To Slump Is To Read

Reading slumps are real. Like anything we love, as humans we go through periods of intense attention, and times of waning interest. Finding the Zen in a slump is hard, but there are ways to seek out that bliss. Here are a few things I do to help break out of the dulldrums. 

Short stories are great slumpbusters for me. When my reading is good, long books keep my going because I know I will finish them. If I am struggling to read, I will shorten up the books so that I can get to the sense of accomplishment we all love when we've finished a book. And, short stories are great! Good short stories leave us wanting more like the last cookie or a really good cuppajoe. Ron Rash has some great short stories, and you know I would be remiss for not mentioning Jim Harrison.

I have found reading outside your comfort zones helps as well. Somehow, I can trick my mind into finishing a book if I think there is something I haven't discovered within. Getting new images, characters, and scenes in the mind helps to refire those neutrons and hook up the brain again. Plus there is the thrill of finding something undiscovered that allures me back into reading mode. Its the same reason I dig through crates of old records or keep fishing after an hour of throwing lures in the water. If I am heading into new waters, I'll seek out a Stephen King, Neil Gaiman or someone I know I should read but haven't. Anything that gets me away from the noirs, westerns or history I probably have been reading.

Getting to the next book in that series you love helps too. Yes, I did just contradict myself, but it can help. You have read the series so far, so you know you love it. We all have that old hoodie we love or a pair of shoes that fit just right that gets pulled out. Why not enjoy a series you have already gotten used a lot of good reading from? And it will help you to that sense of accomplishment you love. I pick up the newest Walt Longmire book or work on a James Lee Burke series.

Perhaps the best option is to ask a Librarian! The best book recommendations I have ever gotten have come from punk ass book jockeys. We're around books and readers all day. On top of all that, we're (hopefully) readers as well so we have plenty of experience with what people are and are not reading. More than likely, they are going to start by asking you the last book you read that you really liked, and go from there. If talking to people isn't your bag, take a look at their STAFF pick section. Most libraries will have a shelf or two set aside for this. Get a sense of what each of the librarians has on their shelf and fall in step with them. When you are done, be an awesome reader and let the librarian know you loved one of their books. They will love you forever. Even money says they will have a book waiting on you the next time you come in the library. 

When these don't work, I like to watch a movie based on a book. It will help me jump into the characters and kickstart my imagination. Getting the characters set can really help you speed through that book you wouldn't otherwise not finish. The Good Lord Bird series lead to a bio of John Brown which I really loved. Ethan Hawk was there in mind as I read the real John Brown's life. 

"To slump, is to read." Jesus said that and I think he was really on to something. But we do not have to say in a slump for long. If you have some fool proof slump busting tips, let me know in the comments.!