Musings on readers block

The greatest curse a girl who loves reading can have

I have been in a reading slump for well over a year now. The few books I have read this past year have either been really short (and I had to force myself to finish them) or for research for an essay (never read in full, probably skimmed anything I thought was irrelevant).

I still consider reading to be one of my biggest passions, yet I have not been able to sit down and read a book in full just for the sake of reading since I read The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis in January 2023. After reading it, I fully indulged myself in my degree which was coming to an end, reading only for dissertation research and never for fun. The summer after finishing my degree, I fell in love, went on many wonderful trips in a lovely green camper van, started my Substack and read the first 20 odd pages of about 12 books. It was a beautiful summer, the best, but imagine if I had finished a book, how great would that have been! 

The last book I completed was Bad Behaviour by Mary Gaitskill which I absolutely loved. I decided short stories were a good way to get back into reading but the second short story collection I bought I absolutely hated and closed it after 2 and a half stories. Now I’m lost again.

I have had writers block many times but it has always quickly subsided. Reader’s block has always affected me more, although I have never before had a reading slump so bad that it has crossed the one year mark. The last time I had readers block was 2019, I was then recommended The Secret History by Donna Tartt and suddenly it was over. I am yet to find a book that has resurrected me the same way The Secret History did.

I wish I was writing this with advice on how to get out of a reading slump. But I am still in it. And all the advice I have found has unfortunately been no help for me. Perhaps I will write a follow up on this when I have miraculously rekindled my love of reading with tons of advice and tips and a passionate love letter to books (and hopefully lots of new recommendations for The Essential Fragmentary Girl Reading List!) 

I am waiting for the perfect book to fall into my lap and for my love of reading to return and never leave again. But what is the perfect book? Where can I find it? Does it even exist?