#21: Four Ways to Get Out of a Reading Slump
A little boost for your Top Priority New Year's resolution
So. Don’t lie. You have books somewhere on your list of new year’s resolutions and now you’ve plucked out a beautiful edition of Pride and Prejudice to begin getting that goal ticked off. Read more books. Read one book a month. Just read one book. Finish War and Peace, goddamnit. Somewhere, nestled in-between ‘be more active’ and ‘buy less takeaways’, is the desire to conquer more books. And even if you have absolutely no intention of turning a page or picking up a Kindle, you certainly tell anybody who asks that you do.
There are so many reasons you can find yourself in a reading slump. You haven’t read since school and you’re not sure where to start; in fact, you’re too busy to even think about how to start reading books. You don’t have time to read them now that you’re an adult with a Life and Friends and a Job, maybe even Children! Or maybe you’re already an avid reader who now has stringent standards for books that you either can’t find one that really stimulates your mind or you refuse to pick up another book until you’ve finished the current horrible behemoth you’re reading (War and Peace). Whatever the reason, the best way to approach reading is to go right back to the beginning. Pretend you’re a child who is really excited at knowing what the hungry caterpillar ate next. You’re not even aware that one day you’re going to be scribbling notes about what Pierre Bezukhov is up to.
Don’t feel pressured to read specific things
Read what is interesting to you. Read Twilight (again), read Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (again). Read Hamlet. Read Each Peach Pear Plum if you must, just start at a place you know you will enjoy; you may even come to find that, shock horror, you have outgrown the genres you previously liked and now need to venture out for a new challenge. Sure, you can jump straight into War and Peace if you want, but don’t feel the need to do it just because you think you should. I think it’s best to dip your toes in so that it doesn’t push you away further; do some research or read an easy classic that has been on your TBR list for a while. If it still doesn’t work, maybe you just don’t like reading. And that’s fine.
Set realistic reading goals
It’s tempting to aim for one book every week, or even every month, but it’s easy to feel frustrated when life gets in the way and you fail to reach those goals. It’s a great idea to aim for something based on your current reading habits, but it’s an even better idea to start small: I’m going to read for 20 minutes a day. Or, I’m going to read one chapter a day (depending on how long they are). Or, I’m going to read 30 pages a day. It’s so important to be realistic and not push yourself too hard because that’ll only end up making you feel dejected, like it’s impossible to achieve those goals. It’s possible. Just don’t tell yourself you’re going to read War and Peace in a week.
Read a short story
I am a Big Number One Hater of super long chapters. I hate them. I like short, choppy chapters, and I loved Gone Girl. The diary-style really works for me because I have the attention span of a baby and the memory of a fish, so longer chapters often mean I am turning back a few pages to figure out who a character is (and it turns out they were introduced a couple chapters ago). Enter the short story. Granted, in some ways it’s worse than a novel because it’s just one really long chapter (my nightmare), but you know the finish line is close. You can even break it up yourself if you want, take a little break for a little snack halfway through. The point is, if you’re a dopamine chaser, adding short stories to your pile is sure to satisfy your burning desire to read more, because, if you’re anything like me, your brain is probably programmed to view a short story as an entire book. Once you start conquering stories, it’ll make you hungry for more. The Tell-Tale Heart is probably my favourite. Start there if you like weird things.
Keep a book on you at all times, especially when travelling
I cannot stress this one enough! Ebooks helped me immensely and are the sole reason I have been able to hit my reading goals and get through books as quickly as I do. Though I read on the treadmill, I also read while on the train (my journeys can range anywhere from twenty minutes to two hours). You can also read in waiting rooms, when there’s an awkward silence, when you’re waiting in your car. When you’ve got a spare ten or fifteen-minute block, it’s so easy to get through a few pages of a book, which will keep you in the habit of reading constantly; just a couple pages a day is enough to get the ball rolling. You just have to make the conscious decision to choose that over doom-scrolling.
Remember. When you are asked “have you been waiting long?”:
“Oh I didn’t even notice, I was just reading Metamorphosis.”
sounds a lot better than
“Oh I didn’t even notice, I was just watching some guy finger a melon on TikTok.”
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