Checked Out with Green Hills Public Library District

Episode 9 - Down in the Slumps

• Green Hills Public Library District • Season 1 • Episode 9

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In Checked Out’s 9th episode, “Down in the Slumps,” Tessa and Sara take you through the hills and valleys of their reading slumps. Hear about the books that slipped these hosts into a reading slump and the techniques they used to rekindle their reading flame.  

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SPEAKER_00:

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 9, Down in the Slump. I'm Sarah. I'm Tessa, and this is Checked Out with Green Hill Public Library. In this episode, we are going to be talking about reading slumps, how we get into them, how we've gotten out of them, and some recommendations. Two topics that I have got a lot to say about.

SPEAKER_01:

I think our best course of action is to start off and talk about what is a reading slump. I think it looks a little different for everybody. Generally, I would define a reading slump as you're either not reading, nothing's capturing your attention, you can't finish anything. That's what it means to me at least. I think it's similar for you.

SPEAKER_00:

I have a similar definition of a reading slump and it looks kind of different for everyone, and also depending on the type of slump that you might be in. I know that we both go through genre slumps sometimes where nothing in a particular genre is sticking with us. So that's something that I get quite frequently, I would say.

SPEAKER_01:

I agree. And if you don't act fast, you're just like full-blown reading slump after that. Like if you don't acknowledge that maybe you need to branch to a different genre or have some kind of like palette cleanser, in my experience, then that's where things just really go off the rails for me.

SPEAKER_00:

So before we dive too far into different versions of reading slumps that we've had and how we deal with them, let's start with how we get a reading slump. What leads us to this point?

SPEAKER_01:

I think it's also important for us to note that like reading is a huge part of our lives. Yeah. And it definitely is not this big of a part of a lot of people's lives. Like we said with genre slumps, I will get like that with high fantasy, or if I'm reading several books in the same series, especially if they're long books back to back. I can feel myself start to kind of get into a reading slump post that.

SPEAKER_00:

Definitely not offensive to me, even though sometimes I do call you out on it. But I also read multiple books at a time. So we're fine.

SPEAKER_01:

So I think honestly, that is we'll get into how we can get out of reading slumps and what we use, but that is that's a trick of the trade. It's to start something else. Um personally, my reading slumps don't really consist of me not reading at all. I am usually still reading something at some point during my day, but I just make like zero progress. I don't finish anything. I start like a million things and read the first like three chapters of like four books, and then I'm just like, okay, what now? So I'm still technically reading and like keeping that habit, but actually like consuming the story or like accomplishing any sort of finale, that does not happen for me.

SPEAKER_00:

So, similar to you, we do read a lot throughout the month. So a slump for me also consists of still reading, just not at the speed or volume, or even having that same interest as I would in a typical month. Looking back at slumps that I've had, I think that I have had more genre slumps than just general reading slumps. So, for example, last year I kind of went through a romance reading slump where no romance book was truly capturing my attention the way that I wanted it to. So I would do that thing where I started it, read a little bit of it, and then did a soft DNF where I ended up coming back to it later on. And right now I'm kind of having that issue with horror this year, where there's a ton of horror books that I want to read, but I'll start it and then it just won't sit right or it won't be what I'm expecting it to be. And it doesn't mean that I'm not enjoying it. It's just that it's not the book for me in this time. And so the amount of horror books that I've been consuming lately have been a lot less than previous years, but that is also because I'm in a horror reading slump, and that's okay.

SPEAKER_01:

It is okay. Generally, not even just your specific genre slump. It's okay to be in a reading slump. I feel like I am talking to myself on that one the same way I did in our DNF episode, but you just kind of have to go with it, and I never do. Like I resist it as long as I possibly can. For me, also, other than genres, how I get into them is it's one of two extremes. Either I read a book, it's five stars, one of my new favorites of all time, amazing, love her. Or on the other side of the spectrum, worst book I've ever read, hate in my life, boring, bad writing, yeah. Either one of those things can send me into a reading slump.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's pretty similar for me too, especially the coming off of the high of a five-star read, and then trying to chase that feeling of a book being that engaging and something I love so much. And it's also that I'm still thinking about that five-star read all throughout. I'm like, okay, I miss these characters, I miss this place, I miss this writing, and just it's really just chasing that feeling again. For me, too, reading slumps happen when there's events in my life happening, or I'm, you know, caught up on a new show and I'm really into that because I'm not dedicating as much time to reading. Again, I'm still reading, but it's not as much time because my attention is being consumed by something else, which again is totally okay. And as long as I'm happy with what I'm spending my time doing, then there's nothing to, you know, beat myself up about. But that can also lead me to slump out because I'll be in the middle of a book or starting a book and just it'll fall off because I'm caught up in something else.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I that was the next thing I had on my list is finding a movie, a TV show, a hobby in general that isn't reading. For instance, Legos. Yeah. It Legos have been a real problem for me lately. And in theory, I and I I do sometimes. Like you could listen to an audiobook, Two Birds, One Stone. That doesn't happen to me. That's just not how it goes for me as much as I would like it to. But I I've I've gotten it under control a little bit more, I think. But it was bad.

SPEAKER_00:

I like didn't read anything for like two weeks, which is so not the norm for you at all. But it was the Legos, and we're so good. I'm obsessed with Legos.

SPEAKER_01:

It was crazy.

SPEAKER_00:

So Legos was a hobby that unexpectedly took you away from reading as often as you were, and something that will get me out of my reading slump is reading something totally out of left field and unexpected. Recently, I was in like a little mini slump, and something that took me out of it was Lights Out by Novessa Allen. I audiobooked that and bam, suddenly I was unslumped. I was ready to roll. I'm like, let's go. I can do 10 audiobooks now. Not all at once, but I've got them lined up. Taking the expectation out of it really helps me get unslumped.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and audiobooks are a huge factor for me. If I feel like I'm just like not focusing or I'm making like no progress when I'm reading something, like physically, sometimes it can be a little daunting if you're like constantly opening your book, reading 10 pages, closing it, and it like doesn't look like anything's changing. Um, especially we listen to our audiobooks on like very high speeds. And I think seeing that progress too, as well as like you can do other things while you're listening to an audiobook. That's a huge, like listening to audiobooks is a huge factor on getting out of slumps for me, at least. Also, something short, like a novella, a short story, and I feel like that always helps because you are making progress.

SPEAKER_00:

You make a really good point about taking out the pressure of getting out of the reading slump and like working towards, you know, getting back to your regular rhythm. And I think that that's important to remember when you feel that you are in a reading slump or might be approaching one, is just approach your next book without that expectation and that pressure. And something that does that for me is going towards an author that I have encountered before. I know that I like their stuff. And I know that if they've got another series that I haven't read or another book, reading that will help me kind of get my groove back in reading, um, especially with series, because then I feel that I have something to consistently look forward to and that will get me out of the slump for the time being. And if it puts me into another slump, we cross that bridge when we get to it. But in that moment in time, I feel safe.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, going to an author that you have read before, that you've liked before was also on my list on how I try to get myself out of reading slumps. It's sometimes helpful for me, sometimes not as far as series go, because your experience with series is more like interconnected and you can kind of move in and out of it a little bit less, like more seamlessly. Exactly. And if I'm going, sometimes it will work if I've read it close enough to be like, okay, actually, I'm just gonna read this sequel because I know I like the first one, whatever. That does not always work for me because sometimes I do not remember a singular thing that happened in the first book. But that brings me to my next point. Sometimes I don't do it too often anymore just because I feel like there are so many things to read. But if it's a very dire situation, or if I think that restarting that series will help me get out of it once I get to the other ones, I'll re-reread a book that I know I like. Not necessarily, it doesn't have to be like your top favorite book of all time, but just something that like you know you had a really good time reading. And preferably you don't remember every single thing that happens in it. I don't know if that's just a me thing and my goldfish memory, but I forget things very easily. So it's that's a good side of it for me. But yeah, rereading a favorite or just something that you know you really enjoyed your time reading. My last tip on how to get out of a reading slump is to not force yourself to read. Don't put that pressure on it and don't force it because you're not gonna find anything you like if that's how you're going into it.

SPEAKER_00:

On the note of not forcing things, I think it's a good time for us to transition into our recommendations. So, books that got us into slumps, books that got us out of slumps, and starting us off strong with a book that did not get me out of my slump. It actually continued to push this slump through for me and kind of made things a little worse was Give Me Butterflies by Julian Meadows. And I read the arc of this towards the end of 2024, and it was a really rough time for me in terms of romance books. It took me finding a really good series to get me out of that romance lump, which we'll touch upon later. But I don't think that this book was for me, despite it having a lot of the traits that I usually lean towards in romance. It was a workplace romance. There was a ton of pining. There was a grumpy sunshine dynamic, and yet it really did not work for me. My romance lump continued strong after finishing that book, unfortunately. Had you read that author before? No, this was my first encounter with that author. And maybe my last, but I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna make any promises. I am trying again. Yeah, I'll try again because it might have just been something was not working. There were moments in the writing that I really enjoyed, but I think the overall book was not sitting with me. And it could have also just been that it was a wrong time situation where I was in the middle of a romance slump and I was trying so hard to get out of it, but it just that just did not help. And it just kind of continued to be a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, maybe bringing a new author in like that was not the right call on that one. Um, one that I knew that probably wasn't going to I knew it wasn't gonna go well, but I didn't know it was gonna go as bad as it did, was House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Mass. It's the third book in the Crescent City series. Urban Fantasy, rinse and repeat of her style of characters, her Fey world, her everything, except make it in a world that has cell phones, basically. Um first book, really good, loved it. Second book, a mess. Third book, embarrassing. She should not have done that, and it it really it's like 800 pages of truly nonsense. That might sound harsh, but keep in mind I have also read everything that that woman has written, and I think that she has some very good works, and I think that she has some very middle of the road works, and I think that this was her first like true flop, in my opinion, and it made me not want to read fantasy romance for like a hot minute because she's supposed to be the best of the best, and if that's what she was bringing out there, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00:

Woo, yeah. I think that that is a good statement to have for any author that they're always gonna have really great works, middle of the road, and then some works that are not as enjoyed either by you personally, like the reader, or just in general. And that's okay. It happens with a lot of the authors that we see that are pushing out a lot of books, and this is like their career. Also, her being her being the poster child. Yeah, okay, thank you. Her being the like poster child for romanticy is is an interesting statement, and I think that that's like such a growing genre right now that it's really interesting to see what other people are putting out and how that compares to like the classic romanticy or romance fantasy, because I know you don't like that word, authors. Um, so yeah, it's an interesting thing to keep an eye out for. Would you say that Crescent City is your least favorite series by her? I would say that overall, yes.

SPEAKER_01:

But House of Earth and Blood, the first book, I think is miles better than A Quarter Thorns and Roses. Um, yeah, I would say it's my least favorite. The girlies might hate me for it, but I'm I'm not an Avatar girly. I read that like not to be like other girls here. But I read that like a long time ago, and I would try to revisit it once, and I was like, oh no. Bye. So I have a nostalgia memory on that one, but yeah, she she ruined the series. That's all.

SPEAKER_00:

I tried Aquatar in 2020 and I didn't finish it. Might go back to it. We'll see how it goes.

SPEAKER_01:

I think that being in pop culture of book world, you don't need to. I think you know everything there's to know. Because you love to find a spoiler, you'll you'll just find out everything that happens in a book. And that's fine. I don't I don't think you personally need it. You get it, you get the point, you get the vibe. You need to read throne of glass, but so I don't think we need to go back to Aquatar. I think we can just leave Throne of Glass as year one.

SPEAKER_02:

And moving on. Uh let's let's switch the yeah, let's switch scares. Switch the vibe. Let's not talk about throne of glass right now.

SPEAKER_01:

Let's not talk about the bad anymore. What is one book that was so good that it put you in a reading slump. You didn't want to go anywhere else.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, so good it put me in a reading slump is You Again by Kate Goldbeck. And I read this at the start of 2024, and I do believe that this was what caused my romance slump throughout the year of 2024, and not saying that I didn't read romance in 2024. I did. I read a decent amount, but not as much as I read in previous years, and not nearly as much as I've read this year, and that is because I was chasing that feeling constantly and not getting it from any other book. But You Again is a when Harry met Sally type of story that takes place in New York, and I love the characters. I know there's a lot of discourse online about the characters, but I do love them and I love Kate Goldbeck's writing style, and she has a book that's coming out in September of 2025 that I am so excited for. I'm hoping that I can continue on this romance reading high that I'm on this year, and I'm certain that I'll enjoy that book when it comes out. Also, one thing about Kate Goldbeck, she knows how to make a cover. You again cover Chef's Kiss. The exclusive dust jacket that she put out for that, also Chef's Kiss. The book that she has coming out later this year, Daddy Issues, the cover of that. If you have not seen it, stop everything. Pause the podcast, look up the cover. It is so good.

SPEAKER_01:

It's really it is, it's very good. The you again cover is like cute. Yeah. The daddy issues cover is really good. My my one that's so Good that it really messed me up for a minute is Alone with You in the Aether by Olivia Blake. Hear me out. We don't have the best track record with Olivia Blake. However, Alone with You in the Aether is one of my favorite books. It's like Alone with You in the Aether, a love story. And I think that that distinction is something that we can talk about if you want. But a love story versus a romance, and like the way that they're marketed, it follows a couple, two main characters, Reagan and Aldo. And it takes place in Chicago. I know you like that.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, oh yeah, yeah. They're in the museum.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Um, and it follows them as they struggle with their mental health, of this as they struggle with letting people in, with falling in love, with understanding how to keep a relationship with someone that you care so much about, while also like you want to help them, but you can't even help yourself. It's all very melodramatic. Um, I personally think the mental health representation that is in it is like a strong reason why it resonated so hard with me. And I think another reason I like it is because it is real. Like these characters definitely have this connection, but like they can't, they can't pull it together. And I think that that's real, and that's that's the difference between like saying something's a love story versus like a romance. Like I feel like if you're going into a romance, you know you're gonna have your happily ever after. And alone with you in the ether, I won't say either way, but their way of getting there is definitely not as like formulaic as a romance. But yeah, it ruined me for like a hot minute.

SPEAKER_00:

Dang. Oh, to chase that feeling and have that feeling. I love a book that ruins me, not gives me a reading slump, but definitely lingers and makes me feel things for a very long time. And usually it's the books that we really resonate with or that have those characters that are really meaningful that we get that feeling from. To continue with this good book vibe that we're on, we're gonna switch gears into books that got us out of reading slumps. And I'm going to start with a series that got me out of a reading slump. It is the Chestnut Springs series by Elsie Silver. And the way that this book cured my romance reading slump was unbelievable. And it was great because there were so many books in the series for me to read. And I did read four out of five of them. I couldn't do the last one, it was just not for me personally, but that's neither here nor there. We're gonna focus on the first four. I really liked them. I thought that they were lighthearted, they were easy and quick to get through. They do have third act breakups, which is not something that I love in a romance book, especially when it's in a series and I'm binging the series and I know what's coming every single time. So getting over that point was definitely a battle, but nonetheless, it was a really good series overall, at least the four that I read, and I enjoyed them. And I will continue to read the books that she puts out. I will say though, similar to SJM, she does have a series that I'm not a huge fan of, and that's the Gold Rush Ranch series. That for me is your crescent city. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, fair enough. When I find myself in a slump, the thing that I want is something that's fast. Personally, I think like thriller horror reads for me read pretty quickly. And uh Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates. I know that you read that too.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I I'm not here to say it's the best thing in the world, I'm not here to say it did anything crazy new, but I was like deep in a reading slum, couldn't read anything, didn't really want to, and I finished that book in a day. And so I was like, I gotta give it something there. Um I often refer to like that kind of thing as like a a popcorn thriller horror, where like you just it just exists in the world and it's probably gonna be about an average rating, but like it does, it does something, it keeps you engaged. And along that same vein, The Party by Natasha Preston, those are YA. I would say that Darcy Coates and Natasha Preston both have a bunch of books, and they are all kind of rinse and repeat, but one is YA and one is adult, whichever age group you want to pull from. Those are both some some good authors for me.

SPEAKER_00:

So, similar to you, I also have a recommendation that is on the shorter side and is also horror. It is Rest Stop by Nat Cassidy, and this is the first book that I've read by Nat Cassidy, and I will probably be reading another just because this one was so jarring. And I hadn't read horror in a long time because I was looking for something that was really gory, messy, extremely horrifying. And this served its purpose really well. If you are an avid road tripper and uh stop at rest stops and gas stations often, maybe skip this one because it gets intense and pretty creepy. Think of a criminal minds episode. That's kind of what this gives me. Except you never get to see the FBI agents come in and save people. You only have the victims POV. But hey, it got me out of my horror reading slump. It was a middle of the road rating for me, but it still served its purpose very well in the end. Keeping on theme with horror, we're gonna be wrapping up this episode with our book club pick. And this month we attempted Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. Um, I have some thoughts. I'll let you go first, Tessa.

SPEAKER_01:

I DNF'd. It's just it's I don't know. I don't I had a feeling it could go many different ways. With Stephen Graham Jones, I have a five-star, I have a three-star, I have a previous DNF. It could have gone any way. But I tried to start it like four different times. I tried to listen to it, I tried to read it physically, I tried to listen and read it physically. It just was not working for me. I was not, nothing was like gripping me into the story at all. What about you?

SPEAKER_00:

So I think that I would have enjoyed this a little bit more if I hadn't just come out of finishing My Heart is a Chainsaw, because I think that that's a very different work than this is. This is like in its truest, most pure form, historical horror. And I struggle with historical fiction as it is. And the start of this, it it is hard to like get something and grab onto it that will take you through the rest of the story because it reads like such a history textbook because it follows these journal entries by I think he's a pastor.

SPEAKER_01:

And I don't even know. I'm telling you, like, I read the first like 40 pages of this book five different times, and that's not an exaggeration. I tried it so many times, and the only thing that I could tell you about any of it is that he talks about Huckleberry Jam. And I'm being so serious and for real. He does, yeah. It's like one line, and that's all that's there. It just wasn't it wasn't sticking.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I ended up soft DNFing this, which might just become a full-blown DNF because I don't know if I can work up the energy to go back to it and possibly have to restart it and relive everything that I just lived through or read when life is short and there's so many other books that I would rather just start and know that I'm going to enjoy. I don't know if like the payoff of finishing the book is worth it. I can't speak on that since I didn't. So let us know. Send us an email if you finished it and you liked it.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm mine's gonna be a hard DNF. I don't I can't I can't make myself care about that one. A little bit of a bummer on our our little book club there, but at least we were in it together. Um, do you uh want to introduce the next one?

SPEAKER_00:

I'm stoked about it. It is Julie Soto's Rose and Chains, and I'm so pump. Yeah, I'm excited.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I'm excited. I'm excited that you want a fantasy romance in this world because usually it's me wanting that. We both have early copies of it, so yeah, we'll be able to give you a um official opinion on if we think the upcoming release is worth it.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm hoping it is. I have so far read everything that Julie Soto has put out and have enjoyed it, and I'm excited.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I've only read Thrashers, which is her why thriller, because her other two books that are out right now are contemporary romance. So we know that I don't always don't always vibe with that, but Thrashers was fun.

SPEAKER_00:

You might actually like Forget Me Not.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. I think that they're different characters there. We'll see how Rose and Chains goes if I wanna venture into that side of things.

SPEAKER_00:

That's fair. I hope it goes well. That concludes this month's episode. If you would like to send us any recommendations or comments, please reach out to us at ghpl at greenhillslibrary.org.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you guys so much for listening. This has been episode nine, down in the slumps. I'm Tessa. I'm Sarah, and we're checked out.