#1 Always keep a book with you
I mean it, carry your book with you everywhere. While you might not always have a lot of time to read you might get a couple pages in while you wait in line for something or while you travel to school or work. Most of the time this works for me but because sometimes I just won't be in the mood to read when I'm very stressed during the day I'll just leave it in my bag. But noticing the book there does make me want to pick it up and continue later on. It's always better to read a little than nothing and if you read a few pages during your day they might get you pulled into the story and interest you enough to start you reading the book the second you get some free time.
#2 Read before bed
Reading before bed used to be something I did every single day but recently I don't always get to it. My phone is probably the last thing I'll go on and check before I go to sleep but honestly reading before bed is so much more relaxing. After an entire day of worrying about whatever it is you're doing or should be doing, laying in bed, switching off and entering a different world in a different person's shoes is so much fun. And if you manage to read a lot of pages before bed then it's really rewarding as well since you did all your work during the day and then even made progress in your book afterwards. *Warning* This method might stop you from sleeping if you attempt this with a very intense book :)
#3 Listen to audio books
By this point I'm sure you've seen a bunch of ads for Audible and other audio book sites on YouTube and other websites since almost every booktuber or blogger is being sponsored by them. But have you actually tried listening to audio books yet? There are so many websites to get audio books from and they really large collections of YA books as well. Audio books could help you keep reading (or technically listening) a story while you go about your day and it might even be easier for you to listen to a book than read it in some situations.#4 Join a book club or be part of a Read-a-thon
While you might not be very inspired to read a book all by yourself, if you turn it into something you do with your friends or other bookworms across the internet you might find yourself wanting to read more. Actual book clubs would be the old-fashioned way of getting involved and reading something together with others but now there are also online book clubs or groups (e.g. Booksplosion and Perustopia) that have some main hosts who start read a longs of new books and have live shows at the end discussing the book. There are also different read-a-thons that take place during specific times in the year. LittleBookOwl has a great list of the read-a-thons on her blog.
#5 Don't read if you don't want to
This might go sort of against the title of this post but forcing yourself to read when you don't want to will not help the situation. Maybe you just need a couple days where instead of turning to a book you marathon a tv show, watch some movies or do something different entirely that doesn't involve stories at all. Once you've done this you might find yourself drawn back into the world of books and you'll start getting excited to read again.#6 Read a book or a series that you love
My last tip is to go back and re-read a book or a series that you absolutely loved. If you've forgotten why you used to enjoy reading, reading a book you loved before might remind you. You'll remember the emotions you felt when you first read the book and welcome the characters back into you mind. Some of my favourite books that I love to read that get me excited to venture out into the world of stories again are Harry Potter (duh), the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus books by Rick Riordan and the Children of the Red King series by Jenny Nimmo.
Remember that you're reading because it's a hobby (I hope, unless it's for school in which good luck). So don't stress about how much you have read, should be reading or how much other people have read because you're reading because it makes you happy :)
Remember that you're reading because it's a hobby (I hope, unless it's for school in which good luck). So don't stress about how much you have read, should be reading or how much other people have read because you're reading because it makes you happy :)
Thank you, these tips are really helpful! I have reading slumps once in a while, and reading before bed instead of going on your phone is a really good way to feel better and get more reading done. I've also listened to many audio books during long car rides when there's nothing to do, and they're a great way to 'read' more books when you have free time. Reading a book or series you love is also definitely a great way to get out of a reading slump, and I have to say that my go-to series is almost always Percy Jackson/Heroes Of Olympus <3 I think I might also try joining a read-a-thon when I don't know what to read next, that's a great idea :)
ReplyDeleteYay so glad this helped and yass read-a-thons are loads of fun, I'm sure you'll enjoy it :) I haven't actually listened to many audiobooks but I'll definitely try listening to some during long car rides or trips like you said.
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