4 Ways Community Help Overcome a Reading Slump
Do you have a reading tribe? Reading out to your book-loving friends can be a great way to get out of a reading slump!
As readers, we can all fall into the dreaded reading slump on occasion. In today’s episode of the podcast, I’m sharing my 4 ways that book communities can help you get out of a reading rut or slump.
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Full Show Notes (Transcript)…
Hi there, I'm Stephanie Leopold and I am excited to welcome you to the Readerly Collective Podcast, where bookworms unite and geeking out is highly encouraged. Join me as we explore the world of books in the reading life, celebrating all types of readers and all types of genres. Grab your favorite beverage, cozy up in your reading nook, and let's dive in.
Hey there, fellow readers. You are here because you love books! Well, I have a special gift for you. I have a free audio that guides you through the five questions for your reading life to help you get the most out of your reading life. Head on over to www.thereaderlycollective.com/5questions. to grab your free audio.
Hey there fellow readers. Welcome to another episode of the Readerly Collective podcast. I hope you're doing well and hope you are reading some great books this summer. Today, as promised in last episode, I'm going to talk about four ways that community and book friends can help us overcome reading slumps and ruts. We all get by with a little help from our friends (and now that song is going to be in my head and I hope it's in yours). Reading in and of itself is a pretty solitary hobby. Typically we read by ourselves, not always, but it's a solitary hobby. And as I've said in previous episodes, we all fall into ruts and we all fall into reading slumps from time to time. And, as I just said, I'm going to share with you four ways, (I'm sure that's not all of them), but I'm going to touch on four ways that finding your reading tribe and your book people is so important to help you shake up your reading life and get out of ruts and slumps. So, Just think back to the last time you were in a reading rut or a slump, and felt like you were just going through the motions, the blahs, or if it's a slump, maybe you can't focus, or there are other things vying for your attention that you feel like you can't pick up a book. After today's episode, I hope that you can recognize that reaching out to your readerly friends and communities will help you feel recharged and feel excited to dive into your next great book. So let's dive in to the four ways friends help us.
Number One: Obviously they can give you new ideas. If you reach out and say, “I am in a slump and I can't find a book that keeps my attention” or every book feels terrible and I just wanna, as I like to say, throw it across the room. They can give you their suggestions on what they do. Previously, I've given you five ways to get out of a slump and five ways to get out of a rut, and I'm sure other communities that you're involved in can give you way more options and suggestions for how to get out of those.
Number two: Friends and community offer new reading recommendations! I know that I belong to a few communities that offer a limitless supply of recommendations for whatever you're looking for. Sometimes that's what we need. Reading something different, something maybe under your radar that you've never heard of, right? So they can offer you new actual reading recommendations.
Number three: The third way communities help us get out of slumps and ruts is stimulating conversation, whether that is, I'm in a I'm feeling like I'm going through the motions and I need to have some new perspectives or new ideas surrounding reading and books. Or maybe that is just conversation about stress and life. When I'm in a slump it's usually something else going on in my life and so just reaching out and sometimes just talking about it in that way can also get you out of a slump. Not only just talking about books, but being able to share what's going on.
Number four: The biggest, absolute best reason for finding your book tribe is a shared experience with someone and also getting the validation that you are not alone in your reading slump or rut. Again, because reading can be isolating, people you can reach out to that also say, yes, I have been there! I understand what you're going through and know how difficult it is when you love reading and It feels like nothing is working and you're like so out of a groove that it is like affecting other areas of your life. (Not that I'm speaking from personal experience or anything), but just having friends to commiserate with. Remember everybody that has been in a slump or a rut and just knowing that you're not alone.
Alright, I'm gonna review these four ways. And this is by no means an exhaustive list. I know there are way more ways in which community is important in our reading lives. These are just the ones I'm going over now that I think can be beneficial in the rut and slump department that we've been talking about for the last month.
So that is friends give you new ideas and suggestions for getting out of a slump or a rut because they have been there also.
They offer new recommendations on books too for actual reading. Maybe some they're like, “oh my god, yes, if you like this book, you've got to read this book or they are like, hey, I just read this and Don't waste your time.”
They offer stimulating conversation, whether that is around books and reading or just sharing day to day. , if you've got something going on that's affecting your ability to pick up a book and focus, right? Just the conversation can be helpful.
And then the last, final, and my favorite is a shared experience where you know that you are not alone and that someone else understands this terrible thing that is happening in your reading life. Finding these people, finding your book tribe, whether that be in person or whether that be online. Whether that be people you already know that love to read or you join a book club and you don't know anybody YET.
I hope that gets you thinking, not only about your reading life, but also where can I find my tribe? Do I have a group of book people, reader people, that do give me these things that, that can help my reading life.
So, as always, I hope you guys have a great rest of your week. Take care, friends
Well that closes another chapter on this week's episode of the Readerly Collective podcast. Remember the conversation doesn't have to end here. Connect with me on Instagram at the Readerly Collective or over in our Facebook group. All you have to do is search the Readerly Collective.
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