I can’t even count how many times I’ve told someone, “Oh I love to read, but I don’t have much time for it anymore.” With assigned readings for classes, a looming pile of assignments, and an addiction to the never-ending doom scroll, I rarely pick up the books I love so much. I say I don’t have much time for it, but the six-hour screen time on my phone begs to differ. But for whatever reason, more often than not it feels like a chore to put down my phone and pick up a book. This begins the dreaded reading slump. Here are a few things I do to break out of it:
- Find a genre you love.
It might seem crazy, but there’s a whole world of genres out there besides romance. While a cheesy romance hits the spot every once in a while, it’s always good to diversify. It can be challenging to branch out and try new genres. Some favorites I have recently discovered are fantasy and mystery. If you’re interested in either, two authors I recommend for these genres are Sarah J Mass and Riley Sager. A book I recommend for a mystery would be If We Were Villians by M.L Rio. It’s a dark academia mystery with a lot of Shakespeare thrown in.
2. Take in book content.
Nothing motivates me more to read than to listen to other people rave about how good a book is. Watching Book Tubers, Book Tok, or reading Goodreads reviews always helps get me going. Not only does it make me want to get back into reading, but it also is a great way to find books to add to my To Be Read list. Personally, I love Haley Pham’s book content.
3. Don’t be afraid to DNF a book.
DNF, or Did Not Finish, is something I found recently. Sometimes I just don’t vibe with a book: the writing, the plot, the characters, etc. Or maybe it’s just the wrong time for me to pick up that book, and there’s something else I’d rather read. The best way to stay out of a reading slump is to accept defeat that a book isn’t working out. Forcing myself to finish a book only means that I will delay reading as much as I can, therefore creating a slump. Similarly, if I’ve found myself in a slump, I know that maybe it’s time to pick up another book to get out of it.
4. Listen to music while reading.
Another way to make reading more fun is to find playlists for the books you’re reading. I always just search the title on Spotify and see what pops up. It helps with the ambiance while reading, and also can be a good way to fully immerse myself in the book.
5. Make time to read.
If reading is something I love to do, then I should make time in my life for it just like anything else. I have app limits on my phone for all social media so I don’t waste my time scrolling on there, and also have downtime set up on my phone at night so I won’t be on my phone as much. I try to prioritize reading as my wind-down at the end of the day instead of using my phone.