I read every day — 5 ways to escape a reading slump | Books | Entertainment

Summer is now fast approaching, and readers everywhere will be heading to their local bookshops or scrolling through their Kindles to find the perfect book to pack for their holiday. Nothing beats lounging by the pool with your favourite snacks and a gripping book, but if you have been in a reading slump, choosing what to read next can feel like a challenge.

It is easy to drift away from reading when social media, video games, and streaming services are constantly competing for our attention. However, spending long periods without reading can make it much harder to return to the habit, and many people worry about the impact this can have on their ability to focus. I am a massive bookworm but found myself struggling to find anything I wanted to read earlier this year, but after discovering a few simple strategies, I am now finishing around one per week.

Read for five minutes a day

One of the best things I did to pick up reading again was to take the pressure off completely, and I started by just reading a few minutes a day.

This might sound silly, but the hardest part of doing anything is often beginning and doing it once a day will eventually help you rebuild the habit so you start reading regularly.

You do not even have to buy a book to start, as the best way I started reading again was signing up to the Dracula Daily Newsletter.

Dracula, the novel is made up of diary entries, and instead of having to read the whole book at once, you will receive each entry on the same date it occurs in the story.

All you need to do is take five minutes when you start your day by opening your email, and in a few months, you will have completely read the whole book.

Pick up something bizarre

Sometimes just trying something different is the best way to love reading again as it can help get rid of any high exceptions to make it fun again.

During winter, I was really struggling to read because of the dull and dark weather, but one day I got an email from a local bookstore that made me laugh.

They were advertising lots of different British history books, and one of their top picks was A Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles by Ned Palmer.

Reading about the history of cheese just seemed weird to me, but I could not stop thinking about it and ended up buying the book the next time I was in the area.

It turned out to be an absolutely fascinating read, and I would recommend it to anyone. If you want to try reading something new I suggest looking through the history, nature, travel or philosophy sections of a bookstore to see if there’s anything eccentric on the shelves.

It might sound intimidating, but knowing you will be talking about the book with people at a later date can help make it more likely you will pick up a book and try to finish it.

One of the easiest ways to find local book clubs in your area is to simply look at websites like Meetup, or even go to a nearby bookstore or library, to see if they are hosting any events.

However, if going out to an event seems like too much work at the moment then you can try looking at some online groups as just having a place to discuss reading can help spark your interest.

Goodsreads is one of the best websites for online reading communities but it can also help to browse Reddit as it have more specific groups depending on what genres you like.

If you are going to scroll on your phone, then you might as well try to develop healthier social media habits by looking through book clubs and it might help you discover what to read next.

Read an old favourite comfort book

Starting a new book when you are in a reading slump can feel like a lot of effort, so re-reading something you loved in the past can be a great way to build momentum.

Finishing a book, even one you have read before, can give you a sense of accomplishment and remind you why you loved reading in the first place.

When I was a teenager, I absolutely loved the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett, and in February, I decided to reread Mort, the story of a farm boy who becomes Death’s apprentice.

It is such a hilarious and imaginative book that it reminded me why I loved fantasy so much growing up. After finishing it, I found myself reading one fantasy novel after another and quickly fell back into the habit of reading for pleasure.

Watch a TV or movie adaptation first

Watching a TV or film adaptation before reading a book can make it easier to get back into reading during a slump.

It helps you become familiar with the characters and setting, which makes the story feel less intimidating and easier to visualise. If you enjoy the adaptation, it can also spark interest in the genre and lead you to other books you might enjoy.

A few months ago, I started watching The Handmaid’s Tale on Disney+ as I heard a sequel was coming out this year, and I ended up reading the book after finishing the series.

I became fascinated with dystopian fiction, which led me to read many of the genre’s classics, like The Stand by Stephen King, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and the most famous of them all, 1984 by George Orwell.