When Reading Isn't Fun Anymore

I haven't finished a book in a week. That might not sound so bad, so let's give it some context. In the first week of February, I finished four books and started another one. I read some of these at the same time, at least parts of them, but, still. Four books in seven days is, for me, a good reading week. Three books in a week is about my normal pace. But. I haven't finished any book that I have started in the past seven days. It isn't fun.


After I finished White Oleander, my 18th book of the year, my interest in reading dropped off almost entirely. While I picked out a book to start next, I just didn't want to read. I would watched Chopped and read Clarke/Lexa fan fiction (okay, so, I guess my interest in reading didn't disappear completely) and do anything but, well, read. When I eventually got into bed (before I go to sleep being my most regular reading time), I would read a few pages but never really feel anything. I would get too tired; I wouldn't get invested in the story. I would put the book down and go to bed and wake up and by the time the next night came around, I still wouldn't have read anything more.

Why do these periods of non-interest happen? Can anyone answer that question? It's not like I could feel this anti-reading virus sneaking up on me from afar. I wouldn't even go so far as to call this a slump because, really, I'm not hating everything I have tried to read recently. I just don't want to. Like a child in a toy store when their parents say "no," I have been throwing a tantrum over books. No bad experience caused this to happen. I didn't bump my head and have a shift in personality. I can't help but wonder if the book gods are looking down on me in shame. Did I do something to deserve this period of previously unknown book repulsion? I think I have to settle for the answer that is the most unsettling: I don't know.

The good news, though, is that things seem to be looking up. While I have yet to finish a book in quite some time, I have made it over the 100-page mark in my current read, Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. When you are trying to build a fire and you produce a spark, you don't let it go out, right? Well, when I picked this up from my library yesterday (the 24th), I wasn't planning to start it right away. I was about 75 pages in to another book and I was enjoying it (I think). That was the book. This is the one I am going to finish, I told myself. For better or for worse. Well, not so much. Salt to the Sea called out to me and I would have been a fool for letting that spark lose its energy.

Do you guys ever deal with periods of not wanting to read? Or times when you feel like you are just pushing yourself through a book and not even having fun? I just wanted to fire off a quick post to let everyone know what has been going on lately with the books side of this blog. My last set of flash reviews didn't go up as planned because I wanted to wait and add a few more books to the collection but, well, that obviously hasn't happened. Things will get back on track soon, I hope.