rest of the day. It takes way longer to finish a book but I don't feel pressure and at least I'm, passively, reading something.
DeleteI blog ahead a lot, right now I have about 60 book reviews scheduled to post in the next year. So if I do end up going through a reading slump I have a whole lot of books already read and scheduled to post so I can take a little break.
ReplyDeleteOh lord! I've never been more than 2-3 posts ahead lol
DeleteI usually don't worry about it. I just do other things I like. I like reading anthologies of short stories to ease myself back into the groove of things because if I don't like the story I'm reading I stop and go to another one. I don't think I have had a 100% slump in a long time because I listen to audio books when I'm eating alone, which right now is most of the time. 🍜 I think one can still book blog when not reading because there a ton of features with topics and lists, like this one and Top Ten Tuesday. And there are always discussion posts that can be done or posts about book covers, etc. 📚
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm in a slump I'm almost anti book lol I don't want to read anything, blog about books...nothing. But I am learning to just blog about other things entirely which seems to....end my reading slump lol
DeleteYou have really tried it all!!
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah dunno what works for me yet
Nothing really works for me. If I don't feel like reading I just need to stop lol
DeleteLuckily, I don't really get reading slumps. Sure, I might not read for a few days or not much, but I don't really count those as slumps.
ReplyDeleteLauren @ www.shootingstarsmag.net
A few days isn't bad. I could live with that.
Delete