Bookish Habits – Pt. 3: Overcoming Slumps & Wrap Up
Welcome to the week-long feature I’m hosting on Nyx Book Reviews called Bookish Habits. Spread over four posts seven bloggers will answer questions about their reading habits, where they prefer to read, how they juggle blogging, reading, and real life and how to overcome slumps.
Past posts:
Introductions
Pt. 1: How do you read?
Pt. 2: Reading and Blogging
Today our panel of seven bloggers will answer the following questions:
6. How do you pick which book to read? Do you always read review books first, or your personal ones?
7. Many bloggers suffer from a reading slump occasionally. Has this happened to you? Do you have any tips to overcome one?
Here are their answers!
Amanda @ On a Book Bender
6. I make a point not to pick up review books, because I’m very bad about reading them. I usually browse my shelves–physical and digital–until I find something, or I ask Kelly what I should read. Yes, I’m that indecisive.
7. I think I’ve been in a year long reading slump. My best advice is to figure out why you’re in the slump–we all have our reasons–and address that. My problem, for example, is that the workaholic part of my brain says that if I’m not devoting my time to my business, I’m not going to be successful. So justifying stopping to read is difficult. And I’m working on that; taking time for myself is important too.
Ruby @ Ruby Reads
6. I’ve had many different methods for picking my next book. For a while I tried to alternate between review books and non-review books because I wasn’t wanting to read review books at all. It didn’t really work and I went headlong into a reading slump. Right now, I’m just picking up whatever I want and I’ve been able to keep going. So far.
7. I think I have reading slumps pretty regularly. They’ve always ended, but they’re awful to suffer through. What generally helps me is to reread some old favorites, or maybe to break down and buy that last remaining book you haven’t yet read by that author who never lets you down. Another thing is that, no matter how much difficulty I’m having reading a book, I never have the same problem with audiobooks. Do a little research first, to find a highly recommended one, and it might just inspire you to go back to the written word for a little while.
Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
6. I’m very much a mood reader so I go with what catches my fancy. For me, if I’m excited to read a book, I enjoy the book more. Forcing myself to read a review book when my heart isn’t in it never ends well for either myself or the review.
7. At the beginning of April I went from reading 20+ books a week to 8 or 9. This was due to a variety of reasons (I had a friend visiting one week, I attended a 2 day conference the next week, I was about to start a new job and was spending time focusing on that, etc) but it’s been hard to work myself back up to my usual level of reading. Basically, I gave myself a break and let it happen. My blog is scheduled out about a month and a half to two months so I didn’t have to worry about that. I read books that wanted to read. I focused on a few of my shorter books so I wasn’t committing huge chunks of time to one book. I’m pleased to say that I think I’ve kicked that slump to the curb at this point!
Renae @ Respiring Thoughts
6. I have a very strict reading system, I think, and I use Goodreads a lot. I keep my Goodreads “to-read” list fairly small—under 80 titles—and from those books I have a smaller “up-next” shelf that I update at the beginning of every week with the 5 or so books I’m reading next. I pick those 5 books based on what’s available at the library, what I’m interested in at the time, and what I’ve been meaning to read for the longest amount of time. I very, very rarely deviate from this system, and it really works for me. I’m not at all a mood reader, as you can see.
7. The only blogging slump I’ve ever had was when I had no energy to read for about 3 months due to illness. I think I’ve been lucky in that I’ve never gotten demotivated or uninspired with blogging in all the time I’ve been doing it. I have considered throwing in the towel due to drama-related incidents, but in those cases I just remind myself that I shouldn’t let negativity affect how I feel about one of my favorite hobbies.
Aleksandra @ Aleksandra’s Corner
6. As I said, I’m a moody reader, so I read whatever I’m in a mood for, no matter if it’s a review book or a book from my own tbr, because I want to get maximum enjoyment from the book I’m reading, and to do that I have to be in a mood for the book genre. I just say that I’ll read & review the book when I can when I accept review books, and if it’s ARC/galley, I try to read & review it before its publishing date. So, it depends. Sometimes I read books from my tbr one after the other, sometimes I read review books back to back, and sometimes I alternate between them, depending of my mood.
7. Yeah, reading slumps are something that happens to me a few times a year now. As for tips for overcoming them, it depends of the reason for the reading slump. For me every time something else have been the cure. If you love re-reading books, then re-reading one of your fav books should help, this has helped me a few times, as well as reading a book from one of your fav authors. Also, picking up another genre sometimes helps, too, you just have to find the right one at that moment, as well as the right book. And sometimes, taking a break from reading helps, too. Yeah, no one wants to do that, but sometimes that’s the thing we need. But, there is a silver lining, because after a reading slump, I tend to read like crazy 😉
Vicky @ Books, Biscuits and Tea
6. I try to alternate between review copies and my own books. I’m a bit of a mood reader so I usually pick my next read based on what genre I’m in the mood for at the moment. I try to prioritise and start with review books first but if I don’t feel like reading that particular genre, I know it would be a struggle so I try to pick something else. I also try to avoid reading review books only – I did that a few times and I found myself in the middle of a reading slump every time.
7. Oh yes. It happened to me a few times (usually when life got a bit too hectic and I was stressed out anyway) but they never lasted more than about a week or sometimes even less. Three things that seemed to work for me are:
- Don’t read. Take some time out – go out with friends, sleep, travel, you name it. But don’t stress about reading or thinking about how many books you still need to read. Give yourself a break – you deserve it.
- If you must read, read your own books. Putting your review books aside for a while won’t hurt anyone. Try reading something from your favourite author, your favourite genre – something you’ve wanted to pick up for a while but never got round to actually reading it.
- Take it slow. You really don’t have to read 300 pages in one day. Read as much as you can, even if it’s just one chapter or a few pages before going to bed.
And the most effective one (for me) is reading your favourite genre. Whenever I don’t feel like reading at all, I try to find a good crime novel among my own books and start with that one. And it always does the trick. Crime has been my favourite genre for a pretty long time and it’s probably the only genre I can turn to even if I don’t feel like reading anything else.
Hannah @ Once Upon a Time
6. I go by my mood first and foremost! I used to prioritise review books by importance (how long I’d had them, how much I wanted to review them, etc.) but found myself wanting to read less and less so I started reading more of my own stuff. Now I’ll consider what genre I’m in the mood for and go from there, maybe even reading a few blurbs and first sentences to be sure.
7. Oh god yes. I realised I was in a reading slump for about a year! I didn’t know they came in sizes that large. My tips on how to overcome it – don’t force it. If you don’t want to read, don’t. Go away, play a game, go shopping, start knitting a scarf, anything just don’t force it. And try reading out of your comfort zone or choosing something you know you’ll love. Different things will work for different people but forcing yourself to do something when you really don’t want to do it will only burnt you out more.
And that concludes the short Bookish Habits series of posts! Do you have any advice on how to avoid or overcome slumps? Or would you like to ask any of the bloggers a question? Leave a comment below
I’d like to thank Amanda, Ruby, Kelly, Renae, Aleksandra, Vicky and Hannah for letting me question them (:
‹ Bookish Habits – Pt. 2: On Reading and Blogging Review: Born of Illusion by Teri Brown ›