Everyone that reads, especially if you blog about your reading, hits a reading slump. I seems to hit a slump of one variety or another about once every three or four months. Sometimes the slump expresses itself as a lack of desire to read. But more often the slump is expressed by extreme ADD reading. Nothing seems to satisfy, nothing seems interesting.
I have tried a variety of methods. First, and I think most important, it to remove obligation from your reading if at all possible. This is the main point of Alan Jacobs’ recent book The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. If you are a student, obligation is a part of reading. But throwing in the occasional book for pleasure is important to keep yourself balanced. As a book blogger, I have cut back the number of books I review for publishers and primarily blog about books that I choose. That means that I have to buy them myself and they are often, not the newest books on the market, but reading on ‘Whim’ (to use Jacobs’ word) creates a happier reader.
Summary: A teen leaves home to fix a problem he created and stumbles of a task to save the kingdom from a great evil.
Takeaway: About 25 years after first reading it, this is still one of my favorite novels.
Takeaway: Wide ranging book on practical, theological and theoretical importance of communication in the church world.
Summary: The twins, Sandy and Denis, go back into biblical history and find their place in their special family.
Summary: Bond fights the bad guy, tries to get the girl
Takeaway: Continuing with the theme that Love is most important.