When life gets crazy I find there are usually two groups of people:
1. Those who turn to old comforts, fully embracing them and the joy they get out of doing what they love 2. The people like me, who get overwhelmed by everything and find it difficult to focus, let alone find time for old comforts I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't reading at all, but back in March of last year my depression hit a low it hasn't seen in almost 8 years. It became difficult not to compare everything to pre-pandemic life, and that way of thinking pushed me further away from the little joys I normally find in shitty situations. I'm not going to put it lightly or nicely, this pandemic has been absolutely shit in a lot of ways. My boyfriend was facing the cancellation of a tour with his band that was meant to last almost three months, and I was finding new ways to give myself anxiety almost daily. Before the pandemic, life felt like absolute bliss; I was attending book club every month at one of my favorite local bookshops, experiencing the high of live music, and hanging out with friends almost every week. Those parts of my life have always been enough to keep me satisfied, then it was all ripped away in what felt like an instant, but was really more of a slow burn toward the inevitable. I moved back in with my mom, my job shifted to a work from home format, and the world felt like it stopped moving for a while. I spent a good five months or so doing pretty much nothing. I tried to get into a writing project started online to help people cope with the feelings of isolation, but it felt too much like a school assignment at times and I didn't connect with it after a couple weeks of trying. One night I sat in my room staring at my bookshelf packed full of unread books and just picked one. For three months I struggled to get back into reading, an activity I love more than a lot of things, but these are some methods that helped me get out of my pandemic reading slump. Read an old favorite I didn't exactly do this, but I did pick up the Among the Hidden series, which I somehow managed to miss reading when I was younger. My brother was never a big reader, but he loved the series as a kid, and it has become what I would consider a precursor to some of the dystopian fiction we all know today. Sometimes we need to read books that aren't challenging or heavily thought-provoking, and I find that books written for younger people can be a bit easier to read (not to say that they aren't amazingly written or interesting). Take a look at the stack of books you've read and loved or grab a book written for younger readers–don't think about it too much and just start reading. Forget marathon reading and set attainable daily reading goals When I sit down to read I don't generally have a time in mind when I'm going to stop. I'll read for hours if I have the day off, and on rare occasions I'll even start and finish a book on the same day. This can also be the biggest problem for readers who want to devour as many books as humanly possible. There's always a little pang of disappointment when you don't get to read as much as you hoped. Help yourself get back into a reading routine first by setting small goals like reading for 30 minutes everyday or reading a few chapters. Meeting smaller and more attainable goals feels better than being hard on yourself because you didn't finish 4 books in a month. Fit reading time into your schedule where it makes sense for you. Join a virtual book club The book club I was meeting with before the pandemic was able to go virtual by hosting monthly meetings on Zoom and staying in touch with a Facebook group for members only. A lot of independent bookstores have started virtual book clubs to stay in touch and provide a sense of a community from a distance. If you read one book a month that will be 12 books for the year and a great accomplishment! This leaves a lot of room for any reads you want to add in if you finish a book quickly or don't love the book selected some months. Not to mention, when the book club is able to resume in person you will meet others who love reading as much as you and maybe even make a few new friends. This is also your sign to go support a local bookstore and quit giving Amazon more of your money, they don't need it. Find a short book to read or a collection of works Shorter books can be more digestible than long novels, and they make reading feel less like a chore when you're struggling to get into it again. Reading a 30 page essay or short story is much less intimidating than deciding to take on a novel totaling more than 300 pages. If you like nonfiction then look for a collection of essays by a writer you admire (my personal suggestion is anything by Samantha Irby) and if fiction is more your thing there are plenty of short story collections out there. A library card really comes in handy when you're indecisive or simply looking for one book to finally stick. You can check out multiple books for free and return what you didn't like. Download the Libby app for free audiobooks I've been visiting the library since elementary school and just recently found out about the Libby app. If you have a valid library card you can use the app to check out audiobooks and e-books for free! It took me a while to get into listening to books, and I know it isn't for everyone, but it provides the flexibility of listening when you can't be physically reading. It's a great resource that offers a lot of newer releases and popular titles. If you don't have a lot of free time to sit down with a book then listening might be a better option. It doesn't hurt that using the app is free, especially when a lot of us don't have disposable income right now. I'm here to tell you that you will get out of the reading slump you're in right now, and to remind you not to compare your reading goals or habits to anyone else. I'm guilty of doing that and it doesn't do any good, trust me.
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