Help Me Out of My Reading Slump

I would describe myself as an avid reader. However, I’m in a reading slump and can’t seem to get out of it. These days and, well, for the last twenty years, I’ve read mostly romance. Yep, some would argue that I need to add more variety.

However, I don’t like it when others judge people by their reading tastes or try to suggest there are books everyone must read. Why would I read something I have no interest in simply because it’s deemed a literary masterpiece? Since I’ve become a writer, my reading time is precious, and I will not waste it on something I’m supposed to read. However, the time may have come to make a change.

Reading Slump

A few years ago, I wrote a post about how writing has ruined reading for me, and this continues to be true. Being a writer, there’s pressure to read a variety of genres to help improve one’s craft, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. The only thing I read outside of romance are history books and that’s for research not recreation.

My current reading slump feels endless. I struggle to read historical romance because I write that, and I feel like I need a break from it. I switch between contemporary and sci-fi romance, but if the writer’s style distracts me, I become too critical. Paranormal and fantasy don’t always hit the mark for me either.

Conflicted

These days, I’m so conflicted about being a reader versus being a writer.

As a writer, I understand the need to support other writers; I want to leave them reviews, but there are so many I don’t finish. That’s hardly supportive. As a writer, I tend to be too critical of the author’s writing style. Being a copyeditor and proofreader does not help either, because I also notice errors in sentence structure, spelling and grammar. A non-writer (or non-editor) reader would probably just pass them by without a second thought. When reading, I try to abandon my writer and editor mindset (hey, mistakes can get missed despite endless self-edits and professional edits), but if there are lots of mistakes they draw me out of the story.

You’ll have noticed I no longer post reviews here. I still write them on Goodreads and Amazon (as I said, I try to support other writers). While I try to focus on the character arcs, plot and how the stories make me feel, my reviews are not detailed enough for a blog.

As a reader, I have another problem. I want to read physical books rather than eBooks because I work on a computer all day. During my downtime, I want to avoid screens. This leads to a lack of bookshelf space and a decline in my bank balance.

So, I try to use my library and support local services (especially after having worked for the library service) but it has a very limited romance collection. This means I return to eBooks. I subscribed to Kindle Unlimited to save money and support independent authors, but it causes eye strain, and it’s just not as nice as holding a book and turning the pages.

What Should I Do?

I’m feeling anxious about my writing at the moment. It may be because my first published work is now out there for public scrutiny and my publishing journey for my novels seems to have ground to a halt.

I want to write well, but to do that I need to broaden my reading material beyond romance. So, I’m going to contradict myself and read something I should, rather than what I want. What harm can it do? I can’t seem to get into romance fiction at the moment, so perhaps it’s time for a break.

Do you have any suggestions? I’ve read historical fiction in the past, but it’s usually quite depressing and I read romance to ensure I get a happy ending. Should I try Hilary Mantel (Booker Prize winner), or how about some Phillipa Gregory? Someone suggested steampunk; is it good? Should I take a big step out of my comfort zone and try horror?

What about crime? My mother loves a good crime/mystery/thriller. She devours them. Help me out here; I’m desperate. Just avoid the true-life stuff or anything where bad things happen to kids. My day job writing about safeguarding and child protection covers enough of the stuff kids must deal with these days. I don’t need to read more.

Now I’ve vented about my first-world problems, I’m going to scour my bookshelf for something different to read. My new goals are to read one non-romance per month and two Kindle Unlimited books per month (that way I can still support independent authors and not waste my subscription). Where possible, I’ll try to read paperbacks.

If you have any recommendations, leave them in the comments. Happy reading all!