TTT·When you don’t feel like reading

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

August 21:

BooksMethods to Pull You Out of a Reading Slump

This year I suffered a reading slump that lasted about a month or two, and discovered that when you are in a reading slump you (wait for it) don’t feel like reading (*gasp*) I’m turning this theme around and going through things you can do to move past that annoying slump

You can also check out Marta @The Cursed books‘s post on reading slumps 101

Depending on your type of slump you need different remedies. It can be because you got a book.hungover or you read too many books to quickly or you are dealing with some things and can’t get into a reading mindset. Whatever the cause here are some tricks to try:

1.Reading novellas or short stories

Yes, I know, you said no reading, but listen. Sometimes you just need to get back that warm feeling of starting a book and finishing it in one sitting. It’s amazing and you feel reinvigorated. For this novellas are the way to go, they tell a full story in few pages. I have some recommendations from my personal favorites but mostly go with what you are feeling like at the moment.

2. Web Comics and graphic novels

Maybe the problem is that your brain is tired of processing so many words, staring at a white page with tiny lines can be draining so why not try withy something colourful and pretty and mostly in dialogue?

3.Audiobooks

What if we take away the print altogether? Audiobooks are a good alternative for when you just can’t sit down and pick something up. I use them mostly when I’m traveling but there’s also people who listen to them as they do house work or something else that requires manual work with little brain power. You focus your attention in the story and suddenly an hour has gone by and you managed to finish all your chores!

4.Podcasts

Following the vein of audiobooks, podcasts are a great way to get engaging conversations where you don’t need to participate. Depending on the kind of podcast you listen to it can be a whole story, an advice show, a comedy, curiosities, world news, etc. there’s so many different kinds that you are bound to find something specific to your taste

5. Re-reading

And we are back to reading, re-reading a book you loved can be another way to get yourself back into a state where you actually enjoy the act of reading. Sitting down with a story you already know and like takes much less effort than trying to discover a whole new set of characters. I’ve done this a couple of times changing the format of the book to add something different, like listening to the audiobook instead or looking up if they have a graphic novel version.

6.Watch book adaptations of books you haven’t read

You know how, when you’ve read a book and then watch the movie, you can’t help but look for mistakes? Well, that can’t happen if you haven’t read the book! You get the best of both worlds! It may also make you want to read the book if the movie/tv show was good.

7.Read book blogs/watch booktube videos

Sometimes it helps to see other people excited about reading. Reading how much someone loved a book or seeing a fun book tag recommending you books can be a way to updating your TBR and getting you excited to get to a book

8.Fanfiction

You’ve consumed a lot of media, you know what you like but blurbs and reviews are too vague or you just don’t feel like tackling a heavy story. That’s when you turn to fanfics! You have beloved character in low stakes situations, generally falling in love or just having a great time. Though it depends on the fanfic you pick, you can know before reading just going by the tags (I’m talking about my personal experience in AO3) Whatever kind of story you are craving I can assure you: you can find it on fanfics and on whichever length you feel most comfortable with.

Well, those are my ways of getting out of a reading slump

What are some things that help you out?