I've been on a reading slump for the past four or five months already and until now I'm still on it. I'm on book 45 out of 80 books on my Goodreads Reading Challenge and it's October three days from now. How am I going to finish all 35 books in three months?
But I'm competitive and I'll do my best to finish my challenge. So I've been browsing the internet about the secrets of other readers on how to beat this slump and below is the summary of what I've learned, some tips on how to beat it. But before that, what the heck is a reading slump? Well, according to Urban Dictionary, "reading slump is a reader's worst nightmare; not being able to pick-up a book because you just can't, you just can't read."
So here are the tips I found on the internet:
1. Read. Don't watch.
When you have a free Netflix subscription, won't you do the same? I'm so addicted to their crime documentaries so on my spare time I watch instead of read. But I don't want to blame it all on Netflix because PUBG and Mobile Legends are probably the main culprits as to why I'm so lazy to finish my reading challenge. So yeah, try to pick up a book and read a few pages and when you get bored, stop and do other things. That's how I finished Chaos Walking series, but I don't know what's the difference now that I can't even finish a single page. It's on the reader, I guess?
2. Read something short.
This is what I'm doing now. Instead of reading some series, I switched to reading some children books that are a hundred pages long and which the plot is not too heavy. I really think that what triggered me is The Grisha Trilogy series so I think I needed to read a short one.
3. Or change the genre.
I don't pick what book to read next based on genre, I pick it based on what I put in my shelf first so I don't know if genre is a factor here. But maybe.
4. Re-read your favorite book.
I haven't tried it. But I tried it on Korean drama series. Back then I was really lazy to watch another series or if I start one, I always leave it midway so what I did was I re-watched my old favorites. I can't say though that it helped me go back to watching Korean dramas again. Maybe this one I should try because as Bustle said in their article that kinda gives me hope is that our favorites are like our security blanket, they give us courage and comfort.
5. Join a book club or find a reading buddy.
I don't have both. But I think it will really help you with both when you're in a reading slump and when you want someone to discuss how exasperating or how great a book is. I think it will help when being in a reading slump because girl, you have to keep up with them if you don't want to just sit there feeling lost in their discussion.
6. Take a break.
Let's not be too hard on ourselves. Sometimes all we need is a break. It's pretty normal for any reader to experience it. We all hate it but, I think, it's inevitable. After all, if you don't read a book in a day, a week or a month that doesn't mean you're not a reader or book lover. Me not finishing this year's Goodreads Reading Challenge will certainly make me not less of a reader.
Do you have any suggestions on how to help me beat this reading slump? Please, please let me know.
