Seven ways to pull yourself out of a reading rut

A few methods I have used to cure slower periods in my reading, and what I'm planning to read next (once this current slump is over...)

I’ve got terrible imposter syndrome this week. Here is my confession: I’m in a reading rut. A bad one.

As someone who has made an entire career out of reading, and who prides herself on an exceptionally high Goodreads Reading Challenge goal every year, I feel extra guilty when I get myself into reading slumps.

There are myriad advice columns on this topic, but a lot of them have suggestions that really don’t speak to me. I’m not a huge re-reader, so that never helps. Reaching for a classic will have the opposite affect, if I’m honest—I’ve always been more of a contemporary reader as it is. And I’m already a keen book-abandoner at the best of times, so being even more fussy won’t change anything in this instance. Some people suggest “browsing the children’s shelf” as a way out, but that won’t very well work for me, someone who browses those shelves more often than the ones intended for fully grown adults.

But! Hope is not lost! There are a few strategies I’ve realised do work over the years. So, here they are. Some tried and tested things that help me claw my way out, and might work for you, too:

1. Taking the pressure off

Sometimes I need to stop forcing it, and just lean into my bad habit / guilty pleasure of watching reality TV and scrolling Instagram. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but if things are really far gone on the reading front, putting more pressure on myself makes it way, way worse.

One of the first things I’ve learnt to do is take away some of the shame, and just accept that I’m in a rut. Deep breaths. Thank goodness there’s a new season of Selling Sunset out.

2. Just trying something, anything!

Another thing I tend to do is get so caught up in all the books I’m neglecting, and worry about all the time wasted not reading. “I could have read three 700-page books by now!” etc. It just doesn’t help. I need to start anywhere I can, and get back into the practice of reading to build up my stamina. Even if it’s just this week’s ALDI catalogue. I’ll take that as a small win. Look, I’m reading again! And there’s an electric chainsaw for sale!

Does this count as reading?

This is something I also encourage in young reluctant readers at school. Can’t face a novel? Why not read an article online instead? A comic strip in the newspaper? A menu? A street sign? Anything. Just read something.

(The street sign suggestion was a joke. Sort of.)

3. Going for the most obvious choice

Goodreads has a list dedicated to Reading Slump Books and it’s filled with popular, mainstream titles that have spawned blockbuster films, or spent months (even years) on bestseller lists. I think that when I’m procrastinating reading, I often need to dive into something that has a bit of hype around it. Hence why the new Sally Rooney is near the top of my list to try and cure my current readers’ block.

4. Picking up something short

I love short books at the best of times. I actually think (perhaps controversially?) that children’s literature has started to become too long. Especially middle grade fiction. This may be a COVID hangover, where my attention span is just not what it used to be. And of course, there is always a time and place for a sweeping epic. I just don’t think every single book needs to be that long.

Convenience Store Woman (176 pages) promptly kicked me out of a reading rut once, as did Rebecca Stead’s beautiful The List of Things That Will Not Change (224 pages). My debut novel comes in at 192 pages, and the next one is set to be around the same. Sometimes, short is sweet. Especially when reading feels like a chore.

A graphic novel is another great place to turn. Less text, less pressure. While I spend a lot of time online researching which books to read next, I prefer to hunt for new graphic novels in real life, so I usually head to my favourite local bookstore or library to stalk the shelves. Yesterday for Love Your Bookshop Day, I spent a chunk of time in front of the huge comics sections in Readings and Reading Kids. So many good options!

5. Giving myself a very small and achievable goal

All these tips so far are about being kind to yourself and starting small, and this one is no exception. Although I’ve just embarrassingly bragged about my annual reading goal being so high, in times like this, I need to reassess a little.

In the past, I’ve said to myself: just read for ten minutes tonight. That’s nothing! Ten speedy minutes and then you can do something else. And you know what? That usually leads to me reading for much, much longer, because once I start, that threshold has been crossed and I tend to relax. But the clincher is, if I do only manage the ten minutes, I have to be satisfied with that, too. Win, win.

This strategy tends to work with my writing as well. When I’ve been chronically putting it off, it’s usually because the anticipation of sitting down and opening the file is much worse than the actual writing itself. So, if I promise myself just ten minutes, I often end up in the groove, and keep going.

6. Hiding my TBR pile in the closet and/or returning all my library books and starting afresh

This is just a matter of erasing anything that’s making me feel overwhelmed. I read a lot, as this newsletter title suggests, and that means I often have piles and piles of books sitting around the place, waiting for their turn to be opened. Sometimes these stacks take on a life of their own, and start to cause more anxiety than excitment. So, last night I took the growing pile of books off my bedside table, and hid them in a cupboard. Out of sight, out of mind. At least while I get things back on track.

Same goes with my library loans. There are times when I borrow things and return them two days later, laughing arrogantly at the thought anyone needing a three-week limit. But if I start to fall behind, the pressure to return them in just 21 days (!!!) feels overwhelming. My apologies to the library staff who have to deal with my reading rut anxiety and process my loans and returns multiple times…

7. Confronting it head on

This last strategy is kind of the exact opposite as the first one. Sometimes I just need to face exactly what is going on, and put some extra pressure on myself to nut it out. Why am I in this rut? What am I looking for that I’m not finding? Why isn’t anything sticking? Why do I read in the first place?

In an article about reading slump cures by The Washington Post, the purpose of reading is reflected upon in such a thoughtful and helpful way:

Here’s a philosophical question for you: Why, exactly, are you reading? For Anne Houston of Easton, Pa., the answer is essential to escaping a rut. “It took me a while to realize that a slump happens because what I’m trying to read doesn’t speak to how I’m feeling at the moment,” she wrote. “Maybe it’s too plot-driven at a moment when I’m feeling more meditative, or too serious at a time when I just need a break and need some levity. Reading serves a lot of purposes for me, and not always the same one.”

How do you get through readers’ block? I’d love some more tips! Please comment below. And wish me luck for getting through this current slump as quickly as possible.

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What I’m planning to read next

Some books that I’m hoping give me a big ol’ kick up the backside and set me back onto a good reading path:

Last week I had a meeting at Text Publishing about the publicity for my new book (out 1 April, 2025!) and they let me do some shopping in their storeroom. Yes, I did feel exactly like Carrie Bradshaw when she first walks in the Vogue closet.

I was lucky enough to pick up a few of their newer middle grade releases (all lovely and short) which I’m excited to dive into:

• The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass

• The Best Witch in Paris by Lauren Crozier

• The Sugarcane Kids and the Empty Cage by Charlie Archbold

Fangirl manga by Rainbow Rowell, Gabi Nam, and Sam Maggs

On the graphic novel front, I was a huge fan of Rainbow Rowell’s novel Fangirl, when is first came out in 2013. When it was then turned into serialised manga, I didn’t think it would be for me, as I’d never read manga before and didn’t think I needed to re-read the story in a new format. But, I stand corrected! I’ve loved this version and followed the staggered releases closely. The fourth and final edition is due out this month, and I’m looking forward to completing the series.

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

I’m a millennial woman who loves sad girl lit, so if Sally Rooney can’t cure my reading rut, who can!?

The Season by Helen Garner

Similarly, I’ve read and loved everything Helen Garner has ever written, but most especially her non-fiction, so I am really looking forward to her latest.

The Season is an unexpected and exuberant book: a celebration of the nobility, grace and grit of team spirit, a reflection on the nature of masculinity, and a tribute to the game’s power to thrill us.

And Then? And Then? What Else? A Writer's Life by Daniel Handler

As mentioned in a previous newsletter, I tend to turn to non-fiction when listening to audiobooks, and I’m excited for this upcoming release. I’ve never been a huge Lemony Snicket fan, but I have loved several of the books Daniel Handler has published under his own name (including Why We Broke Up), and he has certainly lived a pretty interesting life, so this should be a great memoir.

A love letter to the consoling and terrifying power of books, And Then? And Then? What Else? traces Handler’s life through morbid poetry collections, eccentric acting troupes, hazy midnight taxi rides, second-hand bookstores and psychiatric units. Traversing his personal canon from his first encounter with Baudelaire to Vladimir Nabokov, Elizabeth Bishop and The Pet Shop Boys, Handler offers a witty, poignant exploration of reading, writing and why we tell stories.

And finally, one very small book that I finished reading mid-way through writing this newsletter (so maybe I’m on my way outta this slump after all!):

Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell

I'm a little late to the party, but Katherine Rundell's fantastic essay (which is available in book form), is such a refreshing read. If, like me, you didn't pick this up when it was first published in 2019, I highly recommend it. It explores how children's fiction, with its unabashed emotion and playfulness, can awaken old hungers and create new perspectives on the world. A sentiment we should all be reminded of from time to time.

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Get in touch!

Is there a topic you’d like me to cover in a future newsletter? Get in touch at karysmcewen@gmail.com and I’ll see what I can do!

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