If you’re someone who's an avid reader but is struggling with
reader’s block, this is for you. And if you’re someone who is not a reader but wants to kick start your reading
journey, you’ve come to the right place as well! Let me just begin by saying,
I’ve been there, and I know how annoying readers' blocks can be. You try things
over and over, but nothing seems to work out. Let me tell you, the best way to
deal with this is to read
through it like a
surfer making his way through the waves no matter how high they rise.
What Causes Reader’s Block and How Can Reading Help You Get
through It?
As someone who is a reader’s block expert by now, I’ve noticed a pattern in almost all of them. Every time I come across a genre that sparks joy in my soul and makes the flowers look more beautiful than ever before, I end up obsessing over it (duh!). That is, to the point that I’ve read almost every other book falling under that particular genre, and then poof. Love has vanished from our relationship, and I find myself lost without any sense of what to do next. To put it less metaphorically, I’ve met a reader’s block (because it’s impossible to literally fall out of love with a book).
Keeping this pattern in mind, I went to my reading lab and after tirelessly working for hours on end, thriving on coffee and coffee only, I finally came across the solution. If you read a book from a genre that is 360 degrees opposite to the last book you read, you’re likely to break the pattern and shift the gears backward. E.g., if I was reading murder mysteries when I got a reader’s block, to get through it, I might try giving romantic comedies a read.
This brings us to our next point; I’ve compiled a list of books
belonging to different genres just for you (wink wink!). They helped me move
past the longest and the most stubborn reader’s block I’ve had in my life and
hopefully will bring the same amount of bliss to you.
P.S. These are some incredible reads and when I say incredible,
I mean, ‘jaw-dropping
mind popping leaving me speechless with their plot twists’ sort of incredible.
On that note, let’s get right into them!
The Summer of Impossible Things by Rowan Coleman
Hands down, I think this is the most underrated book (which deserves twice as much hype) that I’ve come across. I mean, it contains everything you could ask for in a book, perfect romance, unexpected plot, relatable and equally flawed characters as well as the setting.
Don’t even get me started on the setting! It was the absolute reflection of perfect, I could visualize exactly what was happening in the book to the point that I no longer felt like a part of this mundane boring world. The author has made excellent use of vocabulary, tone, semantics, and everything you can think of from the guides of critical analysis.
It follows the story of a young girl who is going through a
rough patch in her life led by her mother’s death. She’s yet not adjusted to
the absence of her mother’s undeniable existence wherever she goes when she
begins to realize that she might have the opportunity to break the laws of
science, go back in time, and save her mother. I think what made me connect with
the protagonist was the way that she dealt with loss and how she coped with it
despite everything that came her way. It made me feel a sense of hope for the
future that stands like a beast in front of me.
Needless to say, I couldn’t put the book down until I was almost
done with it and fell asleep reading. I’m sure the perfect aura of mystery and
cliffhangers the book creates from the first chapter all the way to the last is more than enough to get you through your reader’s block.
However, if it still doesn’t go away, fret not! We have some
life-changing books in the lineup.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451 is based in a future dystopian world where reading books is a crime, books found anywhere are to be burned immediately by order of the law. It’s written from the perspective of a fireman who burns books every other day without questioning it.
This is easily one of the most eye-opening books I’ve read
because of how realistic the futuristic society seems in today’s time. It puts
forward our obsession with conformity as a society in words that are
beautifully wrapped by fiction. Fahrenheit 451 is a progressive book that I’m
sure you’ll enjoy, even more so if you are fond of books yourself. And the
quotes are a cherry on top!
P.S. If you find it to be monotonous or boring during the first
two chapters or so, don’t give up on it just then, I promise you it’s worth the
read.
Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor E. Frankl
Are you fond of historic events? The human mind and its complex workings? The contrasting ways people deal with grief? If yes, this book was practically written just for you. It’ll fascinate you with every turn of a page.
The first time I read this book I was 14 and it seemed like
complete gibberish to me but when I read it the second time, I was much older
and it touched a part so soft in my heart that I cried. Imagine a book making a
19-year-old cry, it’s really got to have something that twists your perspective
about life, right? Well, it does.
Man’s search for meaning is based on the author's experience of
being in a Nazi concentration camp and what he learned from his time there. He
discusses how finding a purpose in our suffering, no matter how
earth-shattering it is to us, can help us gain the strength to cope with it.
Later on, logotherapy was discovered based on the core concepts
that this book holds within (it’s pretty damn legitimate!).
A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman
I don’t know how to talk about this book without getting all teary-eyed. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s not tragic, for the most part, it will fill you up with life as nothing else will. When I began reading this book, I was only planning to read a chapter or two and then get back to studying (we all know that never works) but it had me hooked throughout. I couldn’t put it down the entire evening and when I did it was 10 pm, so you can judge how engrossing it is.
At the same time, if you’re looking for a slow read with no
heavy fiction or unfathomable details, I would suggest you pick this up. You
might need some hard-core self-control, but this is as much of a light read
as one could ask for.
As the name suggests, the book follows the story of that one old
man we’ve all known in our life; the bitter old man who never smiles hates
teenagers, and likes the grass in his lawn perfectly mowed. But what it is that
made the man that bitter? Surely, he wouldn’t always have been like
this, right? We get to tap into Ove’s life and get to know the whys when a
family moves into the house next to him.
Not only will this book be a reason why you get rid of your
reader’s block but will teach you plenty as well. As a matter of fact, you
should add it to your TBR even if you aren’t suffering from the inability to
read. I promise you won’t regret it.
This article is written by Asma Irfan, one of the contributors
at the School of Literature.
