Reading Slump vs. Bookish Hangover (Plus, Overcoming Both!)

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Reading Slump vs. Bookish Hangover

Have you ever seen one of those “who would win” books or shorts on YouTube? Well, this post is the much nerdier version of that. Except in this case, no one wins, because both make poor, unsuspecting readers suffer . . . albeit in different ways. This week’s Let’s Talk Bookish has us pitting these two dreaded conditions against each other and considering their similarities and differences. Just so we start on the same page, I’ll offer you my definition of each.

According to a very wise bookwyrm—ahem, me—a reading slump is a prolonged period of time where a person lacks the desire to read for enjoyment. To me, there are two crucial parts of this definition. One, it has to be prolonged. It can’t be just once on a Tuesday in May, you decide you don’t want to read and wander outside to touch grass, as ill-advised as that might be. Two, there may be a want to read, but not a desire to do it for enjoyment. While people are certainly able to force themselves to read, that defeats the point of doing something specifically for entertainment value.

This is, of course, contrasted with a bookish hangover, which is when a reader has an inability to move on from something they’ve just finished. This can manifest in a multitude of ways, including resistance to reading something new (or inability to get “sucked in” to a new book), listlessness, inability to stop thinking about the book, wistfulness, and a hollow, empty feeling. You might notice that a lot of these symptoms mirror depression, rather unhelpfully. You’d also be forgiven for assuming, given the similarities, that a bookish hangover is a bad thing, but it’s usually the opposite! Oh, to read a book that makes you feel so much that reality pales in comparison! Oh, sure, the end result is actually the same as a reading slump: the inability to start something new. But I assure you, it’s a good thing, darn it!

Reading Slumps

Let’s tackle reading slumps first. Because everyone hits rock bottom eventually. As frustrating as they may be, reading slumps are a perfectly natural occurrence in the life of a reader!

Symptoms of a reading slump:

• Inability to finish books
• Becoming easily bored or distracted while reading
• Constantly starting but not completing books
• Dreading the idea of reading at all
• Avoiding reading in favor of other tasks/hobbies
• No longer finding enjoyment from reading

Ending a reading slump:

So how do you end a reading slump? The short answer is: you don’t. Hey, hey, put the pitchforks away! Don’t come for me just yet. Hear me out. My personal belief is that reading slumps happen for a reason. They’re your body’s natural way of holding up a stop sign and forcing you to focus on fixing something else in your life. At least, that’s been my experience. Oftentimes, when I suffer from a reading slump, it’s my brain’s way of telling me I need to sort something in my life out. It could be a variety of things: burnout, stress, overwork, anxiety, depression, mental burnout, etc. Usually, when I sort out the problem that’s causing the block, the reading slump starts to dissipate. So I take reading slumps as a sign that I need to take a step back and do some serious self-care!

If you’re on the other end and slowly working your way out of a reading slump, here are a few things to try to ease yourself back into reading (though your mileage may vary):

• Try a new format, like an audiobook or a graphic novel, to shake things up a bit!
• Revisit an old favorite that you’re sure to love.
• Choose a book that’s light and short (or which has short chapters) for extra endorphin boosts.
• Give yourself permission to set aside books that feel like a chore or which don’t hold your attention.
• Create your ideal reading environment, at least to begin with.

Once you’ve got one book under your belt, reading should start to feel pretty good again. When you’ve rediscovered the enjoyment that comes with reading, you’re officially out of the slump!

Books that kicked off a reading slump for me:

Massive caveat here that, as I said, reading slumps tend to be more about me than the books I’m reading, so I’m in no way blaming these books for my slumps. However, I really struggled with these, and I believe they contributed to a slump I was already actively sliding downhill towards. You may notice that a lot of these have a few things in common: namely that they’re thick, complex stories that required a lot of brainpower and/or emotional investment that I wasn’t prepared to devote at the time.

• The Littlest Bigfoot by Jennifer Weiner
• To Kill A Shadow by Katherine Quinn
• Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura
• City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky

• The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
• The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi
• A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry
• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Bookish Hangovers

On to the lighter side of life with bookish hangovers! Okay, fair, they don’t feel very positive when you’re in them. In fact, in many ways, bookish hangovers can feel a lot like reading slumps (and sometimes the way out of them may also be the same). Having the privilege of reading something that impacts you so deeply is a beautiful thing, though! Even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment.

Symptoms of a bookish hangover:

• Obsessive thoughts/feelings surrounding a recently finished book.
• Inability to stop thinking about a recently finished book.
• Disillusionment with the real world when compared to said book/bookish world.
• Potentially comparing your life with the life of the book’s characters.
• Emotional overwhelm, sensitivity, or exhaustion.
• Feeling a sort of “high” or “buzz” upon concluding a book.
• A strong desire to reread or revisit the book, even if you’ve just finished it.
• Difficulty starting or finishing new books.

Ending a bookish hangover:

If you find yourself with a bookish hangover . . . congratulations. I know it may not feel like it in the moment, but this means you’ve read a book that is so good that it lives rent-free in your brain, at least for a certain amount of time. While it may be frustrating in the moment, a bookish hangover is a sign that you’ve read a book that was so masterfully written that it’s resonated with something in you in a powerful way. That’s amazing. Also very hard to live up to. It’s okay and normal to feel emotionally rung out during a bookish hangover. If you’ve read a book that especially resonated, it might have dredged up some very powerful emotions, and maybe even helped you work through some things in your life, as well. Sometimes emotional exhaustion is a good thing, if it leaves you feeling positive and satisfied.

Just like Reading Slumps, a Bookish Hangover is trying to tell you something, and it’s okay to take a moment to pause and listen. Sometimes you just need to sit with a book for a while, and there’s absolutely no shame in pausing your reading to properly digest it!

If you find yourself unable to get over a book and wanting to work through your bookish hangover, here are a few places you can start:

• Try reading some nonfiction, so it doesn’t compete with your bookish hangover.
• Switch from audiobooks to podcasts, if you need a little bit of a break.
• Read fanfiction! Or write it, if that’s more your speed. (Your mileage may vary, but it might just scratch that itch you have.)
• Watch a similar TV show or movie.
• Try another book by the same author.

Books that triggered a bookish hangover for me:

Like always, your mileage may vary here! For most of these books, there was something about them that resonated deep in my soul. I’ll be honest: usually, it’s a trauma bond. Because trauma sees trauma. Not always, though. Sometimes there’s a book that’s just so delightful and so fun that I never want to leave. Here are just a few that have given me bookish hangovers.

• Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
• Tell Me Something Good by Court Stevens
• Mort by Terry Pratchett
• Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

• Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
• The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons
• Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
• Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam M. Grant

How do you handle Reading Slumps and Bookish Hangovers? What are your go-to methods for overcoming them?

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