✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.

This week’s topic is:

Reading Slump vs. Bookish Hangover

Suggested by: Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly
Prompts: What’s the difference between a reading slump and bookish hangover? How do you get out of both situations? What are examples of books that put you in a reading slump and books that caused you to have a book hangover? For more information, Book Riot has some really interesting articles about using neuroscience to understand reading slumps and the psychology of a book hangover.

What’s the difference between a reading slump and a bookish hangover?

This is a good question that I don’t think I’ve ever really sat down to think about or explain because I just know it when I feel it. Book Riot has those definitions for slumps and hangovers, but putting it in my own experience:

Book Hangovers: This is what happens when you finish reading a book and it has made such a profound impact on you that the thought of leaving the characters and world behind feels unbearable. It’s when you can’t even think about picking up another book because your brain hasn’t caught up with the fact that the story is over, so you just let yourself be caught up in the feelings of it because it all still feels entirely too real.

Reading Slumps: This is what happens when you find yourself unable to read a book, but not necessarily for the same reason as a hangover. I do think you can fall into a slump when you’ve read a shockingly terrible book that’s put you in a bad headspace or foul mood, but I also think that slumps can sometimes also follow hangovers if it lingers too long. However, I generally think of reading slumps as when you try to read a book (or several books) but no matter how many times you re-read that paragraph or those pages, you’re still unable to focus or it just doesn’t grab your attention. I think slumps can also be mood dependent, especially if you’re a massive mood reader like me.

How do you get out of both situations?

I think how I deal with both situations can be quite similar and it’s that I basically have to let the hangover and the slump run its course. Not very thrilling, I know. 🤭

While that’s the same for the most part, I do sometimes tackle both situations differently. For example, if I find myself with a book hangover, I try to find books that have similar themes, plots, or have been compared to what I just finished reading, especially in terms of vibes and characters. I usually only do this when enough time has passed that I don’t feel those characters in my bones anymore and won’t immediately break down into great gasping sobs when I think about them. 🤣

When I’m in a reading slump though, it often helps to not keep trying to read when it clearly isn’t working for me, because it can end up putting me in an even bigger slump! In this case, what often works for me is to leave the books (for now!) and focus on something else. Play video games or catch up on that extensive list of movies/shows. If the slump isn’t too severe, I would try reading in a different format (audio), length (novella/short), or style (graphic novel/mixed media).

What are examples of books that put you in a reading slump and books that caused you to have a book hangover?

I found it surprisingly hard to come up with a list of books that sent me into a slump—though I got there eventually—but I found it a bit easier to find books that gave me a hangover. No book hangover has ever been as severe as the one A Little Life gave me though, and I’m still not sure if I finished the book or it finished me! 😅

Gave me the Slumps

Gave me a Hangover

Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers who joined the discussion this week! 👇🏽

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Lost @ Chronicles of Tick Tock
Elle @ Unwrapping Words
Annemieke @ A Dance with Books
Leyre @ Read You Leyre
Rachael @ The Green Tea Librarian
Yolanda @ Past Midnight
Emma @ Pages of Emma
Raji @ Worlds Unlike Our Own
Abyssal Librarian
Bree @ Bibliophile Bree
Sammie @ The Bookwyrm’s Den
Kristina @ Books and Dachshunds

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If I’ve missed your post this week, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments, and I’ll add you to this week’s list of community posts ASAP!

Have you ever went into a reading slump or gotten a book hangover? What books put in you in a slump or gave you a hangover?

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