How to Get Over a Book Hangover/Reading Slump
We've all been there. Maybe it's cause the last book you read tore your soul into two *cough* hEARTLESS *cough* or you're just so sucked into a new tv show that you'd want to hide under your blanket for years and never walk out of your house again..
Yes, we're all guilty as charged, but hey, it happens to everyone really. I can be a super bookworm on a good week and a lazy cat on another and sometimes there's just nothing you can do about it, but I do have some tips and tricks on how to gradually step out of that way too comfortable (or a sobbing mess, in a book hangover's case) zone of yours.
Guilty pleasure reads!
The easiest way for me to get over any slump or hangover is to read new adult books, one of my ultimate guilty pleasure reads to date. Of course everyone has different guilty pleasure reads - they can be fluffy contemporary books, mangas, graphic novels, comics and more. What I mean by guilty pleasure reads is that they are super easy to get into and no matter how horrible it can be it's just so so addicting. As for me, I can fly through several new adult books in a week and I personally think it's just such a great way to a) catch up on your Goodreads reading challenge, b) discover amazing new adult books and c) help you get out of that reading slump/book hangover! Some books I highly recommend: The Off Campus series by Elle Kennedy, November 9 by Colleen Hoover, Swear On This Life by Renee Carlino, Paper Princess by Erin Watt
Desperate times calls for desperate measures
If you seriously cannot pick up a book, watch a book-to-movie/tv show adaptation! Again, we've all been there. Not even some of our guilty pleasure reads can help us out of the slump/hangover. And when it happens, what do we do? We look for movies/tv shows to watch. But here's the trick - look for ones that are based on a novel! As a reader, you're always more than just an average movie enthusiast. After a movie you always find yourself wanting more. Maybe it's the characters that are intriguing, or the world building that's interesting. Some of the littlest details that would suffice your craving for a complex, well thought out story can only be found in - yes, books. Some really good examples that worked out well for me were: Harry Potter, Charlotte's Web (all time faave!), Percy Jackson (I think everyone can agree with me on this :lol: ), Matilda, The Series of Unfortunate Events, Love Rosie, Me Before You, A Walk to Remember and more. There are some others that, though I've not tried for myself, worked really well for others, and they are: Outlander, Pride and Prejudice, The Hunger Games, The Lord of The Rings series, Coraline and so, so much more.
Follow up on Booktube/Bookstagram/Book blogs!
I know a ton of people on the web who does bookish skits all the time and inspire me to read more books. Some of them include people talking about their favorite books of all time, others might have came up with a music playlist that goes well with a book and some just posts the most beautiful bookish pictures ever. These are the book nerds that I am up to date with. I follow them for recommendations, ideas, bookish news (new release books, movies, etc) and of course for fun. I have an Instagram account that is dedicated to all things bookish and I've never looked back ever since. It's helped me discover so many books and stories that I never thought existed. A majority of the books I read definitely came from these people.
BOOKTUBE:
TheBookHoarder (Dana is my fave as of right now omg <3 )
BOOKSTAGRAM:
BOOK BLOGS:
Oldies but Goldies
Chances are that when you're in a hangover, you're obsessed over something that just hurts whenever you think about it. So what I suggest you do is go back to your past obsessions just before this one and go through the same phase all over again. Say your current obsession is Harry Potter, and your poor little heart just can't handle all the character deaths. Believe me, I was there *shudders*, and so what I do is that I revisit all my past addictions (a song I used to love, a movie I watch all the time as a kid, or even a book!) I like to forget about the angst and I try to focus on the good stuff. When you're past that and a friend of yours just happen to mention something Harry Potter related, it will sting - yes, but you'll learn to get over it.
That's it for today! I hope these tips are helpful <3 Let me know if you have some of your own tricks to getting over a book hangover/slump! Good luck everyone! Thanks for reading :)
Cath xx