For the last few years, I’ve been in an on-again, off-again reading slump due to the increased responsibility associated with getting older and an Internet addiction that’s killed my attention span. It’s unfortunate because I love reading, and I’m constantly working on getting out of said slump. I know a lot of other readers have similar problems, so here’s some of the methods I’ve tried that have helped me read more. I’ve also included three book recommendations with each method that I think are relevant!
Read short works.
I used to think I was somehow less of a reader if I didn’t commit myself to reading long works like War and Peace and try to finish them in a single sitting, but I know now that’s not true. Short works like novellas, short stories, plays, and poetry can be read quickly in a sitting or two, so you can still read lots of literature without devoting tons of time to it (although it’s certainly nice to do so) or constantly getting lost because you can’t remember where you left off all those months ago.
Recommendations: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (93 pages), The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (181 pages), Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood (short story collection)
Read a work you’re sure you’ll love.
If you haven’t read a work, then obviously you can’t know you’ll love it. However, by taking a quick look at the book’s summary and reviews on Amazon or Goodreads, you can get a good idea of whether it’s quality and if it will align with your tastes. For example, if your favorite genre is YA fantasy, Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows is a much better bet than Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. The following recommendations are three books that are pretty widely loved!
Recommendations: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (the companion to The Kite Runner, but with better female representation), The Martian by Andy Weir, Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Reread something you read and loved.
Rereading gives you the comfort of familiar territory, the guarantee of something you’ll enjoy, and the opportunity to gain new insight into a book you already love. You also don’t have to stress as much about understanding what’s going on or dramatic cliffhangers. Below are three books that are a delight to reread!
Recommendations: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
Read something completely foreign to you.
If you’re getting bored of reading the same stuff over and over, it’s great to explore some new genres and discover new territory. For example, I usually don’t like nonfiction much, but I’ve found I really like reading art history books, especially ones with nice pictures. I also think non-novel forms of literature are underrated, such as poetry and drama.
Recommendations: Mad Honey Symposium by Sally Wen Mao (poetry), M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang (play), The Bone Mother by David Demchuk (short story collection)
Surround yourself with fellow book lovers.
Join a book community like booklr (book Tumblr), bookstagram (book Instagram—the header photo is a shameless advertisement of my comatose bookstagram), or a book club! Make friends who read books, so you can talk about books with each other and encourage each other to read more. It’s much easier to get out of your reading slump if you have people around to support you and share your love for reading.
Even if you’re not a huge fan of reading, it’s good to pick up a book every once in a while. I’m always here to support fellow readers and encourage them to read more! Now I’m off to hopefully decrease the 18-book pile of books I have checked out from the library.
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