Marquise > Status Update

Oh no! I hope your reading slump will be cured soon, Marquise! ☺️❤️❤️ I think my longest reading slump was a month or so? 😅😅 I just couldn’t get into any story because they felt boring and not worth my time or energy. So I watched movies instead, which somehow helped me get back into reading lol 😂

Sarah wrote: "Oh no! I hope your reading slump will be cured soon, Marquise! ☺️❤️❤️ I think my longest reading slump was a month or so? 😅😅"

Thank you, Sarah! ❤️

It's not that I don't have any good book this time, I have a chunk of pending reads and I've accumulated more ARCs than I should, all because life has put in a 'not in a mood to read' mood.

I'll either have to take a short break, or just power through and force myself to read, mood or no mood. 😅

This may sound obvious but go to an author or two you really like. Works for me :)

Luna wrote: "This may sound obvious but go to an author or two you really like. Works for me :)"

Ah, but it's not a matter of books or authors not calling to me. I specified that already.

I’m in one right now! For me they start with “nothing is grabbing me” and progress to not reading at all. I think my longest was 2 years - when my first baby was born. I hope you get out of your slump soon!

PS I think my longest slump probably had to do with post partum depression. I have ADHD and Autism and I think mood stuff has a good deal to do with my slumps

I’ve definitely had long reading slumps too, usually health or work related. Manga is my go to when I’m in a slump because it serves a dual purpose for language study and enjoying story.

1 month.. because this book messed me up so bad it was beyond a book hangover.. It was more like I needed rehab... So I watched TV 📺 instead until I was brave enough to get back on that literature crack corner and sell my soul for the best book 📙 bong hit of my life🤣

I am sorry to hear about your slump, Marquise! I hope it will be over soon. The only reading slump I've ever had was many years ago (there was stuff to handle) and lasted a couple of months.

Hmm. Not sure how long the slump lasted (a few weeks maybe), but the one that FELT worst was when I tried to read ‘The Windup Bird Chronicles’ (About an unemployed, vaguely depressed guy with no friends who thinks the best approach to finding his missing wife is to sit in a well) in the middle of the pandemic. Got stuck at 65% or so. Tried two more books and got stuck in the middle of those. Finally hit ‘The House in the Cerulean Sea’ (A but twee - and with controversy I didn’t know about at the time- but warm and fuzzy about forming relationships with other people). Sailed through that, and was able to finish others in reverse order.

I've had a 'nothing's grabbing me' kinda slump and I've had little slumps where I just didn't have the time/energy to read a lot, but never to the point where I didn't want to read anything at all. Is that it, if you don't mind me asking? Is there so much else going on in your life that you're just not in the mood to read anymore? Or is it something else?

As for the longest slump, about a month. Give or take a week.

I could have written this myself. I tend to go through periods where I’m spending time reading reviews about books but can’t bring myself to start one. Then, all of a sudden, I’ll go into a reading binge, become regular until it peters out again.
During a slump, I’m usually listening to podcasts or random reading articles instead.
I also have this kind of paralysis around drawing (although this seems to be tied more to how happy I am).
I think the longest will be have been about half a year.
I do hope your reading slump ends soon; preferably with your new favourite read of the year!

Oy vey, I feel like I go through one every month but the longest had to have been 3 years! Covid would do that to you. So, ironically, when everyone started reading for the first time in years, I stopped completely. I HATED lockdown so bad that I became crazy unproductive. Unproductive is probably not the correct word, because I just stared at walls for hours. Nonfunctioning, I guess. I have never been more glad for a year to pass dear god.

Longest slump? Like 12 years but that was college, marriage, kids kind of slump and then I remembered I loved reading and picked it up again. But I experience reading slumps throughout the year that last a couple weeks to a month and usually what gets me out of it is finding a book that I have a reason to read. Like reading for a book club or a friend wanting to do a buddy read so we can give each other updates.

One time in college I carried Everything Everywhere All at Once around for an entire semester because I didn’t know you could DNF books until my coworker asked me why I STILL had it at the end of the semester. So embarrassing.

About eight years. It was a combination of two things.

1. I managed to get hold of a book that my favourite author had suppressed. Turned out that I should have trusted her judgement. It is still the worst conventionally published book I have ever read & it is believed to be at least partly autobiographical, so if I had ever met this (long dead) author I probably wouldn't have liked her much.

2. In the nadir of my working life I ended up working at my local supermarket. This both drained me of energy & left me quite depressed. So the only things I read were unsold magazines in our lunchroom. & some of them were amazing magazines, but not the same as reading books.

The slump stopped when I bought a Kobo & I stopped work not long after that & with the spare time I got my joy of reading back.

Sarah Ellen (in a slump) wrote: "PS I think my longest slump probably had to do with post partum depression. I have ADHD and Autism and I think mood stuff has a good deal to do with my slumps"

Ow, I'm sorry, that's a lot to deal with. <3

That explains the length! The same as my longest, only that I didn't have health issues to justify it. It was just . . . life. Accumulated life, like now.

Ellen wrote: "I’ve definitely had long reading slumps too, usually health or work related. Manga is my go to when I’m in a slump because it serves a dual purpose for language study and enjoying story."

You're practising Japanese with manga?! Sounds fun! I'd do that in your shoes too.

How long was your longest? Outta curiosity.

~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ wrote: "1 month.. because this book messed me up so bad it was beyond a book hangover.. It was more like I needed rehab."

Book hangovers are tough! I don't think I've experienced one since my teens or so. Back then I was a chronic rereader, too.

Alexandra wrote: "I am sorry to hear about your slump, Marquise! I hope it will be over soon. The only reading slump I've ever had was many years ago (there was stuff to handle) and lasted a couple of months."

You're so lucky, Sasha! Only one reading slump in a reader's life is winning the lottery in my book. <3

Emily wrote: "Hmm. Not sure how long the slump lasted (a few weeks maybe), but the one that FELT worst was when I tried to read ‘The Windup Bird Chronicles’."

Hehe, not the first time I see someone blaming Murakami's odd style for a slump. I've been curious about trying him, but the two times I sampled his books I bailed out on the first chapter.

Thibault wrote: "Is that it, if you don't mind me asking? Is there so much else going on in your life that you're just not in the mood to read anymore? Or is it something else?"

I don't mind the questions, but you probably guessed that I can't answer personal questions in public...

Puddlyduck wrote: "I could have written this myself. I tend to go through periods where I’m spending time reading reviews about books but can’t bring myself to start one."

Sorry to hear!

I don't have slumps often, what I do have often is life interfering with my reading time. But that's not the same, is it?

(Oh, and welcome to the questions thread! Hope you've come to stay.)

C wrote: "Oy vey, I feel like I go through one every month but the longest had to have been 3 years! Covid would do that to you."


Ow, yes, I feel you there. Lots of people I know were so very depressed during lockdown they were improductive in one sense or another. Others, though, seemed to be thriving. Book clubs sprouted like mushrooms after rain in my community during the pandemic, and now none exists. :D

Victoria wrote: "Longest slump? Like 12 years but that was college, marriage, kids kind of slump and then I remembered I loved reading and picked it up again."


AAAHHH!!! I'm going to be sittting quietly traumatised in my corner contemplating the fact that someone went twelve years without reading.

Twelve!

I'd die if it had been me in your place. o.O

Solar wrote: "One time in college I carried Everything Everywhere All at Once around for an entire semester because I didn’t know you could DNF books until my coworker asked me why I STILL had it at the end of t..."

Hehehe, I did the same one semester. Only that for me it wasn't a slump, it was a book I never found the time to finish in one sitting and due dates were always breathing down my neck, so I kept borrowing and returning, borrowing and returning, the same blasted book for the entire semester.


And it wasn't even a fat brick of a book. :D

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "About eight years. It was a combination of two things."

You're now the Silver Medalist for the longest slump after Victoria upthread. o.O

At least you were reading magazines, that counts as 'reading', but you're right that it isn't the same as books. I'm curious, is the author Harper Lee? Sounds like her, but I might be wrong.

A month or less. ;) So far, none have lasted very long. Books always conquer me in the end!

Life getting in the way of a solid reading session isn’t the same, but it’s no less frustrating! 😄

I’ve realised since I’ve been thinking about reading slumps, that I tend to be drawn back into reading on the run-up to Halloween, when all the deliciously darker book lists finally seem to hook me back in!

Maybe there’s a pattern for other readers too?

Longest? Probably over ten years. I didn't exactly count. After I went to uni I steered away from leisure reading, and it took me a while to come back to it. Having to go through your degree's books on repeat can leech away any enjoyment of reading.

Two weeks isn't bad, if you don't want to read just don't read. Hoping you're still in good spirits though!

Marquise wrote: "Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "About eight years. It was a combination of two things."

You're now the Silver Medalist for the longest slump after Victoria upthread. o.O
Helen
At least you were reading ..."

Yes & I was still reading with my kids. & some of the magazines were amazing.

The author is my favourite, Georgette Heyer The book was one of the titles she suppressed - because she also hated them! It was Helen don't bother looking for my review - I read before I discovered Goodreads & nothing would get me to read it again!

I don't know what the longest slump is but my current slump is because depression is a bitch.

My longest slump was fifteen months, after I had a serious mental and emotional collapse in 2014. It was not fun. I have never since taken my ability to read and write about my reading for granted, as though it could never change. It has...it can...but it can also end with any kind of luck and a whole lot of effort to trot out causes.

mwana wrote: "I don't know what the longest slump is but my current slump is because depression is a bitch."

<3 <3 <3 sending hugs south-by-southeastwards, dear lady.

Richard wrote: "mwana wrote: "I don't know what the longest slump is but my current slump is because depression is a bitch."

<3 <3 <3 sending hugs south-by-southeastwards, dear lady."

🖤🖤🫂

Richard wrote: "My longest slump was fifteen months, after I had a serious mental and emotional collapse in 2014. It was not fun. I have never since taken my ability to read and write about my reading for granted,..."

I'm sorry you went through that.

Betsie wrote: "A month or less. ;) So far, none have lasted very long. Books always conquer me in the end!"

Lucky lass, you! 💕 Rub me on the head so some of your luck passes onto me?

Puddlyduck wrote: "Life getting in the way of a solid reading session isn’t the same, but it’s no less frustrating! 😄"

Whoa! I hadn't thought of looking for a pattern, and now I'm curious! I'll note it down for a future question, thank you.

And Halloween! The Underworld calls to you or something? 😄

Morphing_kashi wrote: "Longest? Probably over ten years. I didn't exactly count. After I went to uni I steered away from leisure reading, and it took me a while to come back to it..."

Drat, my university years were busy and full of unexpected turns and delays and such, but my reading didn't suffer as much as yours. Ow! o.O

And thank you, life is lifing but I carry on as usual. <3

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "The author is my favourite, Georgette Heyer The book was one of the titles she suppressed - because she also hated them! It was Helen don't bother looking for my review - I read before I discovered Goodreads & nothing would get me to read it again!"

I knew you loved Heyer, but didn't realise she was your favourite! I have a hit-or-miss record with her, mostly my fault. :)

mwana wrote: "I don't know what the longest slump is but my current slump is because depression is a bitch."

I'm so sorry, Mwana. Makes me sad to see you like this. <3 You're always an incisive and precise reviewer.

Richard wrote: "My longest slump was fifteen months, after I had a serious mental and emotional collapse in 2014..."

I remember you mentioning that recently, when you had another health episode. <3 I hope you're better, I've seen a few people lose their ability to read to stroke and it either took an age and a half to recover it or they simply didn't read for pleasure anymore. It's so tragic, we as youngsters don't even think that could happen and take our reading for granted.

Marquise wrote: "I remember you mentioning that recently, when you had another health episode. <3 I hope you're better, I've seen a few people lose their ability to read to stroke and it either took an age and a half to recover it or they simply didn't read for pleasure anymore. It's so tragic, we as youngsters don't even think that could happen and take our reading for granted."

The strokes worried me a bit, but one thing the recovery taught me is that what you use most is easiest to regain/restore/strengthen. A week of terror, not being able to understand print, then one morning waking up with it back. Took time to regain fluency, but that was just work not overcoming a deprivation, and I'll work with the best of 'em.

Those fifteen months were scarier by far, more like your reported "nothing doing" response. I read short, crappy romances, long stretches between even picking 'em up. Then James Rollins technothrillers. Then picked up speed from there. It was a process and at times felt like nothing would ever hook me again. (It did.)

Ughhh, reading slumps are a frequent struggle for me. I struggle a lot with keeping myself running mentally, so I usually forget how much I love reading, and do occasional binges instead of reading fluently. I don't even remember my longest slump, it might as well be counted as the whole year. I have a bad habit of binging 10+ books in December, so lets say it's about 8-10 months.

Marquise wrote: Lucky lass, you! 💕 Rub me on the head so some of your luck passes onto me?"

Haha! I don't think it is something I can pass on!

Betsie wrote: "Marquise wrote: Lucky lass, you! 💕 Rub me on the head so some of your luck passes onto me?"

Haha! I don't think it is something I can pass on!"

We can try! :P

Lu ੈ✩‧₊˚ wrote: "I have a bad habit of binging 10+ books in December, so lets say it's about 8-10 months."

is it because you have more free time in December or . . .?

Richard wrote: "The strokes worried me a bit, but one thing the recovery taught me is that what you use most is easiest to regain/restore/strengthen. A week of terror, not being able to understand print, then one morning waking up with it back. Took time to regain fluency, but that was just work not overcoming a deprivation, and I'll work with the best of 'em."

*virtual hugs*

I'm so glad you recovered, you're one of those users without whom GR wouldn't be the same. <3 Fewer and fewer such valuable people hereabouts as time goes by.

I don't think that I have ever had an actual reading slump. I have had several long stretches (a year or two each) when I didn't read any fiction or other books for leisure while I was working on long academic research projects. Those included a lot of reading, but much of it long slogs through dismal prose in multiple languages.

Fred wrote: "I don't think that I have ever had an actual reading slump. I have had several long stretches (a year or two each) when I didn't read any fiction or other books for leisure..."

You're so very lucky, Fred!