Reading slumps and how to cure them.

Hey,

So this post is going to be a little different in the sense that it is not a review and hopefully it will be a little more chatty. First off, I really want to apologise for not posting anything in the past 3 weeks or so ... I am really sorry. I really wanted to have a new review posted every Sunday but, as you will probably know and understand if you are an avid as reader as me, you just can't control when the dreaded reading slump will hit!

Not only was I in a reading slump but I also had really bad writers block and just couldn't think of anything to write about the previous book I finished about 4 days before it struck ......

Right, so that's the explanation out of the way, now onto what I really wanted to post about; How to cure a reading slump. After trawling the internet and calling upon my own experience with the nightmare that is, I have come up with a list of ways to combat the dreaded slump:

• Move away from the books! - That's right, put any books lying around away and close the door of them (I feel it removes the pressure), then go and do something else; walk the dog, go swimming, go shopping anything that doesn't easily involve a book. When you come back maybe you'll feel drawn to a book ....
• Don't challenge yourself - Pick a short, uncomplicated, easy to follow, feel good book that will put you in a good mood, and leave you with a fuzzy sense of accomplishment when you have finished it. Hopefully, this sense of accomplishment and that book will lead you onto something else ....
• Try reading something different - Maybe the slump was brought about by the fact that your a little bored with your normal genre? If you usually read romance read mystery, for example. It might give you a totally new obsession and hey bingo, or it might make you think 'oh, I wish I was reading ....... instead' either way .....
• Don't buy anymore! - Don't step into a book shop ... resist the temptation to fill the gap with another book but remember, the higher the 'To Read Pile' the higher the pressure to read! Don't put pressure on yourself.
• Approach with a 'it's no biggie' type of attitude - If you want to read, read. If you don't want to read, don't read. Make casual eye contact with the bookshelf, and if the chemistry is there act on it and if it isn't give it a little smile, walk away and say 'Hi' again in a couple of days ....

I hope these help in some way; they have certainly helped me in the past. I am in no way saying that these are the only way to cure a reading slump, or that they will work for everyone; everyone reads and approaches reading in different ways, they are just suggestions and little tips that you could maybe try ....

Love you all, and I promise that there will be a new review up sometime in the near future (hopefully before the new year). Please stick with me, it means a lot and provides me with so much motivation and positivity when I see the amount reviews mounting!

Have a very Happy Christmas!