Hello,
I’m writing to you from the depths of my very own reading rut. This may sound dramatic, but reading is my greatest and most enduring hobby, and when I’m not reading… I don’t feel quite like myself.
To complicate things, reading has also become part of my job. I host a podcast with a monthly book club and am constantly screening books that might be ripe for discussion within our community. I’m also an author and reading other author’s books is one of my biggest sources of inspiration. In some ways, this puts more pressure on what was once purely a hobby.
In this case, I know exactly why I’m in a rut. I’ve had a doozy of a month on pretty much all fronts and sitting down for a long stretch and mustering concentration to read a physical book is outside my capacity at the moment. Knowing why I’m in one is actually preferable to other past mysterious reading ruts where a sort of malaise settles and I lose my taste for reading for a bit. But it always comes back. I know this will pass.
In case you find yourself in a similar situation, I wanted to offer some tips (and book recs!) to break your reading dry spell.
Switch formats
If physical books aren’t hitting, try an audiobook. When I can’t sit still (like now), I take my books to go and swap my walking soundtrack from music to an audiobook. Sure, I get through fewer pages since I’m only reading on my daily walk and probably retain less (I’m a visual learner), but audiobooks still count as reading (say it louder for the people in the back!).
While I’m known to be a voracious romance reader when I’m consuming paper or e-books, I tend to enjoy non-fiction and celebrity memoir on audio. If you’re looking for inspo, here are two all-time faves along with my current audio read.
OPEN BOOK by Jessica Simpson: The pop star’s possibly *too* candid memoir is chocked full of juicy stories from Mickey Mouse Club auditions to on-set affairs to tons of tea on her toxic relationship with John Mayer. This was the soundtrack to my early-pandemic walks and despite having few feelings (positive or negative) about Jess when I started, I ended feeling like we were best friends.
TOM LAKE by Ann Patchett (read by Meryl Streep): One of my favorite books of 2023 has an EXCELLENT audio edition narrated by the G.O.A.T., Meryl Streep. Her performance as a mother telling the stories of her youth performing at a summer stock theater and dating a now mega-famous actor is so deeply immersive, there were times I forgot this was fiction and not Meryl’s own story.
[Current Read] STOLEN FOCUS by Johann Hari: It’s apt that in this personal period of low-focus, I chose to read a book about our systemic inability to focus. I picked this more as a way to troubleshoot my codependent relationship with my phone rather than my reading rut, but it’s probably all connected. I’m only 1/3 of the way through, but enjoying it immensely.
Throw your TBR out the window (no, not literally)
I get it, you have a carefully curated pile of books you bought with best intentions. But now is the time for mood reading. Maybe you’re craving a super smutty vampire romance (might I suggest BRIDE by Ali Hazelwood), but all you have are historical fiction tomes covered with women walking away. Sometimes you just don’t feel like reading what you picked when you were in the bookstore all those months ago. Let this be your permission slip. Give your TBR a raincheck and read what feels good.
Reach for a backlist hit
Sometimes I wind up in a reading rut because I read a bunch of super buzzy new releases that end up being disappointing. When this happens, I’ll go back to an older book with a more substantial number of positive reviews (not just hype). Here are a handful I think would do the trick.
THE BODYGUARD by Katherine Center: This was my entry point into my Katherine Center era. This closed-door romance following a female bodyguard and her action star client is a bit zany and full of heart. It feels like the book equivalent of an 00’s rom-com movie, maybe one starring Sandra Bullock (the Miss Congeniality comp casts itself). The good news is: if you love this one, she has a whole back catalog to explore.
THE IDEA OF YOU by Robinne Lee: You’ve heard about the movie. If you haven’t already read this book, you can’t tell me you’re not the littlest bit intrigued after the wall-to-wall coverage here. This book about a relationship between a 40-year-old divorced mom and a 20-year-old boy bander kept me up until 3 a.m. It sucked me in whole. Maybe something with some extra-addictive properties is just what the doctor ordered to remedy your rut.
JUST KIDS by Patti Smith: “You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patti Smith.” If you want to dive deeper into the lore behind The Tortured Poets Department, might I recommend Patti Smith’s fantastic memoir covering her fascinating friendship with the artist Robert Maplethorpe.
THE ROYAL WE by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan: This book was ahead of its time (it came out in 2015, pre the great romance boom of 2018), and I fear a lot of people missed it. This delightfully fun royal romp of a novel follows a regular American girl who falls for the Prince of England while studying abroad. It’s basically guaranteed to make you kick up your heels and squeal with giddy glee.
MATCHMAKING FOR BEGINNERS by Maddie Dawson: This book went micro-viral in our podcast community. And if your rut extends outside your reading life, this book, which follows a jilted fiancée, has a great message that you’re right where you’re supposed to be, even if it doesn’t feel like that at the moment.
WINTER IN PARADISE by Elin Hilderbrand: IMO this series about a woman who discovers her newly-dead husband was leading a double life in the Caribbean is Elin’s most pacy. After finishing, I immediately went to two different bookstores to find the next installment. It has an ensemble cast, lots of sub-plots, and tons of juicy secrets.
In praise of short books
Other times what you need to get back in the swing of things is some momentum. One of my go-to’s for short books is Rebecca Serle (my favorite is IN FIVE YEARS, but have tissues handy; if you want to go back to her YA days, I loved the FAMOUS IN LOVE series, which later turned into a short-lived CW TV show). But I think Colleen Hoover is the queen of gulp-able books. In my eyes, Hoover’s superpower is plot that keeps you turning pages at warp speed. I have very fond memories of taking down the entirety of NOVEMBER 9th on a 3-ish hour train ride through southern Spain. If you want something on the thriller side, VERITY gets my vote. Sometimes crushing a book in an afternoon is what it takes to get your book-groove back.
Get engrossed in a fantasy series
Maybe the trash-fire state of the real world has you feeling unfocused (who could blame you). Book an escape to a mythical world instead. Sure these fantasy worlds have their own problems—usually an evil overlord of some kind—but at least there are faeries! Or dragons! Or witches! Or all three!
A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES by Sarah J Maas: The whole internet is obsessed with this series, from TikTok teens to former-NFL player J.J. Watt. Are you really the exception? I refused all social outings and did the bare minimum at work while I was reading this series in early-2020 because I was so sucked into this story about a mortal woman who gets kidnapped to the faerie realm.
FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros: OK, so faeries are a no-go for you… what about dragons? I’d compare this series about an elite cadre of dragon riders at a war college to Game of Thrones if it was made for the CW (that’s a huge compliment in my book).
A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES by Deborah Harkness: Still no? What about a good old fashioned witch/vampire romance but with an academic edge? In this series, a reluctant witch gets sucked into the search for a mysterious magical text.
Dip a toe into the YA universe
I get it, you hate whimsy and want to keep your feet planted firmly in the mortal realm. Could I interest you in some YA? Despite telling stories about teens, many YA books grapple with real-world issues of race, class, and gender with a heaping helping of figuring where you belong in the world (IDK about you, but at 37 I’m def still figuring this out). And they often do it using simpler language and with shorter wordcounts than their adult book cousins, which IMO make them ideal slump busters
THE SELECTION by Kiera Cass: I’d describe this dystopian series as The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games. “Regular” girls compete to become the country’s next princess. I loved this series so much it was our first-ever Bad on Paper podcast book club pick. (Hot tip: just read books 1-3, I’ve heard things go off the rails in the later books that follow the next generation).
ALL THESE BEAUTIFUL STRANGERS by Elizabeth Klehfoth: One of my favorite niche-genres is “rich unsupervised teens,” so I love any kind of prep school thriller like this one. I gulped this down in one sitting, and hopefully you will, too.
WITH THE FIRE ON HIGH by Elizabeth Acevedo: Sometimes YA books get a bad rep for being too simplistic. If you feel that way, I’d point you toward this YA with light magical realism elements about a teen mother who dreams of becoming a chef. The prose is gorgeous and poetic. Maybe you’ll surprise yourself and get sucked in by something you didn’t think would be for you.
Keep a list of books you’re excited about
The problem could be that you’re overwhelmed by choice. Who could blame you when it feels like there’s a firehose of new books coming out every Tuesday. Try keeping a list in your notes app of titles you hear about that excite you. You can also use services like Goodreads or Storygraph to keep track of your TBR.
If all else fails… let it be
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I think reading goals are silly. Sure, it’s absolutely great to try to read more. But lots of times, I see people posting stressed-out comments about being behind on an arbitrary goal or pushing through to finish books they’re not enjoying only to pump up their reading stats. At the end of the day, I hope you’re reading because it brings you pleasure. Life’s too short to read books you don’t enjoy. As I said at the top of this letter, I’ve been in many a book rut and they’ve all passed. So, if you’re not feeling it right now, maybe take some of the pressure off for a bit.
Those are my tips for getting out of a reading rut, but I’d love to hear if you have a book that got you out of a rut. If you need me, I’ll be over here listening to audiobooks until the fiction itch returns.
Becca
I will often reread one of my favorites when I’m in a reading slump. Since I already know I like it there isn’t the same mental hurdle that there can be with new books.
I am in this predicament as we speak! Think I may try your “change format” tip and read something on Kindle even though I normally find it easier to concentrate on paper books… not working recently