How to get out of a reading slump?

[4691mls]

Why not just take a break for a little while? A week, two weeks, whatever seems good to you. Just because you like something doesn't mean you have to do it every day, all year round. Maybe after a short time off, you'll start to miss reading and be inspired to start again.

[Bookpossum]

Hello BookCat - just found this thread. Maybe another thing to try is short bites rather than a long novel.

As you like humour, read some James Thurber, who makes me laugh out loud however often I read him.

And something like the "Mapp and Lucia" omnibus by E F Benson (look in our mobileread library for it) can be read and savoured a chapter at a time. It's quite delicious and I am eternally grateful to issybird for recommending it in another thread about humour. How could I have got so far through life without having read any E F Benson until now?

I think historical fiction and classics might be a bit too "heavy" in your present situation. Light romance could be an option of course. How about Mary Stewart?

[wvcherrybomb]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

This kind of slump happens to all avid readers now & then. My cures, in no implied order:

1. Watch lots of trashy TV (re-runs) if available - until you're so sick of empty entertainment, books look good again.

This. I highly recommend Amish Mafia or Maury.

My reading slumps usually involve getting stuck on a very specific genre, running out of stuff to read pertaining to it, and not being able to get into anything else.

Others have already mentioned this, but it works for me too - reread an old favorite. It's kind of a "cleansing of the palate" for me and works every time.

[cromag]

When it happens to me, I switch to short stories -- ones that can be read in 15 to 30 minutes. Plenty of them in several genres are available here and at Project Gutenberg.

[applesauce]

Avoid long books. Pick an easy read, and change books if you do not love it. Do not keep going. I found short books in a series got me going again. My fall back is deathland books, they work for me such easy reads and nice and fast. When I have read a tombstone I tend to follow with one of those. They may not be your cup of tea, but any short books in a series works.

applesauce

[morriss003]

This has happened to me a few times in my lifetime. At first it bothered me. Now, I don't worry about it. It'll pass.

[Maggie May]

When I get into a reading slump. I plug in my MP3 player and listen to music for a change. When I tire of my music, I know it's time to get back to reading and I settle into the "reading" groove again. That ususally works for me.

[Beginner-reader]

I've had this problem ever since my Kindle unexpectedly died on me two days ago. While there are books I want to read, I only have them in ebook format so I'm done reading them for now. However, I decided I'd go to my local library and indulge in some ice-cream cone reading coupled with anime watching. I ended up re-reading volumes 1, 2 and 3 of Fairy Tail and watching the corresponding anime episodes.
While I do long for something more "intellectual" (and in another language since I routinely read in two languages but prefer one over the other) I've enjoyed this "break".

[Quake1028]

I would guess just force yourself to read something each day, even if it's only a few pages. I personally don't fight slumps too much, I think they are healthy in an odd sort of way, prevent permanent burnout.

[tamborine]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

I have a different recommendation. You need to stop reading *about* books (that means taking a break from here!), stop downloading new books, stop watching videos about books. If you are always looking for the latest and greatest, it's hard to appreciate what's in front of you. The worst reading slump for me happened when I started working at a bookstore. We were allowed to borrow any book we wanted, and (of course) we were always discussing new books. Suddenly no book I was reading was ever good enough.

eP

elemenoP, you're a genius! Thank you for hitting me over the head with the obvious. I've been in a terrible slump for over a year, and it really upsets me, because reading used to be my greatest pleasure. But it seems like since I first got a Kindle in '09, I've been reading less and less, and deriving less enjoyment from it when I do read. I'll start reading a book and not be able to concentrate, thinking that there's probably something better I could be reading, and then give it up. Or else I slog onward, and it takes me weeks to finish a book I normally would read in a couple of nights. I've degenerated into a free and bargain book collector, and though it gives me kind of a smug satisfaction, I want to go back to being the real READER that I used to be!

I probably have enough e-books for ten lifetimes. In "the good old days", I would go to the bookstore or the library and come home with one or two books, and I'd usually enjoy them immensely. Now, I'm drowning in a sea of books, and spend way too much time accumulating more & more. Time to stop that. But I'll have to figure out a system for selecting from my existing library. Just looking at that list of books overwhelms me!

[HarryT]

I re-read an old favourite (which, for me, is either Dickens or fantasy such as David Eddings' "Belgariad"). Being reintroduced to an old friend always gets me out of a slump.

[JSWolf]

For me, once I get into reading, I'm good to go. But I'm finding it harder to get started reading. This only started recently. But I am going to try and make myself read when I have at least a half hour to read. I'll see how I get on then.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by BookCat

Does anyone have ideas as to how to get out of a reading slump?

Why don't you check out the free "Selected Shorts" podcasts? Each podcast features 2 or 3 short stories by different authors read by great voice actors. (You can download the latest 5 episodes here or subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.)
If you like a short story, you could search the MR library for other short stories by the same author.

I liked last year's re-broadcast of the "Mysteries and Wonders" episode, which featured Saki's funny short story "The Schartz-Metterklume Method" about a mischievous aristocrat who is mistaken for a governess.
This story is also available on MR as an ePub, which you can convert to LRF with calibre.

[QuantumIguana]

You could try some short stories, perhaps even in a genre that you don't like. If you find you're not interested in the types of books you usually like, perhaps your tastes have changed. With short stories, your time investment is short. You might discover that you like some types of stories that you previously didn't like, or you might find out that you still don't like them. Still, verifying that you still don't like it can be useful.

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by tamborine

I probably have enough e-books for ten lifetimes. In "the good old days", I would go to the bookstore or the library and come home with one or two books, and I'd usually enjoy them immensely. Now, I'm drowning in a sea of books, and spend way too much time accumulating more & more. Time to stop that. But I'll have to figure out a system for selecting from my existing library. Just looking at that list of books overwhelms me!

I think that's a real problem with "bargain" ebooks. You tend to end up with a lot of OK books and hardly any great books, but you feel compelled to read the OK books now you've got them.

At Christmas, I decided to allow myself to buy four agency-priced books that have been on my wish list for ages, and I'm really glad I did. They're probably the four books I'm most looking forward to reading on my kindle. I'll be starting the first of them as soon as I finish my current book.

It's nice to get a bargain, and some of them turn out to be excellent, but you have to treat yourself to something you actually want every now and again.