I’m going to make an assumption and say that most people who love to read will experience some type of reading slump. But first, what do I mean by that phrase anyway? Let’s define a reading slump as the feeling of apathy one experiences when they want to read something, but nothing clicks. Basically, someone who actively wants to have the desire to read but can’t find said desire is in a reading slump. (Note that this is just my personal definition.)
This differs slightly from book burnout, which we’ll say is the lack of desire to read something after having read many things previously. For example, someone might read five epic fantasies in one month; as a result, they have no desire to read epic fantasy for the next month (or however long.)
In 2019, I went through a really bad reading slump. And honestly, I couldn’t tell you why. At the time I was living in Mongolia and didn’t have access to my physical books back in the US. I was incredibly fortunate enough to go to Australia in June, though, and brought back a good pile of physical books. But really, I was still a member of my library back home, so I could easily get ebooks and audiobooks from them. Not to mention the stack of ebooks already on my TBR!
It wasn’t due to a lack of reading materials. My real life was going fine. I was talking with friends, either online or in real life, daily. I was teaching and enjoying it. But every time I wanted to want to read, I just couldn’t.
Okay, every time is an exaggeration, as I did read during 2019. For my personal reading, it felt like a significant decrease.
And what happened as a result? Everyone left me. I was fired without benefits and shunned by the whole community both online and in real life. Nothing. That’s what. No one cared that I wasn’t reading as much because it didn’t matter. I was absorbed in binging shows like Steven Universe, so I still got my fantasy fix.
Throughout 2019 (really from like March-September ish), I kept trying to pinpoint a reason for my reading slump. Contrast that to my book burnout due to 2020’s February where I read about 25 books that month and then March where I didn’t finish a book until at least halfway through the month. With book burnout, it’s easier to pinpoint a culprit. With reading slumps? Not so much.
My slump was big enough that it affected my whole reading. It wasn’t that everything I picked up was bad. Just that I didn’t care about reading anything, but I wanted to care. In the end, there was no real culprit. And after admitting to myself that I was in a slump, it was easier to then change my mindset. I’m focused on getting enjoyment from other media, like watching BookTube videos or TV shows like the aforementioned Steven Universe. Reading wasn’t going anywhere, no matter how long I stopped. My books wouldn’t suddenly turn against me.
So I guess the whole point of this rambling nonsense, if you’ve made it this far, is that I went through a major (to me) reading slump in 2019. And there wasn’t any specific reason. It just happens, and it’s not something to feel bad about. What got me out was just trying to read occasionally. Eventually, The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards (my review) happened to be the book that reignited my desire to read. (You should read it, by the way.)
Everyone’s experience will be different: how they got into a reading slump and the things that helped them get out of it. This is just my own story to add to the myriad narratives on the topic. Cheers.
