So, I love books. Anyone who knows me well is pretty much aware of the fact that me passing by a book store is never a good thing because I can spend hours there. I have a bookcase, Kindle, and a phone full of books, and it is a collection that I am very proud of. But how many books have I read after I entered college over eight years ago? Twenty, if that. And that, my friends, is because I have reader’s block!
As if struggling with writer’s block wasn’t enough.
And yes, reader’s block is as ridiculous as it sounds. For lack of better words, it’s a level of procrastination where I don’t want to start reading the book because I think it will be amazing so I am savouring it, but I also want to already have finished it!
It’s, in a way, worse than having a writer’s block, where you have to think of words to express what you’re feeling. Because in this case, the words are already written and all I have to do is just consume those words and let my imagination take me on a wild ride.
But the issue is the dread that fills me when I think about all the pointless details I would have to take in – the description of how green the grass is and whatnot – to be able to reach the end. However, I also love those descriptions, because how else am I supposed to imagine the book in my head?
It’s a weird battle that runs on in my head and I am sure, if my books could talk, they’d call me crazy!
Late last year, though, I decided to take things in my own hands and improve them. Reading brings me peace, relaxation, and rejuvenation, and I know better than to give up on it over something as petty as lack of patience and discipline.
So, as I started to introspect and find the reasons that I was unable to go back to my momentum of reading, I found some things that helped me get over my reader’s block to a large extent. While I am not all the way where I want to be, I have read more during this time than I did over the past eight years, and that is a personal achievement that I am proud of.
And then I found many people struggling with the same issue as I was. So, I decided to list down the things I did to improve myself. Hopefully, these tips will help you as well!
1. My major mistake, a common one among readers from what I was able to understand, was that I decided to move on quickly from the genre of fiction to non-fiction. Given the nature of my profession, reading non-fiction is like my daily work. And I moved on to that genre without taking in my fill of the fictional world that I love. That led to me thinking of books as more of a work-related chore, in a way, than a means of escape and pleasure.
2. Another mistake: I started to think of books that would impress others during discussions rather than focus on those that would bring me joy. For a long time, the decision of which book I purchased was driven by what people would think of me reading it. That meant that I was ignoring books that I liked and wanted to read, and that took away the joy I derived from reading.
3. One thing that I found helpful was to read a book that I know I love if I was unable to find the motivation to read. My go-to book is Pride and Prejudice, and so, if I was on a reading lull and unable to commit to any book, I read Pride and Prejudice. This gave me a headstart on more than one occasion to go on and pick a new book to read and carry on with my reading streak.
4. I also started to note which sort of book I liked to read in a particular mood. This helped me categorise my books into different moods, allowing me to pick an appropriate book at a certain point of time. I no longer force myself to get in the frame of mind to continue reading the same book, and instead, am accepting that it is okay for me to read multiple books at the same time, since each book is related to a different mood and therefore, a different mind space.
5. Lastly – and this one took me some time to wrap my head around – I realised that I do not have to finish reading EVERY book that I purchased. It was important for me to understand that just like a particular movie or TV series, there are some books that are not at all interesting to me. That doesn’t mean they can’t sit quietly in the corner of my book shelf for me to revisit and retry at a later stage, if I so desire at any point.
BONUS: For those who are competitive or like to challenge themselves like I do, there are great challenges (for example: The 52 Book Club’s reading challenge) that can encourage you to read more in order to fulfil different challenges/tasks on the lists. There are also some great apps like Bookly that allow you map the book(s) you’re reading and log in your reading time at any instance. These different tools often excite me and motivate me to take up reading more often.
There are a lot of books in this world, and I want to read as many of them as I can before I am done with this life. I love reading too much to give up just because I am stuck with the wrong choices. That was primarily what drove me to try out these different methods, and for any struggling book lovers out there, I hope this helps you as well.
Happy reading!
Bulbul Dhawan 