That’s a heading that sounds a little alarming, and I confess that I’m actually struggling a bit with reading at the moment. It’s not so much the reading of the books when I actually get going, it’s settling on what I want to actually read – I’ve started several recently and discarded them almost straight away because the mood just doesn’t seem right.
(Image courtesy Cafepress)
I wonder: have I overdone it and exhausted my brain a little? I’ve certainly read many volumes over recent weeks, so much so that I have quite a reviewing backlog. Usually, flinging myself into the nearest book tends to work but it hasn’t recently, and I’ve had a few disappointments too, so perhaps something radical is needed.
Therefore, having just finished the Penelope Lively I picked up at the weekend (and jolly good it was too – review will follow!) I think I might spend a day or two reading Slightly Foxed – I have part of the last issue and the lovely new one which arrived today, and it may be that some shorter non-fiction pieces will do the trick.
Here’s hoping that the reader’s block goes and normal service is resumed asap! :s
Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings 
Mar 05, 2015 @ 07:59:56
I understand what this is like. I struggle a lot with choosing books to read. I don’t actually think there are that many books out there that are worth reading, so it can take me weeks to settle on something. Which is nuts, obviously . Anyway, I have found that rereading books this year has been really rewarding, and makes choosing an easier process because I know what I’m getting into. You could try that too.
Mar 05, 2015 @ 08:47:27
That’s a really good suggestion – thank you! I have tossed aside so many books recently, and I’m even struggling with the literary mags. Collections of Russian short stories seem to be helping but I really want to get swept away by a book – and re-reading could well be the answer! 🙂
Mar 05, 2015 @ 09:13:36
When I’m tired I like to do re-reading too. I’ve read very little recently as pregnancy has made me too tired! I read 3 pages of the Miniaturist last night before going to sleep at 8.30pm!
Mar 05, 2015 @ 09:28:21
I can understand that – pregnancy *is* exhausting! 🙂
Mar 05, 2015 @ 12:27:14
I think I can understand this too, sometimes my brain gets overwhelmed. I am finding it difficult to blog at the moment. I have been forcing myself to keep going hoping to snap back in to it.
Looking forward to your thoughts on Penelope Lively.
Mar 05, 2015 @ 13:24:00
Yes, I think overwhelmed is the word – I’m glad it’s not me! Plus going through a busy time at work, which is taking all my concentration, probably doesn’t help. The Lively book was good at keeping my attention though – I shall review it eventually! 🙂
Mar 05, 2015 @ 13:56:40
Ah the reading slumps affect us all. There are times when the brain is just too full of words and wants a bit of peace and quiet. I bake, or go shopping, or rewatch a favourite classic film. I’m in something of a blogging slump lately. No post ever seems to come out quite right and I’ve lost my mojo a bit. Wouldn’t it be great if we could be relentlessly efficient. Alas! It is not to be.
Mar 05, 2015 @ 14:20:23
Efficient is not a concept I think I can embrace at the moment… In fact, not even cozy murder mysteries are working. Perhaps I should try spring cleaning! :))))
Mar 05, 2015 @ 20:20:25
That’s a bit drastic! I didn’t realise it was that bad. 🙂
Things that work for me are: a complete break from reading, re-reading a favourite book; reading something you wouldn’t normally read, switch to watching films etc….
I find when I have reading fatigue reading something by (one of my favourite authors) Paul Auster helps me draw me out of it, when other (favourite authors) may not have the same effect.
Mar 05, 2015 @ 20:57:30
It *is* a little alarming as I usually get over this kind of thing quite quickly. I’m teasing myself into reading with some of the Penguin Little Black Classics – maybe that will do the trick!
Mar 05, 2015 @ 14:58:48
Lovely though our books are they can be overwhelming at times. You’re wise to step away for a while and do something different until the book bug bites again.
Mar 05, 2015 @ 15:56:22
Well, I really hope it will – I think I just need to allow myself space and take the pressure off myself! 🙂
Mar 05, 2015 @ 16:01:21
I get that too but it’s normally rather a novel reading block than a general reading block.
Mar 05, 2015 @ 16:09:31
It seems to be affecting everything – fiction, non-fiction, short or long. The only thing that seems to work is Russian short stories so I shall try a few more of them….. 🙂
Mar 05, 2015 @ 17:23:31
I went through a bit of reading slump last year so I sympathise with your position. (Rereading a favourite hardboiled crime novel did the trick for me!) Russian short stories sounds like a fitting remedy for you though – I hope they do the trick!
Mar 05, 2015 @ 18:40:48
I’m cautiously optimistic that they might be helping… I think too that I might perhaps have such a reviewing backlog that it’s interfering with the idea of new reading. I shall have to catch up!
Mar 05, 2015 @ 18:23:10
I rarely find that I can’t read at all but I do find that when I have overdone things and am truly bone weary that I can’t read what I want to read but have to resort to either something that isn’t going to tax my mind at all or something that is a re-read. In fact, that is pretty much where I am now. I feel like misquoting Katherine Mansfield and saying that you can’t burn the candle at one end and read intelligently at the other.
Mar 05, 2015 @ 18:41:27
🙂 Yes, I think the candle is burning to much – I definitely can’t cope with a complex reading commitment at the moment!
Mar 05, 2015 @ 19:43:23
If you have books you love that comfort you, you could try going back to those. Or just picking up a magazine on a non-literary subject, like a craft or a history one. I have only had a really big reading block once, after I finished my degree – I didn’t read any books for months, and went back to the Arthur Ransome stories. At other times I have been incapable of coping with anything but the most anodyne, and tended to go to Georgette Heyer and, again, children’s books. I hope you find your reading bug again soon. And I’m feeling a bit stressed about book blogging, too – some to post but no time to do it!
Mar 05, 2015 @ 20:56:35
I’m sure the mojo will come back soon – at least, I hope so! I think that comfort re-reading might be the answer – if only I could decide which book….
Mar 06, 2015 @ 14:19:17
Your writing is the perfect anecdote to a cold winters day!
Mar 06, 2015 @ 14:30:57
Thank you! 🙂
Mar 06, 2015 @ 15:09:07
I go through times when I like everything and times when I dislike everything. It calls into question my objectivity. Usually I can get away from disliking everything by reading a classic.
Mar 06, 2015 @ 15:56:33
That may be the answer – classics are always good and certainly I’m managing the Little Black Classics at the moment!
Mar 06, 2015 @ 22:31:01
My Reader’s Block periods are well-documented, and it is a really horrible feeling. Sorry to hear you’re experiencing it, or something akin to it.
And I’m also reading a Penelope Lively – Oleander, Jacaranda – although not feeling very much in the mood for it (or anything much at the moment, frustratingly!)
Mar 07, 2015 @ 09:27:23
It’s not nice, is it? And not being able to read is not a thing I’m used to either. I think I’m starting to break through it, which is a relief. Penelope Lively helped, though it’s my beloved Russians that seem to have really made the difference!
Mar 07, 2015 @ 15:55:46
Totally understand! weeks on end, I read one book after another, enjoy it all and one book leads to the next almost naturally…and then, no books holds my focus, the pile of ‘boring’ grows and grows. Seeing above comments, it apparently comes naturally to all readers. It will pass again ;0)
Mar 07, 2015 @ 16:43:50
Yes, I hope so – I do think the block is starting to ease!
Mar 10, 2015 @ 02:18:17
Glad to hear your block is easing! Heavens, we rely on you. I read feather-light books when I burn out (like Stella Gibbons’s). Sometimes a short break from blogging helps, too. Or try watching a complete season of Modern Family on DVD!
Mar 10, 2015 @ 08:58:24
I think I might be through it now as I’ve managed “The Leopard” and have started straight into “The Guest Cat” without a break – phew! 🙂