Darkness and Despair!

Hello! 

Louise here, with insight on reading ruts. 

Oh, how the world looks Bleak! 

A little dramatic? Sure. 

But that’s pretty much how every avid reader will respond to a reading rut. 

Especially me. 

Because I’m also a writer and we tend to be dramatic. 

All to say, yes, reading ruts are terrible. Bleak. Hopeless. Distressful. It brings darkness into the mind and soul of a person. They’re awful.  (Can’t you tell?) 

While there are some other things to blame for my um *cough* inability to stick with a book till the end, most of the blame is on me personally. How easily I can become distracted when I walk to find my current read, my new-found fascination with all things politics (don’t ask), obsession with writing, taking pictures, making messes in the kitchen. 

A lot of things basically. 

And so far the only times I’ve been reading (in big bursts of about a hundred pages) are with a flashlight (because the book just got good), or waiting to go to work (I got up two hours too early, *shakes head*) 

Other times I should be reading. I’m doing an aforesaid activity. 

Which is my fault. 

BUT, I’m not done yet. 

How to make the world look less bleak… 

Read a book. (Never saw that coming did you?) 

Yes. Sit yourself down and force yourself to read that book. 

Do yourself a favor and pick one you actually LIKE. Or would like to read. Preferably one you haven’t read before. 

I picked one I was lent by a family friend. (Review coming). It’s about a slave during the American Revolution. Caught between two warring countries. 

I personally like books like that. 

So I went with it. 

And even though it took a while for it to get good, it was worth it. 

It got GOOD. 

Then I couldn’t put it down. 

Now I’m almost finished with it. 

Isn’t that spectacular? (Remember to follow through with your commitment to whichever book you choose. See it through to the end. Then pick up the next one. 😉

Sunny Days Ahead! 

No, I’m not done being dramatic.

But seriously, reading is a weapon in your arsenal. And it’s a valuable weapon. 

So don’t let it rust. 

When you’re in a rut, find a book you really want to read, or think you would enjoy, and read it. If your problem is time, read here and there. Don’t worry about how much progress you’re making, just enjoy the story and get lost in the book instead of Instagram. 

If, like me, your problem is finding a chip-clip on the ground while you’re heading to the living room to get the book, and you go to the kitchen to put it away, then get distracted because someone dropped popcorn all over the floor and you can’t walk without getting kernels stuck to your feet, so you go to the pantry to get the vacuum, then find that cereal box is open, you close it, then remember you’re hungry, so you search for something to eat and find a recipe that you want to make and — yeah. 

I would propose putting that chip-clip in your pocket and grabbing the book. 

But you should probably vacuum up the popcorn, because your mom will appreciate it. 

Then grab your book. 

Never mind your stomach. 

Just read. 😉

And with that I wish you the best! 

~Louise