We’ve all been there right? Picking up books and putting them straight back down again, nothing really catching your interest and then bam you’re in a reading slump. There is nothing worse as a reader, but especially as a blogger to find yourself uninterested in your books, especially as you don’t want to let down publishers for blog tours or ARC’s. As a big mood reader, I do find myself in multiple slumps throughout the year, but thanks to their regularity I have found a few tried and tested ways that help me to come out of it. There’s no right or wrong way to get yourself out of a slump, I know these wont work for everyone, people have their own ways, and if you have one that I haven’t listed feel free to comment with it so we will have more things to try for future slumps. But these are the ones that I have used to successfully get myself out of my slump and back into reading the many, many books on my TBR.

Reading an old favourite

This one tends to always be a win for me. I have certain books; Uprooted, Rebel of the Sands, anything by S.J. Maas, basically any books that I have loved, know are easy reads and, because of how many times I’ve read them already, don’t have to pay too much attention to. These only rarely fail to get me out of a slump. I think, knowing you already love something, knowing the ending, going in with full knowledge of how the story will go takes some of the pressure off and helps me get back into my reading swing.

Reading out of the genre you were reading

I’m sure you all know that I am a huge fantasy lover right? But sometimes I just get overwhelmed, maybe I’ve read too many similar books, too many heavy fantasies, and I just can’t seem to pick another one up. So what do I do? Jump to another genre. Sci-Fi, romance, literary fiction? Basically anything to get my away from fantasy for a little while, a palate cleanser as it were, and then I’m ready to jump right back in.

Reading in a different format

I’m going to start off by saying that I’m terrible with audio books. I very rarely have the patience to sit there and listen, instead find my mind wandering and then realise that I’ve missed the last few chapters of the book. However, every now and again, especially when I’m re-reading a series in anticipation of the newest instalment, I find audio books incredibly useful to get my self back into the story.

Reading fan-fiction

This may be something that only works for a limited amount of people, but I’ve found that reading anything other than what I’m trying to can help get my out of a slump and the place I go to for that is fan-fiction. I have my comfort ships, shows, stories that I go back to because I find that if I keep reading, no matter what it is, it’s easier for me to get back into my TBR that just stopping outright.

Giving yourself some time away from books & maybe binge a TV show.

If all else fails, but that book down and do something else you enjoy. For me, that’s watching a comfort show or simply binging the newest release, but sometimes you do just need to step away from reading to find your way back to it.

I said it at the start but I’ll say it again, this is by no means a fail safe list, just what has worked for me in the past. The best way to avoid reading slumps I’ve found is to not put yourself under too much pressure. Mine tend to hit when I’ve requested too many ARC’s, signed up for too many blog tours, basically bitten off more than I can chew. But through my years blogging, I’ve learnt to try and give myself limits, not to put too much pressure on myself and realise that it’s ok to need a break from time to time. Blogging is something I enjoy, but it’s not a job, and because of that I can take time away without feeling too guilty if I need it.

Let me know how you’ve got yourself out of reading slumps in the past. Whether anything I’ve mentioned has worked for you, or if you have any other techniques for people to try.