How to fall back in love with reading

Last year I had a few months of reading fatigue. I think it was weeks until I managed to pick up a book and find the motivation to finish it, even then I can’t say I enjoyed it. Usually once I finish a book I go straight into the next one, sometimes I sample a few and read whatever takes my fancy or I have one in mind that I’m excited to read. This time I was at a loss what to read next.

Does this sound familiar? For me it happens every couple of years, sometimes it’s when I am trying to read novels out of my comfort zone whether that is a genre I’m not usually into or a book that is more complex than I am used to. Whilst I think it is important to keep doing these things I think it is also ok to go back to back to what you know you love. After all we are reading to enjoy ourselves.

I know that when I read a book that has rave reviews and I don’t enjoy it I can get really frustrated, the more this happens the less appealing other books on my bookshelf look!

These are my top tips to fall back in love with reading, let me know if you would suggest anything else.

Give yourself some time. When you’re really not into reading, rather than forcing it and making it a chore give yourself some time off. Watch a movie, TV show, or, anything else you might enjoy. Listen to what your brain wants! I can promise you that you will pick up a book and enjoy it again.

Reread a favourite. I never used to reread books before. I didn’t feel as if I read enough in the year to spend the time reading something that I already had enjoyed before. But I have found the joy in reading a book that I am familiar with. Especially if some time has passed since I last read. It is amazing all the little details you absorb when you already know the plot.

Explore more from your favourite author. If you loved one of their books it is likely that you will like more. Look back at your top 5 books and see whether there are any books you’ve not read yet.

Read in a different format. It took a while to find my groove but now I love audible. When I’ve been to restless to read or too tired to focus on reading then playing a book via audible has been great. There is definitely a hit and miss element depending on who is reading, but if you have a favourite actor you can search their name and find a book that they have narrated. Once you have read a few that you enjoy you can always search by narrators that you have enjoyed. Top tip from me is to crank the speed, some are put at such a painfully slow pace.

Sample books before you buy to them. I have found it really helpful downloading samples on my kindle before committing to purchasing. Or if i’m in a book shop/library then reading the first couple pages I can gauge quite quickly if I enjoy the author/prose.

Hopefully there are some helpful ideas, if after all that you’re still not finding your flow give yourself more time. The books will still be there for you when you are ready for them.

Of course the photo, if we could all be reading in the sunshine around the pool I’m sure it would help all of our reading journeys!