As readers we all want nothing more than an uninterrupted few hours and a good book. But sometimes life takes us away from our shelves, or sometimes we get the I -Just - Don't - Wannas. I tend to have reading slumps in February, in anticipation of March and April being Women's History Months, (as my main genres are Feminist Historical Fiction and Feminist Classics.) I slow down in late April and May in anticipation of summer reading June through August. I usually take a reading vacation in September. I slowly get back into my groove in October, and hold steady November December and January. But even in those months I'm at my four to six book norm, sometimes I can't latch onto a book, or I can't find a book that interests me. So I've come up with a few ways to break those slumps :
1 - TBR jar - this is the easiest way to break a slump :
Take a jar
Write your TBR choices on slips of paper
Put slips of paper in jar
Shake jar
Extract slip
Read book on that slip
plus easy, cheap, and cute bookish decor
2 - Book-Genre Mashup / Read-alikes
Take a book, author, or genre you love, think of a genre you don't really read, then search your choices (for me Jane Austen + horror = Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.)
Or ~ if you love a particular classic, find a modern retelling in your particular genre
OR ~ I have to admit I'm not much of a romance reader, but I don't mind a cleverly crafted rom-com now and then. I know that the 5 main classic literary characters who have inspired just about every female author are Jo March, Lizzie Bennett, Anne Shirley, Catherine Earnshaw, and Jane Eyre - all characters that I admire. I can Google search authors inspired by Little Women and find books with heroines close to Jo March, etc.
3 - Watch the movie first -
Some readers will say sacrilege, I know. If there is a book you were on the fence about reading, try the movie first. If you spark with the movie, you will probably love the book. This is how I discovered Big Stone Gap, which quickly became a frequent re-watch/re-read
4 - Book Generated Lists
I love books about book stores and libraries and I can find book recommendations easily because those books often have lists of books recommended within the story
TV Show Generated Lists
Re-binge Gilmore Girls (cuz of course, cuz Paris!) Google a list of Rory's books then read one of those books
5 - Book film or television show non - book inspiration
Don Draper often went to the movies to find inspiration (and smoke) If you are a fan of a particular show search a list of movies mentioned in the show then research those films to see if they were based on a literary work. If so read that work or find a similar book in your particular genre. If one of those films peaks your interest (for me it would be the Italian film La Notte), search for books set in the same place, time, or with the same general theme as the film
6 - Author Generated Recommendations
My celebrity crush is Nemo van Devender. He is Ann Patchett's dog. I see him every Tuesday when I watch Ann Patchett list new releases at her bookstore Parnassus books. I see Nemo again every Friday when Anne does her It's New to You videos. But while I'm crushing on Nemo I am also getting book recommendations from one of my favorite authors. Google an author you like to find articles where they've mentioned books and authors they read and have been inspired by. Sometimes authors are very reluctant to talk about themselves and their own work but authors seem to always be eager to discuss the works of other authors. More likely than not if you love an author, you'll love the books and authors that author loves
7 - What I Read Last Roulette
Options within options - write down the the titles of the last five books you've read on individual slips of paper. Close your eyes and shuffle, then eenie meenie miney mo. Whichever title your finger lands on is the book you use to generate a recommendation. You can then :
Choose a word from that book title and search for other book titles containing that word
Think of something you loved in the book and search for books with that element - you can also do this with what you didn't like about the book, or what you wish there the novel had more of
(these are just two ideas. You can have a lot of fun coming up with anything else under the umbrella of this idea that can help you choose a book)
8 - Judge a Book by its Cover
Allow yourself $10 or $20, whatever you can afford. Go to a thrift store, used for trade shop, or local library sale, then don't think, don't read flaps or blurbs, just buy. Get as many books as you can for the money you have to spend, and then order them one through how many books you have. Order them any way you like from what you think is prettiest to least prettiest cover, rainbow color order, how far down the hunky cover hero's shirt is unbuttoned - whatever you want your bar to be. Then start with number one. If you don't like that book, DNF it and move on. Even if you only like one book, don't see what you spent as a waste of money because either a local small business, library or charity earned much needed money. Even if you only like one book you may have found a new favorite book or author. You can also do this with little free libraries or checking books out at your local library if money is an issue
9 - E-reader Cleanout
I can get a little greedy when it comes to choosing books to review for Net-galley and sometimes I'm approved for way more books than I can actually read. At least twice a year I look through my Kindle books and weed out what I think I can read quickly for a cursory review, and what I want to read for a more in-depth review. Sometimes going over what I've chosen in the past reminds me of why I wanted to read the book in the first place
Shelf or TBR Basket Cleanout
I have a full TBR basket and a small stack of books that I want to read in front of said TBR basket. My library bag sale is in less than one month. This is the biggie - a plastic grocery sack of books cost only $6 and a large shopper-sized bag cost $10. I have broken bags in the past by cramming in so many books. How can I buy new books at the next book sale if my TBR basket is full, especially if I'm in a reading slump? I can go to my book list app, sort books by date added, then pick the five books that I've had on my TBR the longest and just pick a book and start reading
10 - Theme Reading Variations
Think of something you like to look at - flowers, pretty dresses, cake - whatever you think of. Search for books with that item on the cover. Think of countries or cities you wish to travel to, then find books set in those places or with characters from those places (this option is where T T T lists really come in handy)
Read the Tropes
Even if you don't read romance, you know at least a few of the common romance tropes : grump and sunshine, enemies to lovers etc. Think of a trope you might want to read then try to find any book within your genre that, no matter how loosely, might fit that trope
Time Machine Reading
List out books that you loved as a kid, then find closely related adult versions of those novels
Trigger Phase Reading
Think of buzzwords in book descriptions that always get you excited and find books that have those buzzwords in their description or reviews
Word Association Reading
This booktuber hosts nonfiction November. Each year she chooses a random group of words and challengers readers to read a nonfiction book related to those words. Pick any five random words then say the first title on your TBR that matches each word, and read those books.
Or, like Brick Tambland, declare you love lamp and look around the room you're in then choose a book related to something you see
Books have existed for thousands of years and will, Book Banning be damned, continue to exist for thousands more. Take the time to analyze how you read - hard copy, e-reader, or audiobook. If you read mostly hard copy or print, try audio. Try switching to another genre. Think of the kind of book you would write if you were an author, then trying to find a similar book. I chose a theme read for the next 2 months, but I just can't seem to get started on it. I've decided to try the word association method to try and break my slump. The best advice on how to break a reading slump is to not put pressure on yourself. Reading is a marathon, not a sprint. It is a pleasure activity and if you force yourself to do anything you stop enjoying doing it. Relax and the reading magic will come to you.
