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reader's block?
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Bird
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Nov 02, 2008 04:43PM
I have picked up (and put back down!) four books in the past week. They were books that would normally interest me, but not one of them seemed very appealing this week. I just feel like nothing is really grabbing my attention. Has this ever happened to anyone else? I miss reading!
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I force myself to keep reading until it does grab me. Sometimes it takes longer than usual....
It happens rarely, but when it does I'll pick up a favorite book and do a re-read. That usually does the trick. Good luck, Bird.
All the time. I usually just do something else for awhile. Clean up, take a nap do a crafty thing while i watch a movie. Then go back to the book. Sometimes I'm ready to read, sometimes I still can't do it. I didn't read anything much for about 10 days a few weeks ago. Just couldn't sit still long enough. *shrug
It happens.
Sometimes I get that way.. usually just means its time to go off and do something else (gasp!) for awhile.. I usually go through phases in my reading.. I'll closet myself away inside for stretches and then I go the opposite and I am outdoors for long stretches instead of reading..I promise that it will pass...=)
how frightening! I'm sure it'll pass :)
I go through reading funks too. The good news, Bird, is that this too shall pass. Sometimes mine will last for a day or two or as long as a week. I'm in one now, but it's work related...too many papers to grade and not enough time in day to do all the work this school system demands of its teachers. Oh, I also need glasses but I don't have time, or the money, to go to the eye doctor. I had a slight rebellion yesterday and refused to grade any papers until I'd read at least 40 pages. Okay, I'm not much of a rebel but I try.
i agree with what the others have said, it happens, and it eventually passes.iu find it happens to me after reading a particularly interesting, heavy, or boring story. i have a harder time focusing on books, no matter what they are. if that does happen, i leave everything, and just give myself some breathing room. it never lasts long, a week at the most, and then i'm back to my usual pace.
one trick may be to read something lighter, even if it is a re-read, like someone suggested already. it just may be what you need to kick-start your "habit" again.
Heather, you could do like me and just NOT grade papers and get reallllllly behind and then want to go away for a vacation and then have an anxiety attack :)
Not reading? Then you have more time for Goodreads :-) Its only temporary, sooner or later you'll find something you really really want to read.
I'm going through this right now. I've started and switched books so many times this past week. I go through it more often than I'd like. It's strange, as soon as I find a book that grabs my attention, I'm fine for 3-4 months, then back into a slump of a couple of weeks. Right now I'm still trying to get into the Life of Pi. This is the fourth time I've tried reading this book and I just can't seem to make it past page 50.
I had it too and I hate it! When I noticee that the weird thing of me not feeling like reading whatever book I am picking up, I complete concentrate on other things! Nothing with books but all other things I do. It passes soon!
I agree Jeane, I too sometimes get lost and fail to concentrate or even remember characters in a book I've been reading. But yeah, it passes the next day.
I tried forever to get into Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses but I kept having to start again and again. I gave it up in the end but something about it put me off reading and I couldn't concentrate on any book for a couple of weeks.
Petra, did you read any other of his books? Once i want to read one of his.
Sarenna,Life of Pi picks up right around page 100. I kept putting it down during the first parts, then I stayed up until 3am reading after he made it on the boat. Stick with it, I swear it becomes like a different book soon.
Yes. One of my favourite all-time books is Midnight's Children. This one the Booker of Bookers and just about every literary prize it was eligible for. Its also a bit hard to get into but its totally fantastic, a whole world unto itself. An easier book of his (and much shorter) is Shame which is essentially about the situation as was in Pakistan and characterises the late Benazir Bhutto as 'the Virgin Ironpants'. Its a very easy read. I've read/attempted to read several others of his but since I don't remember them they probably weren't outstandingly good.
BTW, I had a readers block last month after finishing House of Leaves. I stopped, took a deep breath, and reached for my comfort genre (mystery, humor). Read Lisa Lutz's The Spellman Files and all was right with the world again. I felt like I was pushing through lots of things I was only sorta enjoying. I needed something that reminded me how fun reading is.
Hi Bird - Try any one of Sue Grafton's books - they hook you right from the beginning. A is for Alibi is her first, but any one will do.
Bird, I have done that with my books on audio. Usually what happens is that all of a sudden one will just capture my attention and I am energized again to listen. I try not to stress over it because I think it is my brain's way of just making a natural selection. I also try to read smaller snippets of books that I am just kind of on the fence with and that way, voila, all of a sudden I seemed to have gotten to the part where desire to complete the book takes over. I don't know if you are one of those people who only reads one book at a time, but reading 4-5 books helps me get through more books because when I am frustrated with one, I pick up one of the other ones to give myself a break.
Wow, I'm glad I'm not the only one who's gone through this! I've taken some of your suggestions and pulled out some books that I've read before and liked as well as some quick, fluff books. Hopefully when I curl up tonight to read, one of them will get me going again. *Crosses fingers*
Heather - What a great idea about the library! I actually just moved to a new area that has a fabulous library, so I'm sure they have tons of interesting reads that I could stumble upon!
I always find a book slump a good time to catch up on my magazines. I get SELF, Family Fun, Prevention, Some trade magazines, etc.- and sometimes they just stack up like crazy. I like to finish the magazines for the recycle pile by pulling all of the articles, recipes, craft ideas, etc. that I like and put them in idea binders and such.I find that spending a couple of days doing this serves my short attention span well- then I can return to longer tasks.
Also, I always get on the treadmill with a book and my headphones- then I follow my impulses concerning what to do there. I may turn on the music to push harder, or have an easy workout and read for an hour. For some reason, that seems to help me read books I am avoiding or having a hard time getting into.
Of course, GR also serves my short attention span needs.
Heather - I know exactly what you mean! And older books just smell different - in a good way I think. Kind of like you're inhaling history as you walk through the aisles. :O) And I just noticed yesterday that on the bottom of the receipt they give you at our library it tells you how much money you've saved by using the library instead of buying. It sounds dorky, but I'm excited to watch my savings add up! I've never lived someplace with such a great library, and have always been forced to buy most of my reading materials on my meager salary.
Julianne - Thanks for the heads up. I've heard WONDERFUL things about Life of Pi and I've pushed myself to about page 75. He hasn't gotten on the boat yet. I will continue on with it since I should only have a few pages until it picks up.
Keep going Sarenna, its an outstanding novel.
Heather, I also just adore strolling in my library, passing all those books that it makes me really happy too. It is on my list of favourite places. I used to look forward to my wednesday afternoon trip to the library when I was at school.
I understand what you mean. Once I worked in a bookshop and was happy that the lazy, annoying people working around me didn't spoil the feeling of the shop!
I've had a hard time Rushdie too. I've tried 3 of his books and the only one I finished was The Satanic Verses. And I was bored to tears the whole time. I only finished it so I could whine about how bad I thought it was. ^^
Abigail - I'm in awe of you. That was a hell of long and convoluted book and to have finished it when you didn't enjoy it is a major achievement.
Hey, if you want to complain about something, you have to have the information to back it up. I hate being ignorant and not being able to talk about something. I wanted to know why it was so great. I didn't like it and I wanted to be able to explain why.*grins and snickers
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Give yourself a little time to get into the book...
I couldn't agree with you more Lori, I never start one book unless I've completed the last one or some deadline has forced me to stop reading. Each book has some qualities and is unique in itself.
Abigail, that's a great way of watching it! I will try to keep that in mind while dragging myself through Moby Dick...and hope it helps!
