Reading slumps Are. The. Worst. I didn’t know it was even a thing until it happened to me! Life happens and I stopped making it a priority. In fact, even though I’ve had a decent reading year, I’m nowhere near the totals of past years. And that’s okay.
I’ve found that rereading a much loved book is usually the ticket to take me back to reading Xanadu! It’s like meeting an old friend again after years apart. I usually look for something funny or uplifting or I look to short stories for a quick read. Even young adult or children’s books can remind you of your love of reading.
Here are ten books that are meaningful/funny/childlike that will try to ease you out of your reading slump!
Pay it Forward, Catherine Ryan Hyde – a story so powerful it has inspired people around the world to follow its example in their own lives. The ultimate book on kindness.
What I Remember Most, Cathy Lamb – a story of grace, warmth and courage. Her characters are always flawed and genuinely unique. This author can make you laugh on one page and cry real tears on the next.
The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh – the main character Victoria will break your heart as she overcomes a childhood in the foster system. Her love of flowers and their secret meanings ultimately saves her.
The Prince of Tides, Pat Conroy – Tom Wingo must tell his dark history to a psychiatrist in order to help his twin sister Savannah who has attempted suicide. This book both shocked me and made me fall in love with the author’s beautiful prose and his descriptions of South Carolina.
Furiously Happy, Jenny Lawson – all about embracing ourselves as we are, beautiful flaws and all and finding joy in the most unusual places. This one made me snort laugh.
Stephanie Plum series, Janet Evanovich – Stephanie is a relatable character who has bad hair days and lives paycheck to paycheck and also just happens to be a bounty hunter! Always pure entertainment to read. Team Ranger!
Where the Sidewalk Ends, Shel Silverstein – You’ll meet a boy who turns into a TV set, and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow and plant diamond gardens, a place where shoes fly, sisters are auctioned off, and crocodiles go to the dentist.
The Black Stallion series, Walter Farley – First published in 1941, this is the triumphant tale of a boy and a wild horse. The series begins with Alec Ramsay and the Black’s first meeting on an ill-fated ship to their adventures on a desert island and their eventual rescue.
Emily of New Moon series, L. M. Montgomery – the lesser known Emily Starr never knew what it was to be lonely — until her beloved father died. Now Emily’s an orphan, and her mother’s snobbish relatives are taking her to live with them at New Moon Farm.
Mrs. Mike, Nancy and Benedict Freedman – the story of the start of young love, its growth to maturity, and its acceptance of a dangerous, hard, but exciting life.
So tell me, have you ever been in a reading slump?
How long did it last?
Was there a certain book that ended the drought?
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
The OC Book Girl 
I never had the opportunity to read Where the Sidewalk Ends, but I’ve wanted to check it out. Which age group is it geared toward because I’ve played with the idea of buying for one of my nieces.
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Oh all ages! So much fun to read as a nighttime story book!
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Here’s the title poem:
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
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I haven’t read any of the books on your list, though Where the Sidewalk Ends was always on my list as a kid 🙂
Megan – My Top Ten Tuesday
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THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS is such a wonderful book! I recommend it to so many people.
I left an abusive relationship 2 years ago, and I went into a reading slump then. I could not concentrate on anything at all for a long time. I finally broke my slump last month with THE BOOKSELLER by Cynthia Swanson. I devoured it in one night and have been reading ever since.
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Hi Brenda! Isn’t it the worst – not being able to focus? I’m so so so glad you are out of that relationship! I need to read The Bookseller, too. I love books about books! Have you read The Storied Life of AJ Fikry?
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