In 2024, I realized that I had been in a major reading slump. The only books I read were textbooks or articles for school. Ironically I purchased a lot of new books to get started reading again, but never got the chance. It’s fair to say that life gets busy and for me, I became a mom, started my education again and I had been working for the past 3 years. I was like drowning. I don’t know how some of you guys do it.
This year, I wanted to prioritize all things self care to keep my mental health in check and reading for fun is one of them. So I’ve compiled a list of tips to help you get out of reading slump such as I have been for a while now.
Add reading as part of your routine. Anything can be done no matter how busy if you make the time for it. All comes down to priorities. Lincoln and my education still remain to be the biggest priorities for me, but if taking care of myself and mental health is important then I should be incorporating those into my daily routine. I spend a lot of time reading and writing for my education which I’m grateful for, but it does feel more fun to read whatever you want at any moment and I have been missing that.
So now I make sure to do some reading either in the morning before Lincoln wakes up or after he goes to bed. Sometimes I can do both! So far it’s been so helpful because I look forward to it and
Reread a favorite book. If you’re not sure what to read or not feeling very inspired, pick up an old favorite! You’ll gain a new perspective from rereading it again versus the first time and it will help to re-gain some of that motivation back to keep reading. This is what I just re-read! Mainly because I just watched the movie! Haha. Which I will review in an upcoming post! https://a.co/d/4XNDIWK
Explore a new genre. I have a lot of memoirs and self help books on my TBR list that I’m excited to read. Very different for me, because I have never been drawn to memoirs especially or just non-fiction type of books to begin with. This is a good idea though, because I have a few on my list to read which means I have some new books to look forward to already! Here are a few on my list! https://a.co/d/ghbQ4B6
Explore a new author. A new author I’ve discovered recently is Emily Henry and she is best known for her romance novels. This is what I just picked up as my next read! https://a.co/d/a3YkFmO
Pick a holiday themed book. Valentines is right around the corner and I have noticed so many Valentines Day inspired reads which I think is fun to incorporate so I had to include. Here are some that I’ve seen recently!
Visit your local bookstore and pick out something new. Sometimes going out and reading a fresh new summary can get you excited. Also works if you’re like me and would prefer to just browse Amazon.
Don’t force it. Even if you’ve been an avid reader, don’t force it if you’re not feeling up to it yet. That also goes for if you’re trying to incorporate reading into your routine and you’re not wanting to one night, don’t force it then either. The spark will find its way back to you!
I hope these tips were helpful! They are already helping me and I’m enjoying reading again!
-L
Sincerely Salty Hair 