Reading Slump? Who is she?

I got out of a long reading slump lately.

(And by writing this, I’m getting out of a sort of writing slump, so bear with me if it’s a little long.)

Naturally, having a baby limits your free time significantly. I also have an older son who requires my attention and especially at bedtime, I glance at the clock and feel my free time slipping away. Once he’s in bed, I have a few minutes or a few hours to relax, wrap up on chores, wind down, and maybe watch tv or read a book.

But starting a book feels like a big task. What if it takes me hours and hours to finish it? It seems too daunting to not know how long it will take me, if I will even enjoy it, or if it will be worth my time and energy.

I had a lot of books (about five!) that I had started, some of those that I was halfway through, but I just couldn’t bring myself to read anything.

As a total mood reader, I was hardly ever in the mood to finish one of the books I had already started.

Also, comically, I own my own bookstore and run a book club and identify myself primarily as a reader and writer. But I couldn’t read!

One day, I came across two books I was interested in and decided to order paperback copies as a treat to myself. I decided to just start something new and get in the mood to read.

But before that, I did finally finish The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. She’s one of my favorite authors and I love her writing, but that book is older and it’s set in November, so I felt I had to read it during that month, and it took me about four years to actually get more than halfway through.

Finishing that book, I gained a little momentum. Then I started The House in the Cerulean Sea. Admittedly, I haven’t finished this one, either, but I was so excited to finally enjoy reading that I coasted through the beginning.

Then, for Christmas, I asked my mom for a Kobo Libra Colour and I got it in the mail a bit early. I transferred my books onto it and dove right in.

I ended up reading Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty - a YouTuber and funeral home owner in California. It was my second book of hers and it was very fast-paced and easy to read, and included beautiful illustrations. Despite the topic of death, the book was funny and informative and easy to read. I recommend it to anyone! We should all learn more about death and allow ourselves to ask curious questions more often.

Then, I read some manga and I just finished The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. I’m also reading a book called Art & Fear and for my book club and for an author signing event, I read No Rules Tonight by Ryan Estrada and Hyun Sook Lee.

I feel like I’m on a roll and I want to keep this momentum up. I want to read more and write more and speak more and be less afraid of the messy process or potential negative opinions and I just want to be a part of the human experience and create and share and be in awe.

What have you read lately? Are you in a slump or did you get yourself out of one? January with its crisp air and promise of a new year might just be the thing to do it.