How I read when I don't feel like reading

my go-to routines for staying on top of my TBR when my brain feels broken

Programming note: It’s time for spring break in our town, and we’re spending much-needed time with family. I’m leaving my laptop behind to fully soak in the relaxation and refresh my creativity, so I’ll be back in your inboxes on March 20th with fresh book reviews and a new printable.

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I’ve mentioned how rough February has been in our house—with illness, intermittent childcare, and general malaise. While I have hope for a brighter spring, the fog hasn’t quite lifted, and I’m struggling to sit down and read a book. I wish I was a reader who threw herself into books at the first sign of stress, but I’m not. My brain resists reading when I’m not feeling well, and over time I’ve learned to work with this tendency rather than fight against it.

If you’re stuck in sickness, life’s stresses, or the news cycle, and you’re having trouble picking up a book, I see you. Today I’m sharing how I read when my brain doesn’t want to cooperate. These tricks are essential for me as a “professional reader” who needs to stay on top of her TBR for various deadlines, but in general, I think taking a real break from reading is an amazing way to cope with a slump. You don’t need to read every single day, or every single week, to be a reader.

Audiobooks

When I feel like my eyes can’t focus on a single page, I simply take pages out of the equation. Audiobooks have saved my reading life in many phases, like when my husband was deployed during the onset of the pandemic in 2020, when I was pregnant and couldn’t think about anything but my baby in 2021, and when I was sleep-deprived and zombie-fied for over a year after Theo arrived.

A couple of weeks ago, I needed to read Brideshead Revisited to prep for a

Novel Pairings

recording, but I knew I wouldn’t absorb any words on the page. I decided to listen to the audiobook and move forward with a new plan. While I couldn’t annotate and analyze in the exact same way I normally do, I was way less stressed about absorbing Evelyn Waugh’s work, and I was able to fit in my reading time over the course of a few days. Forcing myself to read the physical book would have taken ages, and I would have been frustrated with myself.

I’m eager to read a handful of literary fiction titles this spring, mainly James by Percival Everett. Instead of pressuring myself to get back into a normal reading routine, I downloaded the audiobook and plan to tackle my lit fic TBR entirely on audio until I feel ready to switch back to more paper.

Rereading

I didn’t consider myself a re-reader until recently, but with stress comes sleeplessness, and etc. etc. (you know the cycle). To help me fall asleep at night, I turn to comforting rereads of my favorite romance novels—primarily on audio. Over the last month, I re-listened to Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller, Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas, and Waiting for a Scot Like You by Eva Leigh. I just downloaded When a Scot Ties the Knot, which is my ultimate cozy reread and favorite Tessa Dare novel. I don’t always log these nighttime reads because the goal is to fall asleep while listening. They’re more gentle ambience than true reading experience, but I’m still soaking in good storytelling.

Prioritize Work Reading & Forget the Rest

When I was listening to Brideshead Revisited a few weeks ago, it was my only reading priority. I couldn’t listen to any other audiobooks during the day and even resisted turning on my comfort audiobooks at night so my brain could stay focused on the plot, characters, and themes of just one book. I’m normally a five-books-going-at-a-time kind of gal, but I’ve learned to cut back in order to fulfill my work obligations with enthusiasm and energy.

When you’re in a stressful season, it often seems like you will always feel this way, but that’s not true. It will pass. I have to remind myself of this almost daily. When I’m longing for my “just for fun reading” or a return to normalcy, I repeat over and over: this is just a phase. I can read my one book for work this week, and next week I might feel different.

Watch More TV

In my sparse free time, I’m usually reading, so when I’m rarely reading, I make more room for another pastime I adore: television. Instead of reading during Theo’s nap, I turn on a show and relax on the couch. Instead of reading on my Kindle before bed, I watch Abbott Elementary with my husband. Instead of worrying about when I will get back to reading—which is a legit concern for someone whose job depends on it!—I soak in pop culture and stories in a different way. I make new connections to bring into my work, I let my brain rest, and I connect with a past self who watched TV every single night (what was that like???).

Sleep

Over the last several weeks, I’ve chosen sleep over reading almost every single time, and I have no regrets. Sleep when your body and your brain tell you to sleep, friends. You will be a better reader, leader, friend, family member, and human for it.

Is anyone else struggling to read right now, or is it just me? Which spring books have you excited to keep the pages turning?