Selkie Shares #2: Reading Slumps
Monday, December 09, 2013
Selkie Shares is
a sporadic blog feature of The
Selkie Reads Stories, wherein we share our personal cogitations and insights
about a particular issue or topic related to our passion for books.
Has there ever been a time when you felt that you’re
betraying the book gods—that is, when you just can’t get yourself to read or
finish any book for some peculiar reason? When no matter how much you push
yourself to read and read and read this or like and like and like that, nothing's just appealing to you? I have experienced those, and it’s really hard to get
over READING SLUMPS.
Being on a reading slump is sooo frustrating. You’d
typically force yourself to finish a particular book, but you just can’t. No book is just good enough. It
wastes a lot of time, trying to get through a book instead of doing more
productive stuff. Or, for us bloggers, it delays our reviewing because we
barely have anything to do just that. Also, it affects our mood when reading.
If you push yourself too much and struggle to finish something for the sake of
just getting things done, you may not enjoy the book as much as you would have
if you weren’t on that state.
So for our second Selkie
Shares post, I decided to give some tips, based on my own experiences, to
you, our dear readers, on how to get past these slumps.
Tip #1: Rest.
Perhaps that’s all you need—a break. Maybe a day, two days, or three. Do
something else. You might be reading too many books on such a high rate, and
your mind needs to just sort things out. And if you do not read for some amount of time, you’ll definitely miss it and be
more eager to read your next book.
Tip #2: Reread a
favourite. Don’t get too irritated with not liking a story while on a reading
slump. Instead, pick up your most favourite book in the world (a.k.a. the one
you’ll bring even to the grave) and reread it. That way, you’ll start to enjoy
yourself again and have a more positive outlook on the next book you’d be
reading.
Tip #3: Don’t
stray from the familiar. If you’re more of a fantasy guy, then don’t try to
read a contemporary while on the slump. Read something from your favourite
genre. If you particularly like New Adult, don’t go picking up a dystopian novel.
If you’ll acquaint yourself with what is familiar to you, your normal pace will
return and you can go back to the happy world of reading.
Tip #4: Read the
book you’ve been wanting to for years. Drop whatever you’re currently reading
and just read the one you’ve been anticipating for ages. Read the one that’s so
hyped about, the one everybody’s talking about, the one your friends are raving
on. Don’t think of the pressure of not liking it, but rather be excited about
it.
Reading slumps could be totally annoying, but don’t put the
blame on yourself. It happens. And if reading really is your passion, you’ll
always come back to it and it will always welcome you no matter what.
Have you ever been on a reading slump before? Was it hard?
How did you deal with it? Share your experiences, and give us some tips!
8 comments
1 and 4! I absolutely agree. Reading slump is one of my dilemma. I had this since November. I tried different books out of my genre and actually made it worst. I think.... taking a rest and reading your anticipated book will do the trick.
ReplyDeleteAnother great post, Kyle.
-Dannielle
1, 3, and 4! I had been on a reading slump last month and it was just hell! That was the month of the many new releases, I think.. They were so many good titles that I had tried to read all of them and I ended up finishing none! LOL. Haha, glad you posted this!
ReplyDeleteI'll be looking forward to your next Selkie Shares, Kyle! Happy reading. :D
I can definitely agree with your tips. These works, especially the third one. Sometimes we're so adventurous with what we're reading, it feels sad when a certain book fails us. I need tips for review-writing slump too! Huhuhu. :(
ReplyDeleteI think doing something else you also like might be fun. Or when you are in a slump because you've been reading too many review books: just reading something you WANT to read :) And re-reading a favorite is definitely a good tip!
ReplyDeleteTip 2 and 4 work for me but sometimes I just have to give into the frustrating block and wait it out. I also sometimes just veg with a favourite dvd and that seems to help get my head back into a place where I can concentrate again.
ReplyDeleteUgh I hate reading slumps. -_- The whole month of November I was in a reading slump mainly because I was so focused in school that I didn't even care about reading/blogging anymore lol. I snapped out of it, fortunately. I totally agree with all of your advices especially #1. If someone asked me what is the best thing to do to get out from a slump, I would say, STOP READING. Just relax, and let the 'reading vibe' come back to you. Do NOT force yourself because you're more likely to fall back into a reading slump.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely hate reading slumps but tip 1 works the best for me! My other tip is to read book blogs since they're so full of great book recommendations that your tbr would have grown thrice its size by the time you're done! Personally, it's a great motivator to read whenever I get into a reading slump. Of course, you should NEVER EVER EVER force yourself to read. It's a hobby, a passion, a leisure activity and not a job. :)
ReplyDeleteI just recovered from a MAJOR slump in reading-- like it lasted several months :) (And hi Ellie! I'm back from my 3-4 month hiatus-- so good to see your blog posts again!)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with tip #1 since it apparently works for me. Lovely post xx