Sunday, April 24, 2016

Reading slumps: The bane of a reader's life





Who doesn't hate a good reading slump?
Reading slumps are the worst thing ever for a reader. Every reader has a few things they don't like. For me it's: Insta-love and love triangles, but reading slumps definitely take number 1.
The inability to read creates a hole in your heart that can lead you to depression and frustration.
"Why can't I read?" You ask yourselves, "I LOVE reading." And: "What is wrong with me? Will this ever pass? What if it'll go on like this forever?"
I'm here to reassure you: You're not alone in this. Every reader around the globe had, have or will have reading slumps. It's a global pandemic. Good news are: even though there is no known cure and all the tips and suggestions on how to deal with it won't work on everyone, it doesn't stay forever. It will pass.
If you're in a reading slump you probably have forgotten what is reading and are unsure how you'll ever go back to it. Reading is part of who you are. It can be lost but never eradicated. And you will find it again.
I am, in fact, in a reading slump myself. Worst. Thing. Ever. It feels horrible.
My symptoms include:
* The mere thought of picking up a book feels like picking up a 100 Kilo weight.
* Disinterest in book reviews and book hauls.
* Much less excitement over new releases.
* The inability to merge myself into the world of a book. 
Basically? It's hellish.
Thing is, in all my reading life, I've never had a reading slump until now. Yep, I know, it's a shocker. I didn't even realized what I was in until a friend of mine from Goodreads pointed it out.
2016 was, so far, not very kind to me on the reading front. My first reading slump ever was in the beginning of the year. I noticed it but it wore off pretty quickly. Now though... now I'm in a very harsh reading slump. As in, it refuses to leave me alone.
Apparently, It's a mistake to think you're immune. Even if you never had a reading slump in your reading life, it can still hit you whenever and wherever, with not as much of a warning.
Some things, like: Reading a book in a different genre from what you're used to, or doing other things like watching TV, movies, while waiting for the reading slump to pass - can help you shake it away.
But there is no known cure, no exact reason for why it happens and not even a Wikipedia page about it.
Which means It's up to us, readers of the world, to unite and fight our greatest enemy: the reading slump. 

"There are only twenty-six letters in the English alphabet. You would think there would only be so much you could do with twenty-six letters. You would think there were only so many ways those letters could make you feel when mixed up and shoved together to make words."
          -- Colleen Hoover, Maybe Someday.  

My next post will be coming up soon.
In the meantime, tell me all about your reading slumps and what your advice for dealing with it is.
Me? My next attempt of breaking through it will be to read a most anticipated new release - The Rose & The Dagger. 


See you in my next post! (:  



Friday, April 1, 2016

Most anticipated books of April 2016


Hi!
And welcome to my second most anticipated books post.
I have three books to mention in this post today...
Hope you enjoy!







The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead
coming out April 5, 2016.

The cover is... weird, isn't it? Sorry, but it doesn't even look like a real human on the cover.
Well luckily I'm not judging this book by it's cover but by it's author - Richelle Mead.
The vampire academy is one of my all times favorite book series. I mentioned it to more details in my 'books I want to re-read' post.
And I also enjoyed bloodlines (the spin-off to the vampire academy. I haven't finished all the books yet. Still need to read the last two).
So far I haven't read anything else by Richelle that didn't belong to the vampire academy universe. I know she has other books but none of them really compelled to me. So when I heard about the glittering court, I knew I wanted to read it.
I don't have high expectations and I'm actually kind of nervous to pick up this one up. It has nothing to do with the vampires academy universe. From the blurb (and the cover) I probably wouldn't have picked up this book if it' wasn't Richelle Mead who wrote it. so I'm giving it the try it deserves.  



                          Tell The Wind And The Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan
                                              coming out April 5, 2016.


This is more like... a book I'm intrigued with rather than a most anticipated. I've only read one book by Sarah Rees Brennan - The Demon's Lexicon. It was a long time ago but I remember enjoying it immensely.
Tell The Wind And The Fire is a YA fantasy-romance novel and a retelling of A Tale Of Two Cities.
Sounds interesting + I want to read something else by Sarah Rees Brennan.
It's coming out on the same day as the glittering court. My first priority is the glittering court and then I'll give this one a try.



                                  The Rose And The Dagger by Renne Ahdieh
                                              Coming out April 26, 2016.


Here it is, people!
The final book in the duology the caught me by surprise and captured my heart.
A retelling of One Thousand And One Night, this duology tells the tale of Shazi, a girl who sacrificed herself to the evil king to take her revenge, and Khalid, the king, who finds himself captivated not only by Shazi's stories but by the bravery and mystery of Shazi herself.
What caught me first was the writing. It captivated me and immersed me right into the story.
Next was Shazi. Brave and strong Shazi. She is a protagonist, a hero, I admired in an instant.
Then there was Khalid, the king. Was he evil? Was he good? What is he hiding?
This book was outstanding. I can't wait to get my hands on the rose and the dagger.
The rose and the dagger was actually supposed to come out in the beginning of May but it was moved to April. It's so rare for a book's publication date to be pushed earlier. I was so happy when I heard about it.
The rose and the dagger... here I come. 

Like in March, I don't have a lot of anticipated books this month. But just you wait for
May - It's going to be a blast.
I'd love to hear what's your most anticipated books of April.  

About my next post: at the moment I'm working on a 'shows I'm following' and 'favourite anime' post on my other blog Light&Dark. My next post on Magiverse is going to be a book review (unless I'll have an idea for another post before that).
See you on my next post! 

If your eyes weren't open, you wouldn't know the difference between dreaming and waking.  
-- Vampire Academy, Blood Promise.