May 7, 2025 • 18 mins
Reading slumps can happen to even the most passionate book lovers, leaving you feeling unmotivated and disconnected from your favorite stories. In this season finale episode, podcast host Alesia dives deep into understanding reading slumps and provides practical strategies to reignite your reading passion.
Key Takeaways:
Recognize Common Causes of Reading Slumps
- Stress and burnout
- Information overload
- Life transitions
- Disappointment with previous reads
Effective Strategies to Overcome Reading Slumps
- Take a short break from reading
- Set realistic reading goals
- Change your reading environment
- Explore different genres and book formats
- Connect with other readers
Don't let a reading slump discourage you. Remember, reading should be enjoyable, not a chore. Give yourself permission to explore, experiment, and most importantly, have fun with your reading journey.
Running list of books mentioned (Doc)
Thank you for listening to the We Read Smut Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag @WeReadSmut. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast.
Connect with Alesia:
Storygraph
This podcast was produced by Galati Media.
Proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Alesia Galati (00:00):
If you have ever been in a reading slump, then
you know how difficult it is toget out. But I'm hoping that
this episode gives you some tipsand tricks to escape that
reading slump that you might bein. Listener discretion is
advised this podcast containsmature content intended for
adult audiences only. Hello andwelcome to our season one
(00:25):
finale. I cannot believe that weare here. I'm Alesia and I am
the host of this podcast. I justwant to say thank you so much
for listening to this show, forbeing part of this journey with
me. I had been wanting to dothis podcast for years, and I'm
just so happy that I was able tofinally do it. I don't know if
(00:50):
you know this, but I am apodcast host and a producer.
I've been podcasting since 2018in some way, and this is
actually my fifth show. So Iknew I wanted to do it, but it
would be a hobby because I amnot making money from it,
whereas my other shows, as wellas my production company, I do
(01:11):
make money from, and that isactually my job, which is wild
to say that I make moneypodcasting and producing
podcasts for other people. So Ihave produced about 50 shows at
this time, which is just prettyincredible that I'm able to put
this content out into the world.
But enough about me. Season twois coming, and I cannot wait for
(01:32):
you to be part of that as well.
So if you are wanting to staytuned. Please, please, please
follow the podcast on yourfavorite podcast app as well as
subscribe on YouTube. Follow meon Instagram at we read smut,
and you'll get notified as soonas there are new episodes. The
(01:55):
plan right now is that seasontwo will air in july 2025 so if
you're listening to this in thefuture, Hello, future. You. I
will have the episodes ready foryou so you don't need to worry
about this. But for those of youwho are tuning in to the end of
the season, I would like just amonth or so break to gear up for
(02:16):
the next one. And I'm superexcited about some of these
episode ideas. All right, let'sget into today's topic, which is
reading slumps. I have been inquite a few reading slumps in my
time of reading as an adult, Istarted reading romance in 2021
(02:37):
fell in love with it. Well, Ihave had quite a few reading
slumps, I don't know that I'vehad as many as maybe my
romanticy readers. There are,feel like every time I turn
around and see someone talkingabout being in a reading slump,
they are a romantic reader. AndI think what that has to do with
(03:00):
is this idea of like, theromantic Sea has story building,
and there's characters you fallin love with, and it's six
freaking books long, and thenyou get to the end, and you're
like, What do I do with myself?
What do I do with my life? What?
Where do I go from here? It'slike, if you had never watched
(03:21):
Game of Thrones before, and thenyou just binge watch all 12
seasons. I believe there's 12seasons. You binge watch all of
it, and then you're like, Idon't know what to watch next.
What do I do? So very similarly,I think that's why a lot of my
romantic sea friends tend tofall into these reading slumps.
But a reading slump can feellike you're unmotivated to read,
(03:46):
you're struggling to finishbooks, or maybe you're feeling a
little overwhelmed by your TBR.
Pro tip, delete your TBR ifyou're a mood reader, please. If
you have found yourself having1000s and 1000s of books on
there because an Instagram postsaid that it was good, and then
you added it to your TBR, andthe next thing you know, you've
got 700 800 1000 books on there.
(04:10):
Delete it, especially as a moodreader. I am someone who's a
mood reader, and at thebeginning of 2025 I deleted my
TBR, and I don't miss it. I'veadded to it since, and for
whatever reason, I'm not evenreally following this new one
(04:30):
either, but deleting it allowedme to kind of refresh, also
noting that books I read or wasinterested in reading back in
2021 2022 those are differentbooks than I want to read in
2025 I don't want to read thosebooks. I am changed the books
(04:51):
that I want to read, the books Iwant to engage with, the authors
that I want to engage with. Andso I think that it's important
that we kind of refresh andreceive. Get where and when we
can now. Storygraph has eight,literally, like two buttons to
delete your TBR. Goodreads is alittle more convoluted, so if
you're looking to delete itthere, I believe you have to do
(05:13):
it one by one, which is a littlefrustrating, but storygraph
makes it super easy. Highlyrecommend. 10 out of 10 will do
again, most likely. Okay, sohere are some common causes to
reading slumps. One is stressand burnout. Maybe you are
feeling like you cannot focus.
You are stressed. The world ison fire. I understand, believe
(05:34):
me. And so you might be feelinglike that has impacted your
ability to enjoy reading, andthat is okay. Take a deep
breath. It's all right. Maybeyou've been feeling all the bit
of information overload, whereyou have been constantly
overstimulated and bombarded,and it's difficult to figure out
(05:56):
what you want to read next. Ifeel this so much. We live in a
world where we are constantlygetting fed news and information
and everybody's highlight reelsof their picture perfect life,
as well as everything that'sgoing wrong in their lives. And
(06:18):
it can feel really overwhelming,especially when we
subconsciously compare it to ourown lives. Or maybe you are
seeing books to grammars who arereading hundreds of books a
year. Or maybe you're seeingpeople who are saying, only read
this, or do read this, or thisauthor is canceled now, right,
which is a totally valid thing.
(06:42):
In case you didn't know that,that's a conversation for
another day, but it can feelreally overwhelming, like, What
in the world do I read next? Ihave no idea, because everything
just feels like a lot.
Maybe you were disappointed inyour previous reads, I'm not
(07:02):
someone who DNFs a lot of books.
It has to be pretty rough for meto DNF a book. I want to say the
last book I DNFed, the femalemain character and her friend
were talking negatively aboutsex workers, and I was like, Oh,
hell no, no, no, no, no, notinterested. And it read like a
(07:23):
high school drama, even thoughthey were adults. Not
interested. No. Thank you.
Moving on. And so I DNFed it.
Those are reasons why I wouldDNF a book, but I don't
typically DNF a book. I willread some of the most unhinged
things and be like I was tellingmy husband about a book I read
recently, and he was like, Whatin the world are you reading? I
(07:44):
was like, Would I recommend it?
No, did I enjoy it? Yes, it waswild. I had a great time, but I
would not recommend it to otherpeople, and so you might be
disappointed with your previousreads. Maybe you've had a
subsequent series of this bookdidn't work. I went to a
(08:08):
different one, then that onedidn't work, and then I went to
no none of them seem to beworking. And so that can lead to
feeling frustrated and like,Where in the world do I go from
here? Maybe you've had lifechanges or transitions. We're
hearing a lot about peoplelosing their jobs, having
families, having babies, gettingmarried, right? I think in this
(08:30):
space that we're in, in thebookish community, we see a lot
of that, and those are changesthat can definitely impact your
ability to read regularly. Imean, honestly, within the first
two years of becoming a mom, Idon't remember a lot of it, just
a lot of especially after myfirst kid, I had postpartum
(08:52):
depression, and I was notmyself, and I don't know that I
could have read during thattime. My goal was to keep
living, and that is it. And thenafter my second kid, it was
like, I'm taking care of a threeyear old and a newborn, and I'm
working, and how do I navigatethis? Like everything just feels
really hard, and you don't feellike yourself for that first two
(09:15):
years, really. And so I couldnot have read like I do now in
those first two years now, mykids are going on, oh my
goodness, it's wild. Going on 11and eight, and I have a lot more
time to read, because I can justsay, hey, here, go play the
switch for an hour and give mesome time to read. Or, hey, go
read a book for an hour. Give metime to read as well. And so
(09:39):
life transitions and changes canimpact our ability to read. So
here are some tips and tricksfor getting out of those reading
slumps. First and foremost, Iwant to give you the full
permission to take a break fromreading if you are finding
yourself feeling like. Oh, mygoodness, I have been reading
(10:03):
non stop, and I feel like it's ajob. Now, take a break if you're
feeling like and I'm findingthis about arcs advanced reader
copies that if I have a lot ofadvanced reader copies to read,
I feel really frustrated aboutthat. It's almost like homework,
and I don't know that in thefuture, and we're talking like
(10:28):
three months, because I stillhave arcs I need to read, but I
don't know that three monthsfrom now, I will be accepting
arcs because I want to read forfun and I want to read to enjoy,
and I'm happy to promote bipocauthors and new authors in
whatever way I possibly can,sharing it, pre ordering, etc.
But I just don't know that arcsare going to be in my future.
(10:50):
We'll have to see. I willrevisit that, I think, in season
two, and let you guys know whatI decide. But taking a short
break to make it feel likereading is no longer homework, I
think can be really helpful.
Another tip is to set realisticexpectations of your reading
goals. If you are someone whohas set a goal for 200 books
(11:13):
this year and you had a big lifetransition, something happened
that you did not expect, oryou're in a reading slump, then
it's okay to shift that goalpost. It's okay to say, look,
this is no longer working forme. I'm gonna change it. And so
I want to encourage you to set areading goal that feels
(11:36):
sustainable for where you arenow today, and you can shift it
and change it. If life changesin the next six months, that's
okay, too. But set realisticgoals for yourself so you don't
feel like you're failing atreading. Because if you're
reading, you are not failing.
Even if you read one book thisyear, you are still reading, and
that is incredible. So you'renot failing at all. So set
(12:00):
realistic expectations foryourself. Another tip that I
like to do, and this is one thatI definitely hold to a lot, is
changing my environment. Now Ihave severe social anxiety. I
can handle one on oneconversations and small groups,
but get me in a huge crowd ofpeople, and I burn out so
quickly, and I feel reallyuncomfortable, and so it is very
(12:24):
stressful for me to be in verycrowded places where I have to
interact with people, or peoplelook at me like they want to
interact with me. It's a littlescary. So one thing I like to do
is change my environment, butthat doesn't look like going to
a reading conference that'sreally big, looking at you a
Polycon. And so what are somethings that I could do to change
(12:46):
my environment? If I am findingthat I'm reading in my house a
lot, then how can I just get outand read somewhere else? Maybe I
go to a local coffee shop, ormaybe I go to an indie bookstore
and just walk around, feel thebooks, buy the books, whatever.
Maybe I go to my library. Now, Ihave posted a few videos in my
(13:09):
stories about my library. I havea massive library building, and
it is a library and ResourceCenter. So they have, like, a
resource area for veterans. Theyhave events for the kids
constantly, especially for thosehome kids. Since I live in the
Bible Belt, there's lots ofhomeschool kids, and my library
has a great, like little coffeeshop reading area hallway. It's
(13:34):
huge, and so I like going thereand just relaxing and sitting
and reading. If I'm findingthat, even from working at home,
that I'm feeling overwhelmed orfrustrated, just like I need a
change of scenery, my library isa great place to go and to
support them, obviously, becauseI want to be checking out books
and using their resources, thatthey have to show that, hey,
(13:57):
this is something that I want usto keep doing for our library,
and so changing your environmentcan really help. I also
recommend trying differentgenres or formats. Now I am
someone who exclusively readsromance, and that looks like
typically adult romance, and Idon't just mean smut, though I
(14:18):
do read 95% smut, I also believevery strongly that if we are
reading diversely, then thatmeans all of the letters of
LGBTQIA plus and a being asexualor ACE aromantic, that is one
that maybe doesn't have sex init, or has a different form of
(14:40):
romance in it. And so I reallythink that we can shift that
genre, their sub genre, becauseI exclusively read romance, the
sub genre of the books I'mreading. So maybe right now I'm
reading a lot of Mafia books,and I'm like. You know what? I'm
kind of feeling a rom com. Letme go pick something else up.
(15:03):
And then maybe I'm through withmy rom com era, because I don't
tend to read a ton of those. Letme go pick a historical romance,
which we talked about in ourlast episode with Claire,
unsuccessful book club. A ton ofromance recommendations that are
historical romances across allof the ages. And if you haven't
(15:24):
checked out that episode,definitely go check it out. Or
maybe I am wanting to get intosome werewolves and some
vampires and some shifters.
Okay, then I know exactly who Ineed to go to. Tria Anderson, if
you haven't listed her episode,go check that out too. But that
is what I like to do, to kind ofshift things and adjust
(15:45):
different genres or sub genresI'm reading, also changing the
format. If I'm finding that I'mreading on my phone or my kindle
a lot, then how can I changethat to read on an audio book
instead so borrowing somethingfrom my library via the Libby
app, or using my Spotify accountto snag one of those books that
are maybe on my shelf but Idon't feel like reading
(16:07):
physically. Another is toconnect with other readers. If
you are feeling unmotivated,then talk about books. Talk
about books that you enjoyed.
You can join a book club. Or ifyou're someone who is a mood
reader like myself, then youmight want to join the diverse
trope challenge, where we readtropes from marginalized authors
throughout the year and everymonth has a trope. So for the
(16:31):
month of May, which is when thisepisode goes out, we are doing
road trips, and so it just hasto be a either LGBTQIA plus or a
bipoc author, and that is yourbook club book for the month you
get to decide. And so I likethat as just like, here's a
trope that we're gonna do thismonth, pick one book, and that's
(16:51):
the one book you can read, andfinding ways to just spice
things up, to do things a littledifferently, but engaging with
other readers can be a great wayto find new books that you want
to read as well as get out ofthat slump that you might be
feeling. I want to encourage youthat you can overcome this slump
if you want to, if you don'twant to, that's okay, too, if
(17:13):
you just want to sit in yourslump and say, Look, I'm in a
reading slump, and I'm justgonna sit in it until I'm out of
it. I'm gonna go do somethingelse. I'm gonna do some puzzles,
I'm going to go color, I'm gonnago hiking right like you get to
decide what that looks like foryou. So I encourage you to
follow yourself, follow yourintuition of what feels right
(17:34):
for you. But hopefully thesetips and tricks were great for
helping you. If you do want toget out of that reading slump, I
am so grateful that you are herefor season one. Thank you so
much for listening. It is reallyhelpful. If you leave a rating
and review on the podcast,whatever podcast app you're
listening, to leave a rating andreview, follow the podcast,
(17:58):
share it with a friend thathelps us grow as well as get in
front of new listeners. I cannotwait to see you for season two
in July. Thank you so much forbeing here until next time.
Happy reading. You.
If you have ever been in a reading slump, then
you know how difficult it is toget out. But I'm hoping that
this episode gives you some tipsand tricks to escape that
reading slump that you might bein. Listener discretion is
advised this podcast containsmature content intended for
adult audiences only. Hello andwelcome to our season one
(00:25):
finale. I cannot believe that weare here. I'm Alesia and I am
the host of this podcast. I justwant to say thank you so much
for listening to this show, forbeing part of this journey with
me. I had been wanting to dothis podcast for years, and I'm
just so happy that I was able tofinally do it. I don't know if
(00:50):
you know this, but I am apodcast host and a producer.
I've been podcasting since 2018in some way, and this is
actually my fifth show. So Iknew I wanted to do it, but it
would be a hobby because I amnot making money from it,
whereas my other shows, as wellas my production company, I do
(01:11):
make money from, and that isactually my job, which is wild
to say that I make moneypodcasting and producing
podcasts for other people. So Ihave produced about 50 shows at
this time, which is just prettyincredible that I'm able to put
this content out into the world.
But enough about me. Season twois coming, and I cannot wait for
(01:32):
you to be part of that as well.
So if you are wanting to staytuned. Please, please, please
follow the podcast on yourfavorite podcast app as well as
subscribe on YouTube. Follow meon Instagram at we read smut,
and you'll get notified as soonas there are new episodes. The
(01:55):
plan right now is that seasontwo will air in july 2025 so if
you're listening to this in thefuture, Hello, future. You. I
will have the episodes ready foryou so you don't need to worry
about this. But for those of youwho are tuning in to the end of
the season, I would like just amonth or so break to gear up for
(02:16):
the next one. And I'm superexcited about some of these
episode ideas. All right, let'sget into today's topic, which is
reading slumps. I have been inquite a few reading slumps in my
time of reading as an adult, Istarted reading romance in 2021
(02:37):
fell in love with it. Well, Ihave had quite a few reading
slumps, I don't know that I'vehad as many as maybe my
romanticy readers. There are,feel like every time I turn
around and see someone talkingabout being in a reading slump,
they are a romantic reader. AndI think what that has to do with
(03:00):
is this idea of like, theromantic Sea has story building,
and there's characters you fallin love with, and it's six
freaking books long, and thenyou get to the end, and you're
like, What do I do with myself?
What do I do with my life? What?
Where do I go from here? It'slike, if you had never watched
(03:21):
Game of Thrones before, and thenyou just binge watch all 12
seasons. I believe there's 12seasons. You binge watch all of
it, and then you're like, Idon't know what to watch next.
What do I do? So very similarly,I think that's why a lot of my
romantic sea friends tend tofall into these reading slumps.
But a reading slump can feellike you're unmotivated to read,
(03:46):
you're struggling to finishbooks, or maybe you're feeling a
little overwhelmed by your TBR.
Pro tip, delete your TBR ifyou're a mood reader, please. If
you have found yourself having1000s and 1000s of books on
there because an Instagram postsaid that it was good, and then
you added it to your TBR, andthe next thing you know, you've
got 700 800 1000 books on there.
(04:10):
Delete it, especially as a moodreader. I am someone who's a
mood reader, and at thebeginning of 2025 I deleted my
TBR, and I don't miss it. I'veadded to it since, and for
whatever reason, I'm not evenreally following this new one
(04:30):
either, but deleting it allowedme to kind of refresh, also
noting that books I read or wasinterested in reading back in
2021 2022 those are differentbooks than I want to read in
2025 I don't want to read thosebooks. I am changed the books
(04:51):
that I want to read, the books Iwant to engage with, the authors
that I want to engage with. Andso I think that it's important
that we kind of refresh andreceive. Get where and when we
can now. Storygraph has eight,literally, like two buttons to
delete your TBR. Goodreads is alittle more convoluted, so if
you're looking to delete itthere, I believe you have to do
(05:13):
it one by one, which is a littlefrustrating, but storygraph
makes it super easy. Highlyrecommend. 10 out of 10 will do
again, most likely. Okay, sohere are some common causes to
reading slumps. One is stressand burnout. Maybe you are
feeling like you cannot focus.
You are stressed. The world ison fire. I understand, believe
(05:34):
me. And so you might be feelinglike that has impacted your
ability to enjoy reading, andthat is okay. Take a deep
breath. It's all right. Maybeyou've been feeling all the bit
of information overload, whereyou have been constantly
overstimulated and bombarded,and it's difficult to figure out
(05:56):
what you want to read next. Ifeel this so much. We live in a
world where we are constantlygetting fed news and information
and everybody's highlight reelsof their picture perfect life,
as well as everything that'sgoing wrong in their lives. And
(06:18):
it can feel really overwhelming,especially when we
subconsciously compare it to ourown lives. Or maybe you are
seeing books to grammars who arereading hundreds of books a
year. Or maybe you're seeingpeople who are saying, only read
this, or do read this, or thisauthor is canceled now, right,
which is a totally valid thing.
(06:42):
In case you didn't know that,that's a conversation for
another day, but it can feelreally overwhelming, like, What
in the world do I read next? Ihave no idea, because everything
just feels like a lot.
Maybe you were disappointed inyour previous reads, I'm not
(07:02):
someone who DNFs a lot of books.
It has to be pretty rough for meto DNF a book. I want to say the
last book I DNFed, the femalemain character and her friend
were talking negatively aboutsex workers, and I was like, Oh,
hell no, no, no, no, no, notinterested. And it read like a
(07:23):
high school drama, even thoughthey were adults. Not
interested. No. Thank you.
Moving on. And so I DNFed it.
Those are reasons why I wouldDNF a book, but I don't
typically DNF a book. I willread some of the most unhinged
things and be like I was tellingmy husband about a book I read
recently, and he was like, Whatin the world are you reading? I
(07:44):
was like, Would I recommend it?
No, did I enjoy it? Yes, it waswild. I had a great time, but I
would not recommend it to otherpeople, and so you might be
disappointed with your previousreads. Maybe you've had a
subsequent series of this bookdidn't work. I went to a
(08:08):
different one, then that onedidn't work, and then I went to
no none of them seem to beworking. And so that can lead to
feeling frustrated and like,Where in the world do I go from
here? Maybe you've had lifechanges or transitions. We're
hearing a lot about peoplelosing their jobs, having
families, having babies, gettingmarried, right? I think in this
(08:30):
space that we're in, in thebookish community, we see a lot
of that, and those are changesthat can definitely impact your
ability to read regularly. Imean, honestly, within the first
two years of becoming a mom, Idon't remember a lot of it, just
a lot of especially after myfirst kid, I had postpartum
(08:52):
depression, and I was notmyself, and I don't know that I
could have read during thattime. My goal was to keep
living, and that is it. And thenafter my second kid, it was
like, I'm taking care of a threeyear old and a newborn, and I'm
working, and how do I navigatethis? Like everything just feels
really hard, and you don't feellike yourself for that first two
(09:15):
years, really. And so I couldnot have read like I do now in
those first two years now, mykids are going on, oh my
goodness, it's wild. Going on 11and eight, and I have a lot more
time to read, because I can justsay, hey, here, go play the
switch for an hour and give mesome time to read. Or, hey, go
read a book for an hour. Give metime to read as well. And so
(09:39):
life transitions and changes canimpact our ability to read. So
here are some tips and tricksfor getting out of those reading
slumps. First and foremost, Iwant to give you the full
permission to take a break fromreading if you are finding
yourself feeling like. Oh, mygoodness, I have been reading
(10:03):
non stop, and I feel like it's ajob. Now, take a break if you're
feeling like and I'm findingthis about arcs advanced reader
copies that if I have a lot ofadvanced reader copies to read,
I feel really frustrated aboutthat. It's almost like homework,
and I don't know that in thefuture, and we're talking like
(10:28):
three months, because I stillhave arcs I need to read, but I
don't know that three monthsfrom now, I will be accepting
arcs because I want to read forfun and I want to read to enjoy,
and I'm happy to promote bipocauthors and new authors in
whatever way I possibly can,sharing it, pre ordering, etc.
But I just don't know that arcsare going to be in my future.
(10:50):
We'll have to see. I willrevisit that, I think, in season
two, and let you guys know whatI decide. But taking a short
break to make it feel likereading is no longer homework, I
think can be really helpful.
Another tip is to set realisticexpectations of your reading
goals. If you are someone whohas set a goal for 200 books
(11:13):
this year and you had a big lifetransition, something happened
that you did not expect, oryou're in a reading slump, then
it's okay to shift that goalpost. It's okay to say, look,
this is no longer working forme. I'm gonna change it. And so
I want to encourage you to set areading goal that feels
(11:36):
sustainable for where you arenow today, and you can shift it
and change it. If life changesin the next six months, that's
okay, too. But set realisticgoals for yourself so you don't
feel like you're failing atreading. Because if you're
reading, you are not failing.
Even if you read one book thisyear, you are still reading, and
that is incredible. So you'renot failing at all. So set
(12:00):
realistic expectations foryourself. Another tip that I
like to do, and this is one thatI definitely hold to a lot, is
changing my environment. Now Ihave severe social anxiety. I
can handle one on oneconversations and small groups,
but get me in a huge crowd ofpeople, and I burn out so
quickly, and I feel reallyuncomfortable, and so it is very
(12:24):
stressful for me to be in verycrowded places where I have to
interact with people, or peoplelook at me like they want to
interact with me. It's a littlescary. So one thing I like to do
is change my environment, butthat doesn't look like going to
a reading conference that'sreally big, looking at you a
Polycon. And so what are somethings that I could do to change
(12:46):
my environment? If I am findingthat I'm reading in my house a
lot, then how can I just get outand read somewhere else? Maybe I
go to a local coffee shop, ormaybe I go to an indie bookstore
and just walk around, feel thebooks, buy the books, whatever.
Maybe I go to my library. Now, Ihave posted a few videos in my
(13:09):
stories about my library. I havea massive library building, and
it is a library and ResourceCenter. So they have, like, a
resource area for veterans. Theyhave events for the kids
constantly, especially for thosehome kids. Since I live in the
Bible Belt, there's lots ofhomeschool kids, and my library
has a great, like little coffeeshop reading area hallway. It's
(13:34):
huge, and so I like going thereand just relaxing and sitting
and reading. If I'm findingthat, even from working at home,
that I'm feeling overwhelmed orfrustrated, just like I need a
change of scenery, my library isa great place to go and to
support them, obviously, becauseI want to be checking out books
and using their resources, thatthey have to show that, hey,
(13:57):
this is something that I want usto keep doing for our library,
and so changing your environmentcan really help. I also
recommend trying differentgenres or formats. Now I am
someone who exclusively readsromance, and that looks like
typically adult romance, and Idon't just mean smut, though I
(14:18):
do read 95% smut, I also believevery strongly that if we are
reading diversely, then thatmeans all of the letters of
LGBTQIA plus and a being asexualor ACE aromantic, that is one
that maybe doesn't have sex init, or has a different form of
(14:40):
romance in it. And so I reallythink that we can shift that
genre, their sub genre, becauseI exclusively read romance, the
sub genre of the books I'mreading. So maybe right now I'm
reading a lot of Mafia books,and I'm like. You know what? I'm
kind of feeling a rom com. Letme go pick something else up.
(15:03):
And then maybe I'm through withmy rom com era, because I don't
tend to read a ton of those. Letme go pick a historical romance,
which we talked about in ourlast episode with Claire,
unsuccessful book club. A ton ofromance recommendations that are
historical romances across allof the ages. And if you haven't
(15:24):
checked out that episode,definitely go check it out. Or
maybe I am wanting to get intosome werewolves and some
vampires and some shifters.
Okay, then I know exactly who Ineed to go to. Tria Anderson, if
you haven't listed her episode,go check that out too. But that
is what I like to do, to kind ofshift things and adjust
(15:45):
different genres or sub genresI'm reading, also changing the
format. If I'm finding that I'mreading on my phone or my kindle
a lot, then how can I changethat to read on an audio book
instead so borrowing somethingfrom my library via the Libby
app, or using my Spotify accountto snag one of those books that
are maybe on my shelf but Idon't feel like reading
(16:07):
physically. Another is toconnect with other readers. If
you are feeling unmotivated,then talk about books. Talk
about books that you enjoyed.
You can join a book club. Or ifyou're someone who is a mood
reader like myself, then youmight want to join the diverse
trope challenge, where we readtropes from marginalized authors
throughout the year and everymonth has a trope. So for the
(16:31):
month of May, which is when thisepisode goes out, we are doing
road trips, and so it just hasto be a either LGBTQIA plus or a
bipoc author, and that is yourbook club book for the month you
get to decide. And so I likethat as just like, here's a
trope that we're gonna do thismonth, pick one book, and that's
(16:51):
the one book you can read, andfinding ways to just spice
things up, to do things a littledifferently, but engaging with
other readers can be a great wayto find new books that you want
to read as well as get out ofthat slump that you might be
feeling. I want to encourage youthat you can overcome this slump
if you want to, if you don'twant to, that's okay, too, if
(17:13):
you just want to sit in yourslump and say, Look, I'm in a
reading slump, and I'm justgonna sit in it until I'm out of
it. I'm gonna go do somethingelse. I'm gonna do some puzzles,
I'm going to go color, I'm gonnago hiking right like you get to
decide what that looks like foryou. So I encourage you to
follow yourself, follow yourintuition of what feels right
(17:34):
for you. But hopefully thesetips and tricks were great for
helping you. If you do want toget out of that reading slump, I
am so grateful that you are herefor season one. Thank you so
much for listening. It is reallyhelpful. If you leave a rating
and review on the podcast,whatever podcast app you're
listening, to leave a rating andreview, follow the podcast,
(17:58):
share it with a friend thathelps us grow as well as get in
front of new listeners. I cannotwait to see you for season two
in July. Thank you so much forbeing here until next time.
Happy reading. You.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.