[Top 5 Wednesday]: Getting Out Of Reading Slumps

It's time for this week's Top Five Wednesday! This has been created by gingerreadslainey and it also has a Goodreads group. I am hoping to do these posts (or other weekly Wednesday posts) more often as long as I am interested in the current prompt! This week's prompt will be talking about the five ways books I recommend to get over reading slumps. Readers are so different, so I am going to try to have a variety of genres to choose from because I know some readers that get out of slumps by reading fantasy, but others may need contemporary.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli 

This book is a contemporary story about a closeted gay teenage boy named Simon who has been emailing another closeted gay teenage boy named "Blue" who goes to Simon's school. They don't know each others real names but they've both got feelings for each other. Simon is confronted by a classmate, Martin, who has discovered the emails. Martin blackmails Simon saying that Simon needs to play matchmaker between Martin and Abby or Martin plans on releasing the emails and/or secret of Simon being gay. So Simon is dealing with that, his feelings for Blue, and also the pressure of coming out to his friends and family. This book is such an easy and fun read. The humor is great, the mystery of finding out which guy in Simon's school is Blue is always fun to try to figure out, and the themes of this book are great especially for a LGBTQ+ book.

The Selection series by Kiera Cass 

The Selection is about a dystopian world where each family is put in a certain caste depending on their wealth. If you're a One, you're royalty, and if your family is an Eight you're in extreme poverty. In this story, thirty five girls are chosen to be in The Selection, where the prince gets to know them and as he develops relationships with the woman he eliminates the ones he's not interested in. Women line up to have the opportunity to apply because if you win, or even stay for a while, your family is put in a richer caste. Our main character, who is a five and she signs up for the chance to give her family a better life.

This series is basically The Bachelor with some dystopian themes thrown in. If you're not into The Bachelor type reality TV this may not be for you, but for me it's such an easy story to devour. It's addicting and fun, and although you're probably not going to learn the secrets of the universe in these books, it'll definitely get you out of your slump.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

This book is a retelling of Cinderella, but instead our character Cinderella is actually Cinder, a cyborg mechanic who is frequently visited by Prince Kai who needs an android fixed quickly and Cinder thinks that it's more important than he's letting on. Cinder's sister gets sick, and is infected with a fatal plague that has been going around for about a decade and Cinder's stepmother blames Cinder for her sister's illness.

This story is another addicting one. I think when it comes to reading slumps you need to find books that get a grip on you almost immediately so you're sucked into the story. You really fall in love with the characters in this series, but especially in this first book. Out of the four leading ladies in this series Cinder is by far my favorite of them. Meyer takes a story we have seen before and makes it this awesome Fantasy novel with all these awesome characters. The writing is really easy to slip into and the adventures keep you hooked.

Hyperbole and a Half by Alie Brosh 

This book is hilarious. I followed her blog for years and I always would end up doubled over, laughing so hard I was crying after reading her stories. Her illustrations are simple but perfect, and her talent to be able to find humor in intense moments of her life is always admirable. She tackles hard and serious topics, and she definitely doesn't undermine their seriousness, but she is great with pulling out humor in the situations. I highly recommend this book.

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things by Ted Naiefeh 

This is a comic book series I absolutely love. It's about a high school girl named Courtney Crumrin who is forced to move and live in this creepy house with her Uncle Aloysius. She deals with being a new kid at school, but she also deals with strange things lurking under her bed and discovering magic. It's so much fun, and it's an easy read. The art is gorgeous and it's a story I think deserves more recognition. It's a nice horror comic series that is great for kids but also for adults. I highly recommend it. If this isn't your thing, I think that turning to graphic novels or comics of any genre would be helpful for getting out of a reading slum because they're quick and easy.

Those are my five books I recommend to get out of a reading slump. Now, if they don't seem interesting to you, you can always find books similar to them (ie: contemporary, easy fantasy, adventure, comic/graphic novel, etc). I think in any case of being in a reading slump the best idea is to go to books that are comforting to you and re-read them. For me it's Harry Potter, Aristotle and Dante, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Books that have I associate with positive feelings and positive memories of reading. It reminds me why I love reading and it gets me excited to read new books. Also, one thing that helps me is watching BookTube videos. There are so many YouTubers who talk about books, and having someone else rave about books and reading really helps me get motivated to read too. Good luck getting out of your slump! 

Thanks for reading!

Do you have any books or tricks you recommend to get out of a slump?