First reading slump of 2020

I am in a reading slump right now. I know why, and it stinks. Let’s talk about it.

Reading slumps are normal. Just because you love to read and it breathes life into you, doesn’t mean that it’s always perfect. Sometimes you get a string of heavy books, fluffy books, same-genre-books, – and you get burnt out from these. Sometimes, there’s a lot going on in your life that causes you to stray a bit from the path. Sometimes, you just get into a really good television show that you’d rather pay attention to. And sometimes, your podcasts pull all your attention.

Personally, I’m falling into two of these categories. First and foremost, there’s a lot going on in my personal life right now. I recently went home to help my mom with a lot of things, and that in and of itself is hard for me. It was very, very busy. There was no time to rest and coming off an extremely busy work week, rest is what I needed. Usually, reading is my restful space…but I found my brain so exhausted that I just couldn’t bring myself to open a book. Secondly, I started re-watching Outlander. I am currently slugging my way through Dragonfly in Amber (the actual book) and of course I love it (I’ve read 70% of the entire series before, but when I was younger – I wanted to experience them as an adult), but I’m preparing myself for my impending purchase of season five of Outlander, so obviously I have to re-watch from season one. I mean, I know I’m not the only one who re-watches EVERY SINGLE SEASON of a show each time a new one comes out. Well, I knew going into this that I’d probably be pushing reading to the wayside for a bit, but that was okay because I needed a little break anyway.

Honestly though, I’m feeling a little bit of guilt about it. I know that sounds silly. But I think it’s because I’ve got a book club book to read within the next two weeks or so, and it was my pick…I know it’ll be an emotional read, and what I’ve read thus far is brilliant. But it is hard. Sometimes picking up a super short book in between heavy chapters helps, so I’ve grabbed a copy of Elevation by Stephen King to lighten my mood a bit. So far I’m very much enjoying it...but I still have to hype myself up to sit down and read.