I’m working through a long series with long books (Wheel of Time). I am very much enjoying it but losing steam in some of the slog. I’m pushing ahead but suspect I will reach a point before finishing where I’ll need a break. I don’t want to just quit the series. My plan is to take a break with a quick novella or other short read. Hopefully this will help me get back to the series reasonably quickly and not give up fully. What’s your strategy to keep going when you have a hard time finishing a book/series?
by This_is_fine0_0
9 Comments
None. If I’m bored by it, I stop reading it.
By stopping and coming back a few days later.
You could spend a lifetime reading those books. Stop when you’re tired of them, they’ll be there when you want more.
Put it down for a few days. Try reading something else in a different genre/style between books. Use audiobooks while you read. I’ve found all of these strategies helpful, but above all, don’t rush! I’ve been slowly working my way through WoT for a few years now, only on book 5 now. I’m not a slow reader (I regularly read 60+ books a year) but there’s no harm in taking longer to read through something. Not everything has to or should be a breakneck binge.
I stop. Life’s too short to read books I don’t want to be reading.
You literally said you are going to take a break and read a short story. What is the point of this post? Do you want encouragement to keep going?
Come on dude, you can do it!
Sometimes I lose steam with reading in general for months at a time, and in those cases I will just read less and do whatever it is that is more enjoyable to me during those periods. I don’t try to force myself to read more or at my normal “good” pace. I just let it be.
When it comes to individual books, if I feel myself not enjoying it. I just move on to a new book.
The only reason I have for reading is my own intrinsic interest and enjoyment. So if reading isn’t compelling on those terms, then I don’t see why I should feel any other obligation to continue.
5-Hour Energy drink
This tends to be my approach, and actually was my approach when I read Wheel of Time for the first time back in the beginning of the pandemic. I would finish a book and think “am I good to go on? Or do I need a quick pallet cleanser before the next volume?” A shorter novel stuck in between the books helped me not lose steam and maintain interest through to the end.