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Reading Slump

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Divia
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Reading Slump

Post by Divia » Mon March 9th, 2009, 9:10 pm

I can't seem to get out of it. The past 5 books I have read were horrible.
Independence of Miss Mary Bennett, Seance, Figures in Silk, Graceling, Sealed letter.

I dunno whats up. Even the YA books I have been reviewing have been blah.

Is anyone else having this issue or am I just the lucky one?
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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Mon March 9th, 2009, 9:46 pm

I've been hit or miss, either really good or really bad (like FIS). Today I'm not doing so good, I've picked up three before finding something so-so, and it's snowing :mad: :mad: :mad: so I'm kind of stuck at home...
Last edited by Misfit on Mon March 9th, 2009, 9:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Mon March 9th, 2009, 9:55 pm

Divia,
Maybe you could switch genres for a book or two? I had a similar case of "blahs" not too long ago. While the hf books I had read weren't horrible, I wasn't thrilled, either. So, I switched to a murder mystery with a dual time-line (Tess Gerritsen's The Bone Garden) and I loved it. Fast paced, creepy: fun. It wasn't historical fiction per se, but at least I read with enjoyment. When I went back to pure hf, the blahs dissipated.

Sometimes you just need to whet your palatte with something else.
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Divia
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Post by Divia » Mon March 9th, 2009, 10:38 pm

hmmm. Maybe. But all I read is historical fiction n Ya stuff. Though maybe a good NF on the Victorian Era would suit.

Thanks for the suggestion :)
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pat
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Post by pat » Tue March 10th, 2009, 2:12 am

[quote=""Divia""]hmmm. Maybe. But all I read is historical fiction n Ya stuff. Though maybe a good NF on the Victorian Era would suit.

Thanks for the suggestion :) [/quote]
Try something new, you never know you may enjoy it! To stay in the same genre can get to be blagh!
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LoisAnn
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Post by LoisAnn » Tue March 10th, 2009, 3:05 am

In addition to the other great ideas, you might try a complete change of century, location or subject matter, etc. I keep my reading enthusiasm high by periodically moving from English HF in one century to another or from English to American HF. I'm currently reading a series of books set in America, 17th century. But earlier in the year I was stuck in 10th century England!

Also completely changing continents may help ... pick up a book about Russia or Egypt or India.

Too many undiscovered books out there to be in a slump ... good luck.
I've never known any trouble that an hour's reading didn't assuage. ~ Charles de Secondat

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Ariadne
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Post by Ariadne » Tue March 10th, 2009, 3:21 am

I have so many DNFs this year it's not even funny. Just gave up on another one tonight after 200pp - a historical thriller of all things (Robert Goddard's Sea Change). He's one of my favorite authors, but this one wasn't up to his standard at all. The Amazon UK reviews agree, alas.

I think at least part of my reading slump is me, though, rather than the books. There's way too much else going on for me to do or think about, and I keep losing track of the storylines. If I pick up another book soon, it may be part 2 of a fantasy series I began last month, rather than HF.

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Divia
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Post by Divia » Tue March 10th, 2009, 3:31 am

hmm I wonder if its a bad year for HF :confused:

I changed to NF and am reading Little Women Abroad and am enjoying it very much. :)
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Margaret
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Post by Margaret » Tue March 10th, 2009, 3:54 am

No, I don't think it's a bad year for historical fiction. You might be in one of those slumps where you've been gravitating to books that don't really fit your taste. You could try for a break in your luck by branching out and trying something different, the way others have suggested. Or you might try going back to the basics by rereading a cherished favorite or picking up a new book by a favorite author.

For some reason, I've been reading a lot of books lately whose opening chapters leave me less than enthusiastic, but which pick up steam as they go, so that I'm very glad to have read them by the time I finish. It's helpful to be writing reviews, because I can focus on what I don't and what I do like about them, which gives me something to think about as I work my way through the less exciting parts, and then gives me a sense of how everything ties together as I get to the parts that I do like, and makes me appreciate the less exciting parts more in retrospect.
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diamondlil
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Post by diamondlil » Tue March 10th, 2009, 4:09 am

I do find reading around genres helps to avoid reading slumps, or even reading a new setting, or time frame of the same genre.

Sometimes though, it just is the way it is and it doesn't matter what I am reading, if it is me and not the books!
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