How to get out of a reading slump

[FalconQueen]

Help! I am in a massive reading slump. I have loads of books but I just don't want to read any of them at the moment. I normally read every day and I really miss it when I don't read.

Normally when I am in a slump I read an old favourite but I have read them all recently (have been doing a lot of comfort reading in the past year) or I read a children's or young adult book but I have tried one of each and neither of them grabbed me.

How can I beat my slump and get reading again.

I am blaming 'The Shock of the Fall' I read upto pg 100 before abandoning it but it was so bad it has put me off reading altogether!

Try something completely different - like history, or biography/ memoir?

I know what you mean by comfort read. Not exactly comfort read, but I recently bought Mrs Frisby and the rats of Nimh and look forward to reading it. I read it as a child and loved it, but can't really remember it wanted to read it again.

Do you belong to a book club? I joined one specifically to get me reading again, as when I retired I stopped commuting and when I stopped commuting I stopped reading. I find having to read one book a month makes me more likely to read others in between meetings.

I have a mental block about non-fiction I really struggle to read it at the best of times so I think it will just make it worse.

I recently read Mrs Frisby and the rats of Nimh to my daughter and we both really enjoyed it. Perhaps I should try a different childrens book. It was Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief that I tried and failed to get into but I have lots of others.

I am not a member of a book club, my brother joined one recently and they tend to read literary fiction or those books that always seem to be aimed at book clubs and they are not really my cup of tea.
I need a fantasy, historical romance and cosy crime book club.

Same, OP! I finally convinced myself to re-start reading. I am reading the trial- Kafka and so far I like it. I think the only way for me was to just force myself to read.

I always go for short stories when I'm in a slump. If one doesn't grab you, you can always skip onto the next one. This then gets me back into the swing of it!

I’m the same. I’m blaming it on covid. Struggling through Crawdads at the moment. I’m actually having more success with audiobooks at the moment - I listen in the car.

What about a graphic novel? Fun Home by Alison Bechdel or Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi are both excellent memoirs in graphic form.

I read ghost stories when I'm in a slump. I like The Travelling Bag by Susan Hill, Three Winter Ghosts by Gary Sargent, Fireside Gothic by Andrew Taylor and I have a collection by MR James that is as old as the hills.
These are all short stories which is best for spooky tales.

I've been similar - it's been taking me weeks to finish a book that usually I'd do in a few days. I'm blaming Covid and just being too preoccupied to concentrate.

However, I've just read a fantastic children's/young adult book called 'Trash' by Andy Mulligan - started and finished this weekend. I genuinely haven't been able to put it down. So that would be my recommendation to kick start you. (Won't dwell on the fact that it's ds12's holiday reading challenge book from school that he 'forgot' about and now only has a week to read)

I have just finished Robert Webb’s autobiography “How not to be a Boy” which I enjoyed

The last book I read that I couldn't put down was 'the push' - highly addictive reading
I'm in a bit of a slump which I blame On my kindle as I'm forever buying cheap books on it or samples and find it hard to stick with a book unless it totally grabs me
I've recently really enjoyed still life by Sarah winman as well but the push was a very easy gripping read in comparison

I loved shock of the fall. Didn’t get on with crawdads. It was so cringey. Short stories are great. I can recommend Sarah Hall, Madame Zero.

I’m the same ( except I listen to books instead of reading them ). I have listened to 90 since jan. but the last few weeks I just can’t seem to stick to one. It’s frustrating.

Can you try the first book in a long saga so that once you get hooked in there are lots of sequels to keep the momentum going? The first of the Cazalet Chronicles, for example, or the first of Susan Howatch’s Starbridge series?

How about something in diary form like Diary of a Provincial Lady, Hens Dancing or Bridget Jones so you can read a few entries.

@JaneJeffer

How about something in diary form like Diary of a Provincial Lady, Hens Dancing or Bridget Jones so you can read a few entries.

In a similar vein, have you tried the Scotland Street novels by Alexander McCall Smith? They are episodic - I think one episode a day is published in The Scotsman - so the books are easy to pick up and put down. They are light, funny and observational.

I have decided to broaden my fiction reading by focusing on books in translation and horror/ghost stories and debut authors this year. Given me a whole new lease of life

When I hit a slump I turn to pure trash to see me through!

I usually load up on a few titles at the library so I don't feel bad about buying them and not reading them..

At the moment I'm reading (in short bursts between working) The Other Black Girl - it's not trash, in fact its great, but it's definitely a page turner and really not aimed at me (old, white, unambitious)

I decided to try Zadie Smith when I got into a reading slump. And was very impressed.