A reading slump is a phase in which readers have little to no interest in anything they read. It happens to the best readers and is something I am currently in. Reading slumps can happen when you read a great book and don’t want to pick up anything else after it or when a lot is going on, taking away time you might spend relaxing and reading. Read on for helpful tips on how readers can get out of a slump.
Take a break
Sometimes, the best cure for a reading slump is to step away for a bit. You can focus on other hobbies, schoolwork or hanging out with friends. Instead of dedicating all your time to trying to read a book you are not interested in, taking a break and working on other priorities is beneficial. When I fell into a book slump, I started watching a show. I chose The Vampire Diaries and binged about four seasons before picking up a book, and after that, I started falling in love with reading again.
Read shorter books
A big reason readers enter slumps is how daunting a book may seem. Books can be long, maybe hitting the thousand-page mark, and picking up a book the size of a brick can be overwhelming. Picking up a shorter book that is super easy to read, like romcoms, young adult books, or middle grade, can help anyone escape a slump. I recommend A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, The Love Hypothesis, by Ali Hazelwood, and Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan.
Re-read a favorite
Sometimes, returning to a book you know you will love is a great way to rekindle your love of reading. Whenever I’m stuck in a slump, I return to Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, one of my favorite books ever. It is a story about six teenagers going on an intense heist for money they all desperately need. It is full of found family, romance, and humor and is an incredibly well-written book that I have heavily annotated and read three times. Readers tend to have that one book they go back to repeatedly, hoping just to experience the feeling of reading it for the first time again.
Try a new genre
Slumps can arise from repeating genres that get boring after a while. This is especially true for genres like fantasy and sci-fi, which have a lot of world-building and made-up names that can be difficult to remember and make reading them time-consuming and annoying. Opting to branch out and try a genre you’ve never read can be an excellent way to get back into reading. Switching between genres every couple of books can help keep reading exciting and fun, avoiding slumps.
Join a book club
Talking to other people who love reading is a great way to get back into reading. Joining a book club not only forces you to read a book but also to talk about it. I have never met a reader who doesn’t like to talk about the book they’re reading, and hearing other people excited about a book makes you more enticed to read it and understand what they’re saying.
