I used to read as if my life depended on me finishing a book every week. But until recently, I was in a reading slump that started around the end of my junior year of high school. The only books I could make myself read were books that I was assigned for a class and even then, I didn’t always read them. It wasn’t that books stopped being interesting, just that I didn’t have enough energy or the attention span to read them. Sometimes, it was also that I didn’t have the time. Even when I bought new books that I was excited about, just thinking about sitting down and actually reading them was exhausting.
That all changed this past December.
One of my favorite authors started a new series two years ago and the first book was in my TBR pile for so long that the second book was almost out when I decided to try something new. Based on a friend’s suggestion, I bought the audiobook and started listening. I never liked audiobooks before and didn’t think they were for me. However, I’ve been a fan of podcasts for about two years now because I can listen to them while I’m cleaning, playing video games, cooking, taking a bubble bath, etc. I think they were easier because I could do things while I listened. To my surprise, audiobooks worked the same way.
Since I started listening to books rather than reading them back in December, I’ve read eight books and I’m two ahead in my Goodreads 2021 reading challenge. Most recently, over the past three days, I finished a ten-hour audiobook. At this rate, I’ll be making a huge dent in my TBR list this year.
I never imagined how much getting back into an old hobby would help my mental health. I feel more like myself than I have in a long time. I’m having a lot more fun. As a writer, I no longer feel guilty about having trouble reading and I’ve even been writing more.
If you’re like me and you’ve been having trouble getting through books like you used to, try an audiobook. They can be a little bit strange at first, especially if the voice actor doesn’t sound like the voices you’ve made for the characters in your head, but once you get used to them they can work wonders.
P.S. If you don’t want to pay, some audiobooks can be found on Spotify! For example, The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, which my first tattoo is based on.