There is nothing worse than being on a time crunch with your books, whether they are library books due back or new releases you want to get a post or review up for. Reading slumps can be really hard to get out of, especially when you’re forcing yourself, so I figured a great post for us all is to work out what reading slumps are, what they mean to us, and to then help us identify a path back to our books.

I’ve had several reading slumps in recent years, a big one around October last year (which some of you may remember I tried to do a post a day for the month), and, more recently, my February slump. That should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen my February reading summary. It was a rough month for my books. So why is that?

I know that I can fall into slumps when I overload myself with books that need to get read. Part of this is the time pressure, even though Mum will say I’m a fast reader. Yes, I could get the books read, but the fact is that there’s an shadow hanging over me, pulling me out of the reads and making it difficult to really connect with characters and plots. The other part is that when I’m collecting half a dozen books at a time from the library, they tend to branch out of my usual areas and even if I’ve intentionally picked them to try something different my reading worm feels isolated from the content. An overwhelmed and isolated reading worm is not what anyone wants.

So, how can you go about climbing your way out of your reading slump?

My first suggestion to you is to honestly let yourself have a break. Reading slumps can be an indication that our brains are overloaded and they need a break from all the new story worlds and lore that come with each new read. Go outside, go for a walk, see friends or go wander through a local market or park. Break s are necessary in studying, so why wouldn’t they apply to reading?

The second thing, if you’re feeling a little investigative, is to find out what about the books waiting for you (or your recent reads that you maybe DNFed) is so “different” from your usual read. Are you expanding into a different genre? My recent few reads have been Sci-Fi and NZ Fiction and those two can feel very heavy and charged with their content and tones. What about tropes? Like I mentioned last week, favourite tropes and cliches can make the reading process a ball no matter what the rest of the book is doing. Did you get a few BookTok recommendations based off vibes and tropes but you’re feeling this sense of anticipation and expectation from them? We’re dipping into my next point here, but if there tropes aren’t your go-to tropes, is that keeping you from picking it up?

Have you been feeling that hype and anticipation from BookTok and Bookstagram with some of your books and you can’t bring yourself to pick them up in case they fall short? First, let me just say that it happens with everyone. This doesn’t even have to be hype garnered from social media – of your friend or colleague or family member recommends something to you, there can be a slight pressure to like it and it can take over your whole reading experience. If this is you, ask yourself if you genuinely want to read the book or if there is an expectation to read it that is pushing you to do so.

My final suggestion to you, and this may seem drastic to some but, in all honesty, it has helped me a lot, is to give yourself a clean slate. Write down the books you have out right now and keep that somewhere like at your desk or in a book journal. Then either shelf those books for another time or return the library books. A few weeks down the road, you may pick up one of the books. Maybe another month goes by and you pick up two. Some you may not think about again. It’s okay to not read a book. It’s okay to give yourself the space to start again and refine what it is you want to read. Sometimes when we try new things we can push yourself too quickly into trying everything when really a few dips into the waters is more than enough. It’s a great way to give yourself the break, to discern what it is you actually want to read, and to come back to a book with the want to read it regardless of expectations and hype. Often, I find, that reading popular or hyped books after their initial hype is more rewarding as they stand the test of time and genuinely have that long-lasting hype and high-quality to them.

Hopefully this helps anyone who is trudging through a reading slump. The takeaways really are that it is okay to be in a reading slump and that its okay to start over with your reading. We read for entertainment, for enjoyment, and if we are pressuring ourselves to reading we lose both. Take your time with reading and don’t force yourself to read.