✨ 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:
Literary Palette Cleanser
Prompts: Do you ever feel like you need a reading reset? Maybe you’ve been reading dense literary fiction, or in a reading slump. Are there certain books you read to help reset? Do you ever take a break from reading? Do you find yourself needing those literary palate cleansers at certain times of year?
Reading Resets
I think a reading reset is needed when you’re on the verge of a reading slump or as mentioned in the discussion two weeks ago, when you can’t focus on your book(s). Lately, I’ve been feeling like I need resets more than ever because of all the chaos in the world that’s taking up space in my mind. Of course, it’s not just this year and I usually take breaks from reading at least 1-2 times a year. This usually happens when I get caught up in a new game and not even the prospect of picking up a new book can keep me away from it! 😂 Other times though, I’m just craving something lighter and easier to read when work stress becomes too much or when I’m tired of making slow progress with chonkier reads, lol. It’s nice to break up the monotony!
I think these moments tend to hit me more around mid-year and towards the end of the year, as I try to pack-in all the reads I wanted to pick up in the year or I’m trying to complete all my reading challenges before the year ends.
Reset Recommendations
As I mentioned, when I feel the need to change it up and take a reset, I look for lighter, maybe fluffier, and easier to digest reads. This means I usually go for novellas, short stories, or graphic novels/comics. Here are some books that I would highly recommend trying:
Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers who joined the discussion this week! 👇🏽
Annemieke @ A Dance with Books
Shoto @ Magic & Maybes
Lin @ Lin’s Perpsective
Elle @ Unwrapping Words
Emma @ Pages of Emma
Lost @ The Chronicles of Tick Tock
Raji @ Worlds Unlike Our Own
Yolanda @ Past Midnight
Leyre @ Read You Leyre
Shannon @ Shadow Media Reads
Laurie @ Laurie is Reading
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!
Do you ever need a reading reset? Do you need it during a specific time of year? What books would you recommend for a reset? Have you read any of my recommendations?
dinipandareads 
I probably should use manga’s and graphic novels to reset myself sometimes, they are so easy to read and often don’t require TOO much brain power 😂
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They’re really great. What I love about them is the fact that they don’t require too much brain power. It helps me a lot when I’m feeling in a weird state! 🤭
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Don’t you switch up genres? The reading slump towards the end of the year is relatable! I often take uunintentional breaks, mostly when I’m off work LOL!
My post: https://laurieisreading.com/2025/05/23/lets-talk-bookish-literary-palate-cleansers/
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Yeah, I do genre switches but not always. Sometimes it’s just a sub-genre I go to (like historical romance instead of contemporary or even just YA fantasy instead of Adult fantasy and vice versa).
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I definitely need them a lot more lately. I think it has to do with the dumpster fire of a country I live in. I’m also so busy with the kids. I’ve been in a romance mood lately to help me get out of the slumpy feels. I hope it helps bc I have a lot of arcs. lol
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Yeah, the state of the world has not been conducive to good mental health spaces. It’s also the leading factor as to why my reading this year has been pretty slow, lol. My mind just can’t focus for all the terrible things going on! 🫣 Romances are great for helping to shake off the slumpy feels! Lol, I hope the arcs can help you get out of that weird slumpy space too though!
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Yeah, I think a big part of it is that my arcs are all fantasy or dystopian feels. It feels too daunting with the scary crap going on right now!! I totally get not being in the mindset. The world is crazyyy
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I didn’t thought to include shorter books but they definitely help as well! Great post as always Dini
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Hehe, thanks, Leyre! Short books are always a win for me 💜
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Those recommendations have sparked my interest!! I love Legends and Lattes, so absolutely trusting your taste with the rest 😂 Loved the post! 💚
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Oh, no pressure 😅 Haha, if you do end up giving any of these recs a try, I do hope you enjoy them 🙂 Happy reading!
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Ooh now you’ve said it, I’ve definitely abandoned books for video games before lol! I don’t really see it is a reading break though for some reason.
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I think I see it as a break because usually, I’m spending so many hours gaming that there are no hours left for reading, so I’m not really picking up anything when I’m obsessed with a game, hehe 🤭
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Ah I feel you! For my part, I feel the need to get back to my roots and read in french as it’s so much easier on my brain and im reading much faster!
I also feel compelled to non-fiction, especially true crime. A collection of few stories in one book.
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I think that’s definitely a perk of being a bilingual reader! That’s awesome. I find that Indonesian literature is very serious and the topics are very heavy, so even if I read Indonesian books (in the language), I don’t think they’d be palette cleansers, hehe. True Crime is great—I love it! And although I’m not much of a short story collection reader, I do think they could make a great palette cleanser 🙂
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Im not one for short stories either- but non fiction ones are the exeptions!
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Choosing novellas/ graphic novels as a palette cleanser is a universal experience I guess 😂
Besides those, I’ve noticed I tend to pick up romantasy when I need a break. Basically, a soap opera that hopefully has dragons in it and a tall, dark and handsome male interest 😂😂
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I was surprised that I didn’t see many people mention them in this week’s LTB but cosy books—whether fantasy, romance, or crime—was a big hit! I can’t say I disagree either, hehe. 🤭 And yes, romantasy is a great palette cleanser choice! It’s everything you mention and the fact that it’s set in another world so you can have that escapism element that makes it so great! Gotta love it 🙂
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I can relate to wanting something lighter or happy when I am in a mood or things are too much. I also sometimes need to do that after too many sad or heavy books. They may be books I awarded 5 stars to, but my heart needs to heal with something fluffy.
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Yeah, it’s defo needed after a series of particularly sad or serious books! Lighter/happier reads for the win!
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[…] Let’s Talk Bookish: Literary Palette Cleanser […]
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Because I read a lot of crime thrillers and drama, I use cozy mysteries and light romance as my palate cleansers. I also like to throw in MG and even picture books to keep my mind refreshed. I am lucky as I do read a lot of different genres. I describe my reading style as eclectic. Taking breaks works for a lot of people, which is sometimes necessary.
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Ah Mooncakes and Tea Dragon Festival are perfect palette cleansers.
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