How To Get Out Of A Reading Slump

In a perfect world, reading slumps wouldn't exist.

You'd always have just the right book, feel like snuggling up with a new title, and never feel bored with the books on your bedside table.

Tragically, we don't live in a perfect world and every reader knows the blahs of being in a reading slump.

If you're in the middle of a reading slump, here are nine ways to get out of it!

9 Ways to Get Out of a Reading Slump

Give yourself a break. Sometimes, the best way to get out of a reading slump is to just ride out it out instead of trying to force yourself to read. Watch a show, call a friend, do something new – and then try again in a week or two. Books aren't going anywhere.
Reread a favorite. This is one of my favorite tactics – my go-to books when I'm in a reading slump are the To All the Boys I've Loved Before series or one of Sophie Kinsella's books. Revisiting a favorite is sometimes just the little bump you need to get your brain to remember how great reading can be.
Try an audiobook. This is another one that works like a charm for me – I turn on an audiobook and go for a walk or organize a drawer or work on a jigsaw puzzle while a professional reader tells me a great story.
Branch out into a new format or genre. Sometimes, it's really hard to go from a great fantasy novel to another fantasy novel. Or from one romance to another. Switching it up – fiction to non-fiction, fantasy to realistic fiction, prose to graphic novel – can make a big difference because it's so different!
Put your phone in a different room. For me, the biggest cause of a reading slump is usually that I'm too distracted by my phone. I'll read a page, then check Instagram. Then read two pages and look at my inbox. And so on. It's hard to ever really get INTO a book if you keep stopping. Moving my phone far away makes a huge difference in me being able to really settle into a new book.
Pick 5 books and read the first few pages of each one. Grab five interesting looking books from your bookshelves or library stack or go to a bookstore and then read a few pages of each one to see if any of them grab you. And if it doesn't, put it aside for another time (or a never time).
Try a children's or young adult book. One thing I love about a good middle grade novel or many young adult novels is that they're shorter and quicker to get into – they know they can't waste 50 pages setting the stage before anything happens. Plus, finishing a book is such a boost to your reading life instead of feeling like you've been slogging through the same book for months.
Ditch your TBR.Maybe you have a huge TBR list and nothing on it looks good. Let go of the stress of what you "should" read and pick up something on a whim. Maybe it's from the new releases shelf at your library or a book your friend recommended last week. Read it just because you want to, not because it's on a list you're trying to work your way through.
Schedule time to read.Sometimes a reading slump is because you're just busy or have so many things competing for your attention. Put a time on your calendar to read – maybe 30 minutes in bed before you turn off the lights or 15 minutes while you eat your breakfast or before you start making dinner. Having a planned time makes it easier to actually do it.