I have been in a terrible reading slump in the last couple of weeks! First food poisoning, then sidetracked by genealogy, then a sprained ankle. You would think that the food poisoning or the sprained ankle might lead to more reading; but alas, when I'm under the weather all I want is mindless tv.
But finally, over the weekend, I had a really good run - and I realized I followed my usual formula for breaking out of a book rut, without even realizing it!
Step 1: Reread a familiar favorite. For me this was Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer. I happened to have it on my phone, and Juliet was up a lot in the night on Friday night, so I read several chapters. And then Sunday morning I woke up early, inspired to continue.
Step 2: Read something fast and fun. Once the favorite book has gotten you in your reading groove again, don't stop! Quickly start another book that won't take you long to read. I powered through The Girls by Lisa Jewell on Sunday afternoon. Often I find a YA book to be perfect for this step of the process.
Step 3: Read something you've been meaning to read. Once you have the rush of triumph at actually finishing two books, capitalize on that feeling by grabbing something that's been lingering on your TBR list. If you find yourself slowing down midway, remind yourself that you will feel superlatively more triumphant if you can mark 3 books as read in less than 3 days. For me this was Peter Lovesey's Another One Goes Tonight. Even though I was really enjoying it I almost lost focus halfway through, my brain is so used to Netflix instead of reading! But I made myself power through.
Step 4: Finish the book, open your laptop to update Goodreads, and end up wasting an hour (or two...) on the internet, since you weren't online much the last few days.
Step 5: Realize you're being ridiculous, and that you need to back away from the Facebook. Do NOT give in to the temptation to turn on the tv. Or to open ancestry.com.
Step 6: Right before you close your laptop, realize that you haven't written a blog post in a few days. Write a post about how to break out of a book slump.
Step 7: Publish the post, and go find another book.
Happy reading!
