When the books don't work
For as long as I can remember I have loved to read, there's a famous family story about my 10th birthday where all my friends were playing downstairs, but I couldn't be seen and was found in a cupboard in my bedroom reading.
Books have been my lifelong consistent pleasure and while recently my reading has lent towards romance if I like the look of something I'll read it.
But something terrible has happened, over the past few months I have struggled to find anything in fiction that captures my interest, the year started off with a bang with Richard Rider's Stockholm Syndrome trilogy, and I loved Dal Maclean's Object of Desire but I've picked up, and discarded so many others.
I don't know wether it's all the drama surrounding romance, or that I've read so much ? But if it wasn't for the amazing Mary Beard ( Women and Power is the best thing I've read this year) my reading life would be very small so far.
I miss that moment when you connect with a book, where thinking about something you've read takes you back to a time or place and you're immersed in it.
What to do when the books aren't your friends anymore, when the books don't work ?
I've been a bit like this this year too. I put it down to the unsettled nature of other areas of my life and a general restlessness. That not being able to fix and settle down with something has been quite the pain in the butt.
ReplyDeleteI've tried to ignore it and plow on through a book; or work round it by reading something that I wouldn't normally read; and even tried to make myself hunger for a read by abstaining for a few days.
None of these have worked.
So I'm sticking with my favourites. Authors I know will always deliver, or books I haven't read for years and want to go back and read again. It's seeing me through the slump.
As for you, maybe you're all romanced out? Maybe try other genres? Or come at romance from a different angle and try a sub-genre that you've not delved into too much before.
I think like you, it's linked to big changes in my life as well and yes on the romance front as well. After a string of books that were so so predictable and the past few years of issues in the general community I find it hard to connect.
DeleteI do read quite widely but love the look of your recommendation so I bought it !
I just saw this - I really need to fix so I get notified of posts.... I have experienced a lot of this over the last year. I've put some of it down to world events, some of it to general burn-out, but actually, in the last week or so, I've come to think I'm 'cycling out' of a long, long glom with a particular type of book and entering into a new phase of my reading life (this has been my way as a reader for a long time, with gloms lasting usually several years each). I'm about to post about my current audiobook obsession (Marshall Thornton's Boystown series) and for some reason, this is really connecting with me and I feel excited about what to read next. I'm thinking my current jam is a particular kind of character-driven mystery novel.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, I find that I have always juggled my books, and I have no doubt that my current lack of interest is definitely linked to activity in the romance community that isn't related to the books directly.
DeleteAllan gave me a great rec, and Fra always does as well and I'm kind of intrigued with the Boystown books but I'm worries they may too samey after a while ?
I'm not finding that personally, but so far (up to book 6) there's been a path of character development for Nick that hasn't involved repetition - whether MT can keep that up over the next 5 books, I'll have to see but I have high hopes.
Delete