For the past year I have had a reading block. I just don’t feel the urge to dive into a book like I normally do.
I don’t know if it is laziness or just being pulled into the direction of different technologies (read I love my TV shows), but I just haven’t read anything for fun completely in the last year.
One reason for this is I started two books that I just couldn’t finish.
I have never been one to stop a book part-way through. I always try to push my way through a bad (to me) book.
But these two, I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. And I feel like that has really impacted my gusto towards reading. The fact that I picked these two right after each other and had two failures back to back just made me lose my reading mojo.
These two books were Monuments Men by Robert Edsel and The Missing by Tim Gautreaux.
I started Monuments Men last January and finally had to put it away in May. Then I started The Missing and put it away once we moved to our new place in December. Neither of them I finished.
Others may find these to be good books, but I just found them to be too heavy. I got lost in the words, and not in a good way. I read for fun and don’t want it to feel like work. (I mean seriously I have the reading tastes of a 16 year old girl.)
For Monuments Men, I felt like I was reading for a class with trying to remember all the details and how everything was connected. I did like the personal letters and maps which is honestly what kept me picking it back up each time. I was really disappointed that I didn’t like this more with my history background. I think that it reminded me too much of a textbook that I shied away from it eventually. I didn’t want to feel obligated to read it.
For The Missing, it was similar in how I got lost in the details. The way the author described things made me bored and thinking, “Just get on with it.” I also feel like the story was so drawn out that I just couldn’t deal with all the side stories that really had nothing to do with the missing girl at hand. The premise was good and it had its moments, but overall it was just too much. I realize that maybe if I read further things may have been connected at the end. But he lost me half way through, and I just couldn’t bring myself to continue.
So I have had a hard time feeling motivated to read again and feel the pressure for that next book to really draw me back in. I wanted to pick a book that is going to get me jazzed about reading and not be a chore to do. With that there was a lot of hesitation to read again because I didn’t want to be disappointed for the third time in the last year.
But alas, I did just start a new book, so we’ll see how it goes. My problem now is that I can barely get through a couple pages before I fall asleep since I read before bed mostly. So it may take awhile.
But seriously, I want to be like this again.
Have you ever been in a reading rut? What is your go to book/author that gets you excited about reading?
findingmyyellow.com 
I am right there with you. Usually I can knock out 2-3 books or so in a month’s time and I haven’t been able to finish any the past couple of months. I don’t know what it is – maybe I need to make a change in direction and read something I normally wouldn’t. It sucks!!!
You would think with the time of year, we would love to be snuggled up with a book!
I really don’t read fiction, mostly biographies. I have encountered a few that I just didn’t enjoy (they were a bit too revisionist / apologist). I finished them because I was reviewing them for a contest.
Good for you with biographies. I don’t think I have read a biography since 10th grade English. I just like my fiction!
I’ve been in a reading rut lately too. I’ve been trying to break out of it and have read a few books this year… but late last year… ugh. I didn’t even meet my goal because I didn’t read any the last few months..
Isn’t it the pits? Hopefully we can get back on the right track this year!
I completely understand this! What I have found that helps is to go back to a book I love. I have no problem re-reading a book. It reminds me of how much I love reading. I’ve also found that revisiting a favorite author and reading something new from them, can help kick reading rut. Also, you could add that we stopped with Nudge on top of your other 2 books. But, I think we got as much as we could out of that book by the time we stopped reading it.
I had forgotten about Nudge! Whoops…But I agree, I think we stopped at a good point where there really wasn’t much more we could get out of it developmentally. Speaking of we need to pick our next book!
Girl, I experience this all the time! My biggest piece of advice: don’t slog through a book you aren’t enjoying! It sucks the joy out of reading. Instead of reading a good book, you find yourself avoiding reading entirely because you feel like you “should” be reading a book that just isn’t doing it. Walk away and don’t feel bad about it.
I read Monuments Men, and I liked it, but I had to really dedicate myself to getting through it at certain points. The people in the story kind of ran together, which stifled my enjoyment. I really wanted to read and love “Five Days at Memorial.” I made it 25% of the way through and returned it to the library. I fell asleep every time I opened it. And some books I’ve quit after getting beyond the halfway mark.
When I find myself in a rut, I switch to young adult fiction. I know it will be easy, short, quick, and highly engaging. Yeah, it might be silly or fluffy in some cases, but it gets me through a book, it gets me excited to read, and after a few YA books, I’m ready to tackle something heavier again.
That is exactly how I felt whenever I looked at these books. I am reading a book for a review, but I think that my next pick will definitely be a YA book. They are easy and keep my interest (aka tapping into my teenage mind).
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