Yetunde Onafuye: You Can Overcome Reading Slumps Using these Tips

Although reading is fun for some, it’s not the same for others. Why? Over time, people lose interest in it. It’s not like the book is not great or the writing style is awful, they just can’t keep going and are stuck. There seem to be no motivation to read, and they simply cannot get through. This is called a reading slump and it can be frustrating.

Possible Causes of Reading slumps

• Time: Once you do not have enough time to read – as you used to have, you can fall out of the process. You get accustomed to engaging in other activities and pastimes that you forget to pick up a book.
• Placing so much expectation on a book: You have read reviews, the book cover is enticing, and you trust the author, but you can get discouraged when the book disappoints you. You know that feeling you get when you have placed a high expectation on a thing or it heightens your level of excitement, but the satisfaction level is low? This can reduce your interest in reading other books.
• You have replaced reading with other equally fun activities after a long time: Binge-watching movies and developing other hobbies over a long time can steal your interest in reading.

On the flip side, there are newbie readers who don’t read often but the reviews they find on the internet attract them. With time, they get fed up of reading. How can they survive a reading slump?

Try reading a paperback

One tip that can help you read better is to put those soft copies aside. Purchasing and reading paperbacks can stimulate your interest in the book. There is a fresh feeling that comes with flipping through pages. It keeps your focus and you don’t have to scroll with your finger or squint when reading like you would do with a soft copy on your mobile phone and personal computer.

Set a target: a page or two per day

A page per day might work like magic! Setting targets can get you in tune with reading. You start to get familiar with the book and, over time, you would want to get past a page per day. 

Try audiobooks

If the soft copy or paperback is not doing it for you, there’s an alternative: download any audiobook app to listen to books you are interested in. You don’t have to flip through pages or scroll on your phone, yet you get to enjoy the same reading benefit.

Start light: Opt for a fun, calm, and interesting read

If there’s a book that can help you recover from your reading slump, it has to be an interesting one. Opt for a book with light themes, funny and interesting. You can pick up a celebrity biography, a funny novel, African fiction, or the regular romance novel. These kinds of books are lighthearted and can help you get your groove back.

Re-read your favorite book

If you want to recover from a reading slump, your best bet is reading your favorite book again. Pick up a memorable book, go through it over again, it might reignite your passion for reading, and set your mood right. 

There you have it! Want to start your reading journey, or recover from a reading slump, try out these tips.

***

Photo by Christina Morillo from Pexels