Discussion Post: Am I In A Reading Slump?

I like to pretend I don't get reading slumps and book hangovers. Now don't give me too much credit on this feat, it's not that I'm a really good reader, it's mostly that I am usually reading so many books that it doesn't really sink in until I'm committed to the next book. Not to mention that I live in denile. It makes me feel better about things if I can pretend they don't exist. Shameful, I know! But every once in awhile I get to a point where I have to take my head out of the sand and admit that yeah, I might actually be having an issue here. But it's pretty hard to avoid that feeling sometimes.

And I have reached a point where I can no longer avoid that feeling. I think I might be in a reading slump. But I'm still trying to tell myself that it's not that serious, that I'm not in a full on slump because for some reason that feels like admitting defeat. So I need your help. Let me explain my situation and you can all weigh in and tell me if I am in a reading slump. They say admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery so let's give this a try.

So, here's the deal...

1.) I am reading slower than usual.
Now I'm not a particularly fast reader (I know some might disagree) but I am a frequent reader. I usually always have a book with me and I read every chance I get. But lately even though I seem to be reading as often as I usually do, I am still not finishing books at my usual speed. When I am at the top of my game I can read 15 to 16 books in a month. But lately it has only been 11 or 12. A few less books doesn't seem significant but it is 20% less than my best. I hate not being at my best.

I want to blame this on the fact that I am in a post-EoS book hangover but if I am being entirely honest, this has been a long time coming. In fact this post was in my drafts for a few months. Because back then, it took me almost a week to read a YA novel that was less than 400 pages. Usually I can do that in two or three days tops, especially if it's over the weekend. And no, I didn't have a particularly busy weekend. I did a few things that got me out of the house but mostly I sat around reading. But I wasn't able to get through this book.

2.) It's hard for books to capture my interest.

This is probably the biggest clue that something is amiss with me and my reading. I have had this issue lately where even this highly anticipated read will have a hard time hooking me. I've been desperately waiting on the sequel to this book for over a year and now that it's finally here and I have the chance to read it, I'm waiting four days before I even pick it up and even then I'm not engrossed. Now I know every book is different, and honestly I had a super busy week last week and really couldn't have read it but six months ago, that would not have stopped me. 

The other issue with this is that when I am reading a book sometimes the events of the book aren't even sinking in. I'm reading, I'm flipping through pages but it's like I'm not even comprehending what is happening. It feels almost like I am going through the motions of the book without actually taking in the book. And that, honestly is a problem.

3.) I'm not super interested interested in rereading a favorite series.
Usually when I am in a book slump or book hangover the first thing I do is reread a favorite book or series. It helps me restore my love of reading and get back into new books. But I have been doing so many rereads lately to prepare for sequels and series enders that I think this might not be effective anymore. I started the audiobook for a book that I loved and while I'm really enjoying it is taking me forever to finish it. I can usually cruise through an audiobook in a few days to a week and this time it seems to be taking me twice sometimes 3 times as long.

Now to be entirely honest here I feel like I need to explain this a little bit. The problem here I think is that I usually do rereads on audio and I honestly don't have the time anymore to really listen to them. I usually listen at work and I haven't been able to do that for the past few months because I have been so busy. And then when I get home and have the chance to read I don't want listen to audio, I want to read physical books.

4.) I can't even figure out what to read next.

Usually I am all about keeping to a schedule and structure. It's what keeps me focused. But lately not even that is helping me. I have slowly been trying to get away from the super structured TBR because it honestly caused more problems for me. Sticking so closely made it so that I was reading too many books I wasn't enjoying and ended up DNFing. So I started doing kind of a combination sort of thing, potential reads that I would pick up depending on my mood.

And that helped a little bit but now even that isn't helping me pick what to read next. I have a giant stack of books I am really excited about and I can't pick what to read. And even when I have already started reading a few books I can't decide what to read. I'm usually good at prioritizing one over the other or will be able to power through one but lately I have not been able to decide which one I want to read more and sometimes end up reading neither.

5.) I can't remember my last 5 star read. And that book was far from perfect.

Well this is kind of a lie. I can remember my last five star read because it was Empire of Storms but that was almost three weeks ago. In the past few months I think I have only given four 5 stars on goodreads and I don't think any 10 stars here on the blog. Maybe one. This more than anything else makes me think that I might be in a reading slump.

I say this for two reasons. The first one is that I haven't loved many of the books I have been reading lately. Many of them have just been kind of middle of the road reads. Which you know, happens. You can't win them all. But lately it feels like I can't win any of them. It's even hard for me to be really impressed by a book. In the last few months there has only a few that were amazing in an unexpected way. And those are my favorite kind of reads. The other reason I think that not having many five star reads is why I'm in a reading slump is because I haven't been loving highly anticipated sequels or reads (with the exception of Empire of Storms). If you have been waiting for a year to read a book and it doesn't blow you away you start feeling a little slumpy.

Alright, there you have it. All the reasons I think I might be in a reading slump. What do you all think? Would you call this a reading slump? How do I get out of it? I really want to make sure I restore my love of reading for the next month. There are some releases and sequels coming out that I have been dying to read for and I am hoping to have this all cleared up by then. So what do you do to cure your reading slumps? Give me tips. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!