Even though I had been reading many novels since I was little, borrowing books from the library and reading multiple books every year, there was a time when reading just disappeared from my life.
I’m not 100% sure when it started, but I think it was around Grade 12 (2018) when I didn’t have time for reading anymore because I would go out with friends, worry about grades being high enough, university applications, etc. During this time I dropped reading, and when university started I didn’t have the luxury to pick up a book and read leisurely. Whenever I would even entertain the thought of picking up a book for fun, I would always chastise myself by saying “Why would you put in time into something that won’t bring up your grades? Put that limited attention span and time into school work and academic readings.” I forgot why I even enjoyed books and didn’t read anything other than textbooks and academic articles. I was in what people call a “reading slump” for years.
It wasn’t until my best friend of many years suggested I read A Court of Thornes and Roses by Sarah J Maas, that I was finally able to get myself out of this reading slump. Many of you have already heard of this author or this series, but for those who don’t, it is a fantasy romance fiction.
“When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50659467-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses
At least, he’s not a beast all the time.
As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.
From bestselling author Sarah J. Maas comes a seductive, breathtaking book that blends romance, adventure, and faerie lore into an unforgettable read.”
After reading the entire series within just a month, I realized how much I missed reading. Reading allowed me to travel so many different worlds and fall in love with so many different characters. I missed the feeling of being able to get lost and spend hours going through a variety of emotions. I missed being able to rant with my friend about everything happening in the book. I missed that feeling of comfort books had always given me since I was younger, creating a world just for me. So I am glad that I decided to pick up that book and read it, and I am certain my inner child is too.
So if you are feeling that reading slump and don’t know where to start, just pick up a book and start reading. And before you go and say “I don’t have time to read”, you do, you do have time but those thoughts of “doing something more productive” get in the way, so pick up a book that isn’t academic, or even an old series you loved as a kid and start now… You deserve to spend time on things you enjoy, without having to worry about their ‘usefulness’.
Join many readers and I in this journey together…