As a bookworm, finding yourself in a reading slump is one of the worst feelings you can experience. Last month mine was even worse because I felt forced to read for my literature classes in order to do assignments and homework. I couldn’t even enjoy what I was reading because all of the love I felt for this hobby was stripped away and I didn’t know what to do. February was a horrendous reading month, even the books I told myself I had to read in my free time felt like a chore, and I know for a fact I would’ve liked them a lot more if I hadn’t been so burnt out.
I’ve been in reading slumps before so I have a few tips and tricks for getting out of one, and for this most recent one I had to pull out all the stops. This is my extensive guide for things that have helped me get out of one of my worst reading slumps.
- Realization
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Realizing and admitting that you are in fact in a book slump is the first thing. Reading is more than just a hobby for me — it’s how I find escape and I don’t want that feeling to go away, so I like to be very open and honest with myself when I feel a slump coming on. It’s also important to realize that slumps are normal, the point is to find a balance for it in your life, not the other way around. Realizing that you don’t have to read to reach a certain number goal at the end is something that can take the weight of the slump off your shoulder.
- Listening to audiobooks is reading!
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I love reading physically as much as the next person but I also love audiobooks! Sometimes I don’t have the energy to sit and stare at words on a page for hours and conjure up a movie in my head for what the characters are doing. When I do that during a book slump, it ends up looking like a low-budget iMovie that you and your cousins decided to make on a boring afternoon. So my favorite thing that I turn to when I know I’m in a reading slump is an audiobook. It feels like less energy is being used and it helps me envision my books much more. It’s also highly rewarding seeing the time stamp of the audio go down as you read. Oftentimes I don’t even realize how much I’ve read while I do low maintenance activities like coloring as the book plays in my ear.
- Buddy reading, book club, or podcast
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While reading is a solo activity, this can also contribute to an intense reading slump since you might not have someone to motivate you along. I buddy read a book with a friend last year while we were both kind of in a slump and while neither of us particularly liked the book we read together, it was the fact that we were in it together that helped us get through it and it made the experience so much more exciting. We would send updates and reactions to each other, reminding ourselves why reading is so fun. I decided to do this again for my more recent slump and follow along with a bookish podcast where they pick a book a month and then use an episode to just talk about it. I’m still currently reading the book for the month of February but just knowing that I have an episode waiting for me when I finish is all the motivation I need.
- Bring a book with you everywhere!
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This one is pretty simple, but it’s insane how often it works. Whatever book you want to start or are currently in the middle of, bring it with you to school, work, casual errands, to a friends house, literally any and everywhere. Pack that book in your favorite purse or schoolbag, if you have a kindle it’s easy to carry around, just make sure you have it within reach at all times. You’ll be surprised how much time is in those in-between moments and how much you can read in that time. It can be while you wait for your next class to start or in the dentist’s waiting room, you never know when the urge to read will strike.
- Make it fun and aesthetic
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We live in a world where romanticizing your life makes it easier to live in it. I love to romanticize and make my reading feel aesthetic, my favorite way to do this is by finding a new coffee shop or bookstore. Not only do I make the reading journey aesthetic, but I often discover a new favorite place in the process, which is a win-win in my eyes. You can even take cute pictures, try a new drink, or bring a friend along with you. As long as it’s enjoyable it’ll make you excited about reading and at the end of the day, that’s the goal.
- Put that phone away!
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A lot of the time, my slump coexists with my phone addiction and how easily I get distracted. There have been nights where I sit down with the intention to read, but my brain doesn’t get the memo, instead, preferring hours of doom scrolling short-form content and before I know it it’s time to go to sleep and there’s no way my brain has enough capacity to read even one page. I’ve tried putting time limits on my phone but that doesn’t really work for me. So I’ve resorted to chucking my phone across the room and deciding I’m too lazy to go get it…JK, but I do turn my phone on silent and put it as far away from me as possible (often the bathroom in my small apartment). “Out of sight, out of mind” holds true and it feels good to read a full chapter without picking up my phone every other page.
- Don’t force yourself
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This has been said throughout the article but it’s absolutely true. While it’s necessary to do things to get out of a slump, none of it should feel forced. Go to a coffee shop if you want too. Buddy read with a friend but only if it’s a book that you’re both interested in. Listen to audiobooks if you have the means. And don’t doom scroll. The goal is to make reading fun and enjoyable, to allow that spark back in your life when sometimes life wants to take it out of you. I’m a huge mood reader so I always know that I will eventually find a book that will jumpstart my reading again but the purpose of all of this is to figure out what to do in the meantime.