Kathy Hamilton Reading Burnout is real! It’s so frustrating when you want to read but can’t seem to find the right book, or time, or inclination. When this happens I have a few tricks that usually fire up my interest in reading again.
Lately I’ve been really suffering from reading burnout. I was steam-rolling ahead with by goal to read 50 books in one year and then all of a sudden I just had no desire to read anything. But reading isn’t about getting through books as fast as possible. These tips helped me remember that.
Don’t feel the pressure to keep up
Sometimes reading burnout can spring from putting too much pressure on ourselves to read the “right” books. For example, if you frequent the bookstagram section on instagram, it’s hard to avoid Daisy Jones and the Six at the moment. Everyone and their Aunt is reading it. Or so it seems!
But that book just doesn’t appeal to me. Which is totally fine. In years gone by I would have let the book FOMO get to me and tried to read it, but I know that route always leads to book burnout because guess what? If you don’t enjoy what you’re reading, why read? There’s only so many hours in the day and you can’t read everything, don’t feel the pressure to keep up!
Listen don’t read
I know there’s some debate about whether audio books count as reading but I think they totally do. And the best thing about listening to books instead of consuming them the old fashioned way is that you can do other things while you listen. I think it was Gretchen Rubin that coined the idea of doubling up on habits. It’s a really great concept; say you want to read more, but you can’t avoid that looming tower of ironing any more? Pop on an audio book and whistle…err listen while you work!
Honestly, I don’t listen to audio books a lot. I’m a purist at heart and usually curling up with a good old fashioned book is my idea of bliss. But there’s a time and a place for them. And when reading burnout rears its ugly head this can be a wonderful solution. You could even try multi-media here. Start the book on as an audiobook, switch to the actual book when you want to, switch back.
Switch up the genres
All things considered, too much of a good thing can be bad for us. Like that time I bought four chocolate eclairs and ate them in one sitting. (Humour me, we both know I have zero regrets about that). But when it comes to reading burnout variety is the spice of life.
Now, I’m a massive advocate for reading what you love. But even I know that if I stick to my usual genres too much I just get bored. Regency romance blends in to Regency romance. My Gaskells and Brontes start to blur into one prolonged (bleak, northern) landscape. You get the point. Whenever I have reading burnout I pick a book that will really shake me out of my rut. A complete change in direction can help.
Take a break when you need it!
Sometimes the only way to cure reading burnout is to take a break. Like the tips above, reading all the time, or the same genres can sometimes suck the fun out of reading all together. When something is routine it’s hard to feel enthusiastic about it right? If you’re just not feeling the desire to read why not try something else? I believe we’re all creative souls at heart and we thrive on diversity.
For example, I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately, and instead of dwelling on it too hard I’ve been rediscovering my other hobbies instead. I treated myself to this adorable cross stitch kit. I’ve been practising drawing. I’ve even been getting addicted to playing Pokemon again! The good thing about books is that they don’t have an expiry date, they’ll still be there when you’re ready.
Pick an *easier* book
Sometimes I get reading burnout when I’ve been reading too many “heavy” or “complicated” books. I love a good paragraph free, chapter-less, 18th century book about absentee landlords (see first pic!) as much as the next girl…but it’s not exactly light reading. It’s important to read intuitively. Sometimes my mind is craving the challenge, other times it just wants to get lost in a delicious Victorian lady sleuth mystery instead (see pic below!).
For this reason, I always like to have a good series on the go. It’s so much easier to dip back into a world I’m already familiar with. It’s got the guaranteed enjoyment factor too. My two go to series authors are Tasha Alexander and Julia Quinn because their books work as stand alones but also have a continuity to them.
Just start the book
My final tip for recovering from book burnout is probably the simplest. Give yourself ten minutes to start the book. I can’t tell you how many times this has worked for me. Everyone has a spare ten minutes in the day so why not use them to pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read for months and just get going.
This is a piece of advice I’ve learnt from the wide variety of prostcratination avoidance articles I’ve read over the years. It’s so easy to put off doing something if it feels BIG. But ten minutes is achievable. Plus, 9 times out of 10, once I’ve started the book I want to keep going any way.
