Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is: Books Guaranteed to End to Your Reading Slump. Which books would you recommend to someone (it’s me, I’m someone) dealing with the dreaded reading slump? No book is grabbing their attention or making them excited to sit down and read and they are suffering for it. What book would you hand them? And, if you’re feeling chatty, what qualifies it as a slump-ending book? I am struggling with reading right now. I’m currently reading my 13th novella in a row to catch up on my Goodreads goal. No full-length books are holding my attention. I need something amazing and I can’t find it! Below you’ll find the books that have worked for me in the past, and I might re-visit one of them to try and rip me out of my slump yet again. But I’m always looking for more recs, so I will be visiting many blogs this week in the hope you can help me!
What qualifies a book as a slump-ending book for me? Well, it’s usually action-packed. It grabs you right from the start and never lets go. You know those books that have large info dumps in the beginning that you have to get through before things begin? I don’t have the attention span for that when I’m in a slump. Maybe it’s the first in a long series I can binge so I don’t have to think about picking a book for a while. It’s easy to read, with flowing sentences and good dialogue. It doesn’t require too much deep thinking and there aren’t too many characters to keep track of. All my choices for this week fit at least one of these qualifications. Here we go!
1. The Promise of a Kiss by K.C. Bateman
If you love the movie The Mummy, you will love this. Plus you can read it in an hour or less!
2. Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
This is unlike anything I’ve ever read, and I was riveted.
3. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
This entire series has both pulled me out of a slump and put me into a book hangover, so be careful with this one! Make sure you have the next book ready to go.
4. The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
Cozy, low-stakes, wholesome fantasy. If you need a hug, this is a hug in book form.
5. Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
This is a 90’s-style rom-com with subtle nods to While You Were Sleeping. I loved it!
6. Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle
A twirly, springy, magical tale set in a comforting small town you can’t find in this world anymore.
7. Never Blow a Kiss by Lindsay Lovise
There’s more to this historical romance than meets the eye. Danger and conspiracy abound, and it’s so exciting you won’t want to stop reading!
8. The Only One Left by Riley Sager
You will forget everything you need to attend to in your life while reading this creepy, spooky story. It grabs hold of you and never lets go. I still think about this book two years after reading it.
9. The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
This is truly the most captivating, exciting, and inspiring historical fiction novel I’ve read.
10. Cold-Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas
This was my first Lisa Kleypas book and it was the beginning of a reading marathon that took the better part of a year. I read the entire Ravenels series, the Wallflowers, and the Hathaways almost bak to back. It was a glorious time. I’m considering listening to Mary Jane Wells read the entire series to me now to try and end my slump!
So, any recs for me? What books have gotten you out of a reading slump?
Do you agree with any of my picks or plan to read them to try and get out of your slump?
Do reading slumps happen to you? I know not everyone experiences this!
For me, just reading something that doesn’t really require me to “think” is what qualifies a book as being helping at curing a book slump! :) Mostly that’s probably light-hearted and fun reads. Hope some of these inspire your reading again!
I’m sure we’ll find many of those on these lists. Even I found ten books like that. LOL
I haven’t read any of these. They do look good. I don’t have any specific book that ends a slump for me. Usually it will be a cozy mystery, but I have different ways of getting through reading slumps.
I enjoyed the Diamond Eye, The Alice Network made my #TTT list for this prompt. I like the look of book #6 from your list, a bit of magic is a good thing.
I have Fourth Wing on my TBR pile. I have also had my eye on The Only One Left.
Have a great week!
That was a fun challenge, trying to think of all the books that might cheer others up as well as myself. Though, we all have different preferences and what brings an end to my slump might not work for me or vice-versa. But it’s nice having a look and finding a good one.
OOh nice! I need to pick up the rest of The Fourth Wing books. I keep putting them off because I know each one has a cliffhanger that just proceeds to get worse and now we have no idea when the next book will release so I’m a bit hesitant to get too invested too soon! Lol.
Here’s my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
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Nice list, Jana. I would recommend The Ladies of Sommer by the Sea trilogy or Return to the Ladies of Sommer-by-the-Sea (4 books) all by Ruth E. Casie. They all have a gripping start and don’t let up until the story is finished. They are relatively short (around 200 pages) and are clean historical fiction.
I hope you get over your slump soon! For me, the best way to beat a reading slump is with a quick read—so novellas, graphic novels, and short stories do the trick for me. Good luck and happy reading!
Typically the books I would go to in a reading slump are books with some kind of humor. But, I agree with you, it needs to be a book that grabs me right away, with no long intros (historical fiction is out).
Good to know about Diamond Eye. I have it sitting on my shelf waiting for a slumpy day!
Fourth Wing is on my list too and I loved The Spellshop!
Action is definitely a plus. I tend to reach for a romantic suspense when I’m in a slump too! They often have a little of everything, so no matter what I’m in the mood for, they will usually at least keep me interested in the story.
Nice list, Jana. Old Flames and New Fortunes sounds tempting.
I really don’t get into reading slumps, but maybe that’s because I already read a lot of intriguing, fast-moving mysteries and thrillers. To me, that’s the kind of book that would get a person out of a slump – something they literally can’t put down!
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com