How To GET OUT Of A Reading Slump

[@RCWaldun]

To learn more than ever from important non-fiction books, join me on Shortform: shortform.com/rc . You’ll get a 5-day free trial and a 20% discount on your annual subscription. One of my favorite books on Shortform is How To Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster

[@srinathch2504]

Don't force reading. It will repel you from reading. *Be sincere* on what you want to read. If you like a topic and got curious go for it, don't just put it on "tbr" list. Many times tbr list becomes a chore that will make you feel like you "owe" tbr list. Best way to read a book is get curious on the subject. Curiousity is the key. I wish I realised it sooner.

[@mattjmjmjm4731]

I like to see a TBR list as a list of recommendations, not something where I have to read each title before I die. I just add books to my tbr just in case I might read a few of them, not out of any obligation.

[@fauxbun]

A 'solution' I've been doing everytime I get into a reading slump, I browse books I've read before and just read snippets of sentences I've underlined, marked, annotated which usually revives my heart of being a reader. If it doesn't work, don't push it and only read what interests you, *anything*, be it reddit threads about the best game character that highlights their game experiences, a news article about a person's perspective about politics, how a smoker started and quit his nicotine addiction in three days, just *read*. Stories are everywhere, not just in books, so we may as well read it when we can't face a heavy book. Love the video Robin ! ♡

[@neginmoosavi3618]

For me, it was the sudden revelation that hit me in my late teen years; the fact that i wasn't truly living but living vicariously through fictional characters's experiences. that was saddening for me and i realized that maybe if i exposed myself a little bit more to the outside world, if i took a break from all that reading day and night, maybe then i would have my own story to tell. I don't like to quote but to be quoted and while i know this isn't essentially and solely receieved from direct experiences, it certainly plays an important role to feel and sense things first-hand. I do feel aabit guilty sometimes about not being identified and acknowledged as "the bookworm" anymore but i'm something else now and everything is a phase i'm sure i'll find sanctuary in books in a couple of years again.

[@boydiv]

@Alejandro Torres not op, but essentially what they're saying is that they don't want to live only vicariously through characters in a book, but experience life directly by going out and engaging with the world, instead of just reading about it.

[@boydiv]

@Alejandro Torres sure yw. grammar can be tough but reading greatly helps with it, so just keep going, and it'll come to you naturally!

[@vanessakosa6905]

Why do I feel exactly the same? However, I feel as I am in a point in my life where reading can help me grow as a person and a teacher. When I was young, I saw all these people doing what they love and I stopped reading, so I can live.

[@adannayoutube4243]

This is exactly why I stopped reading fantasy books and I love your explanation. When I pick up a book now, it will usually be non-fiction/self-help but even then sometimes it bores me on top of the assigned readings i have for college. so in short, i think it requires a balance between life and books. you don’t have to read one story after another, but i think even one book a week or one book a month can be more enjoyable. this way at least you give yourself time to disconnect from a fictional world, and come back to the real one. you can always pick up again if you wish

[@JaveriaYousuf]

Just what I needed, I haven't been able to read for months now. Let's see how to solve that.

[@Aaron-dl5be]

I feel like I really screwed myself. I got used to reading as a way of emotional consolation, but now my life is more stable and less stressful I don’t need that escapism and vicarious living anymore. I still miss reading I just can’t figure out yet how to remove this habit I ingrained in myself, so I can visit the world of the old books I used to read.

[@EmmaSophieChannel]

You didn't look sad before, but you look really happy these days. We love to see it😌

[@eugeniaagnesrombelayuk1789]

Now that makes so much sense. I was quite frustrated with my reading slump phase because I put too much emphasize on, as you elaborated in the video, my identity as a reader. Besides, life has been having me strictly caught up lately. I'm genuinely grateful to find this video because I don't feel bad anymore. Thank you! And yes, I concur, I think I must live more in order to comprehend books more. Again, thank you, this means a lot to me.

[@dianaroth6629]

Thank you so much, I really needed to hear this. Being this person that always has her head in a book gave me a certain label. This is how my classmates, my friends and even my family perceive me and when I am in a reading slump, it just feels like I loose part of my identity.

[@andrewr888r]

the way you sound or speak is completely unique

[@Ashitathakur]

I really enjoy these sporadic updates. It feels like catching up with a friend once in a while. I somehow end up watching all your videos and just realised how regular of a viewer I've been for ages now hahah. Hope you're reading well, enjoying life and taking care of yourself.

[@Baskin20916]

I’ve been in a slump for years because teachers made reading books a chore

[@bbilal111]

I keep hearing this everywhere, and I can't help but think that it is just a silly excuse. Read if you like to read, don't give reasons for not reading. If you really don't want to read then don't.

[@sara-rc2hr]

They or many people didn't mean to use it as an excuse. Sometimes for some of us, when we are told by our teachers or people that we should read the books extremely thoroughly and only get the best of marks, we start to associate books with kind of our self value, subconsciously. It is hard to break free of that habit, to realise that no one is judging you any longer. As you pick a book and try to read many years after school, a lot of feelings come up which aren't so simple to look into! You need time and patience to continue a hobby that you discontinued a time ago. For example I assume you are in a reading slump not because you don't like books or reading. you just aren't able to.

[@arianagiles5488]

@@bbilal111 Maybe that's your experience, but personally not true. I used to read every single day in elementary and middleschool. Then I was homeschooled during highschool where you pretty much teach yourself the curriculum. After hours and hours a day of reading and writing myself, after school I couldn't stand looking at words anymore. It's been a year since I've graduated and I've had to slowly work up my love of reading again (good ones I've read the past 6 months are Every Bone A Prayer, Carrie, Misery, and currently the 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, read Great Gatsby too but wasn't a fan). Maybe it's a common 'excuse' because it's a common experience?

[@oliviaharris3959]

GOD HAS BEEN RECOMMENDING ME ALL THE VIDEOS I NEED TODAY OMG

[@fuzz2353]

It's easy to bought a lot of books than to read it. I struggle to pick up one because of this reading slump. Guess I need to take some moment to read it,slowly. Thanks!

[@astridtowers5720]

thank you sm. i was in a reading slump this past month but i’ll try my best

[@cecelia_exe7023]

Thanks dude, I think I'm ready to start reading again.

[@immanuel_0697]

Thank you, I couldn’t have asked for a better time to see this video

[@journeywithjoah1142]

I love this video, it has helped me a lot. I have been through a reading slump recently. And your book got me through it.

[@elisazouza]

thankyou for this. i lowkey need to delete instagram so i can read more

[@KrispyTreat24]

Great, intro!

[@floramew]

TLDR based on my experience alone: try a different genre than you're used, and/or a different medium. Experiment with new things to see if that can help. Or, if a lot is going on in life... it's okay to just relax and do nothing for a while. Good, even. Awww. This is a very good point, and def something I needed to hear a bit-- I've unsubscribed from most of the book tube channels I used to follow bc it was no longer fun living vicariously through them wrt reading more, and I felt like a Fake Nerd to some degree with interacting with that stuff. But... also was hoping for actual advice about the brain weasels that have suddenly decided "no, bad now!" I had the enjoyment of reading (well, listening) again for a fleeting moment this last week ish, when I started an anthology called Can Such Things Be? It's a lot of ghost stories, and it was published in 1893 iirc. The slightly different way things were phrased really added to the slight sense of Wrongness and as such the effect of the stories... but after almost every single one ended with the revelation that the narrator had, in fact, seen a ghost... my excitement was a ghost of its former self. Earlier this year I noticed that I could identify things in high fantasy and science fiction/ comedy books that I _liked_, but couldn't actually find _enjoyment_ from them. I was thinking a lot about my ya romance novel manuscript that needs to be rewritten, so I bought and listened to a lot of trashy romance-- ya, na, and plain adult fiction. And it was bad in so many ways, but I did _enjoy_ it, even if not really for the reasons it was written for lol. But that fizzled it too... I'm trying podcasts again, but really what seems to have my attention right now is let's plays of visual novels & VN adjacent games. So... I guess that's my conclusion, here, is try new things. (Just wrote the tldr at the top lol.)

[@djcybercorgi]

Hey RC Waldun, when are you going to read The Shitkickers? There is even a L'Academie Easter egg in it

[@lashropa]

3:47 😭😭😭 Thanks man. 👍

[@killerqueen4558]

Dont make plan to reads, or atleast limit them to 1 or 2. Motivation to do something is just a moment, its hard to do something you force. It will naturally come to you

[@KrispyTreat24]

Where you actually missed the characters will you set the book down? I get that

[@Californiansurfer]

2010 to 2018. I worked in Jeffersonvill Indiana, Mishawaka Indiana, elkhart Indiana, Shepardvill Kentucky and waxahachie texas. I found used book store, and found donut shops and Waffle House . Racist community but reading liberated me. Read in mornings today 4am to 6am.. Downey California ❤❤❤

[@anerrorintheuniverse]

Me who has been having a reading slump for 1+ years:👄👁

[@lashropa]

👍 Guilty as charged.

[@signsthemovie2002]

I litterly just got into a reading slump :(

[@Ali-qc3ym]

so you're basically saying to wait it out

[@LorriSanga]

I only get a slump after a great book. After finishing A Gentleman in Moscow, I could get into a mother book for months.

[@noctusion2392]

I have ADHD which makes it quite hard to motivate myself to read 😔

[@wannabeacademic4829]

Try not to rely on motivation, rather try out routine :)

[@llsaabuuseruwu]

1st!! God loves you! 🤓