I read no books in the first fortnight of April. An unusual state of affairs for me, because even when I edit all day, I’ll usually still reach for BorrowBox or my Kindle after tea. And I was actually on leave for two weeks, so it should have been easier than normal.
So why didn’t I? I’m not sure I can pinpoint a specific reason, and even though tiredness was a factor, I think it was more a case of not being able to turn off the analytical side of my brain, which wanted to consider ALL the prose — from the overall structure to the rhythm of specific sentences. I couldn’t see the wood for the trees.
So in that fortnight, alongside family time and getting jobs done around the house and garden (so, so many fences to paint!), I consumed stories in other ways. Which is a fancy way of saying that I listened to a lot of radio and watched a lot of telly. The Desert Island Discs archive played in my ears while I had my paintbrush in hand, or American chewing-gum-for-the-brain entertained me while I slobbed on the sofa — heartwarming reality shows like Love Across the Spectrum and Queer Eye, and small-town dramas like Virgin River and Everwood, both of which scratch a soap opera itch.
But once my son headed back to school after the Easter break, I wanted to get back into my reading. So there was only one thing for it: what the bookfluencers these days are calling ‘immersive reading.’ It’s not something new. I’m sure you did it as a child. Your parent set the cassette tape running and you grasped your little Thomas the Tank Engine book in your hand, following along while it was read to you, turning the page at each engine toot.
I’m sad to say that none of the books pictured (Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, Roddy Doyle; My Friends, Fredrik Backman; Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid) employed a steam engine sound effect to indicate when a page should be turned, but I followed along nevertheless, enjoying the story with my eyes and my ears. The best thing about this method is the momentum it gives you, and you soon find yourself past those initial expository chapters where you’re wondering who is who and what the heck is going on, and soon you’re right where you want to be: in the thick of the story.
So, if you ever find yourself in a similar position where you’ve had a bit of time off reading and you want to get back into the flow, try immersive reading. Have the story in your hand and in your ears. And since you can download the audiobooks from your local library for free, it’s not going to cost you any more than it would have if you’d opted for analogue alone.
And before I finish with a ‘pip pip,’, ‘chuff-chuff’ or ‘toot,’ I’d love to ask you: what causes your reading slumps — and how do you get out of them?
CherryEdits 