Within this past year, I was in one of the longest reading slumps of my entire life. I practically didn’t touch a book for 6 months, which is crazy considering I want to read every second of every day. Once I started college, it just got worse. Between October – December I was able to start reading again and I was beyond thankful. Sadly, once January hit, I fell back into a slump. Now that it is March, and it is finally getting warmer outside, I’ve been able to read some more, and let me tell you, it has been brutally humbling.
I have found that my taste in certain tropes and genres has changed completely! Certain things might not work for everyone, but here are some tips that might help you be able to get back into reading!
- Re-reading your favorite book
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Sometimes to get back into reading, you need to be reminded how much you love it. I highly recommend re-reading one of your favorite books, or even the book that got you into reading. Now I am not someone who typically re-reads books, no matter how much I love them, so for me, I start with a book I know I will enjoy.
- start small
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One of the biggest tips that I would recommend if you are trying to get back into reading, is to start small. Don’t start reading a series that has tons of books in it, until you are ready for that commitment. I try to pick a stand-alone, or a duo-logy in order to make sure I start small. For the best luck, try to find sometime by one of your favorite authors or a book that has a lot of good reviews. You can also try an audiobook, because sometimes there just isn’t enough time to pick up a book.
- It is okay to DNF a book
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One of the biggest tips I could give is that it is perfectly okay to not finish a book if you are not enjoying it. For the sake of my Goodreads goal, I will suffer through a book, but sometimes they can truly be insufferable. There are plenty of times that you are going to come across a book that isn’t to your liking, and that’s perfectly okay. There are so many other good options out there, so definitely keep looking until you find what works for you!
- don’t put pressure on yourself
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If you take one thing away from this article, I hope it is this; there is no reason to rush and put so much pressure on yourself. Reading is supposed to be something fun, relaxing, and something that you enjoy doing. It shouldn’t be seen as a task or chore, because then you aren’t going to be enjoying it as much as you should be.
I always set my standards just a little bit too high, and I do it with my yearly goal. You shouldn’t base yourself on how many books you read in a month, or even a year. There are people out there who can read over 100 books in a year, and they are just as important as those who may only read 5 books a year.
Like I previously said, reading should be something you enjoy doing. Make sure it is something you create a hobby, not a chore. Once you realize that your worth isn’t based on the number of books you read, but by the quality of books you read, it will become a lot more enjoyable!
- Your taste might have changed; try something new!
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If you have read a lot of books in your lifetime, you might start to realize that you aren’t enjoying certain genres or tropes as much as you used to. Sometimes enough is enough, and you may need to try something new. I was always a young adult romance reader, and then I discovered fantasy and even mystery. I started flying through those books because I realized that there is so much more out there.
Once you branch out, it becomes easier to figure out what you like versus what you don’t. I know the types of genres I don’t enjoy, which authors I typically don’t enjoy, and even certain tropes that I stay away from. This may be harder said than done, but trial and error will help you narrow down your interests.
The best way for you to see what else is out there that you might like could be through TikTok, more specifically BookTok, YouTube, or even going to your local bookstore. One of my favorite hobbies is mindlessly walking through Barnes & Noble. I could be in there for hours if I was made of money, which sadly I am not.
I hope that some, if not all, of these tips work for you! It isn’t always the easiest to find the time to read, but hopefully, you are able to find some good books. Here are some of my favorite books that I have read recently:
- Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (there is a second book titled Ruthless Vows)
- Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (this is a 3-book series)
- The Words We Keep by Erin Stewart
- Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter
- The Do-Over by Lynn Painter
- Seven Dirty Secrets by Natalie D. Richards
- If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin (there is a second book titled If Only I Had Told Her)