In Praise of the Slump-Buster
Look, we love books, but even we have reading slumps–here's what they look like, and how we get ourselves out of them.
We're big time readers here at Darker Times. But that doesn’t mean we’re always reading, or that reading always feels easy to us. Recently, we’ve been talking about reading slumps personally and as a team.
For other horror readers out there, this is a look at how we each get out of reading slumps with book recs, tactics to get you out of reading slump, and a good time talking about how awesome books are.
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Emily: When I hit a reading slump, I hit it hard. It’s peaks and valleys for me—I might burn through six or eight books in a month and then not pick up anything new for six weeks. At this point in my life, I’ve mostly learned not to look at these lapses as some kind of referendum on my own personality/worth/strength of character … mostly.
But what’s more interesting to me is how we get ourselves back out of them. I started thinking about this while reading Jessica’s piece on how the Uketsu books are great beach reads. I suspect there’s significant overlap between beach reads and slump busters, but that’s probably highly individual. How do you two experience reading slumps? Is it that you’re not reading at all, or that what you’re reading isn’t holding your attention or scratching that itch?
Aigner: I want to start by admitting something: I don’t have reading slumps. I am always reading something even if it's just a couple pages from a book when life is too busy to read. When I finished up with my MFA program, I did give myself a two or so month break from writing or reading to a schedule or regiment. And I read 14 books during those two “off” months.
If I were to define a reading slump for myself, I would categorize it as a time when the idea of reading does nothing for me, and the idea of picking up a book or listening to one sounds like an absolute slog or bore. A question for y'all who do experience reading slumps, what other ways do y'all consume story during the lull (games, movies, series, plays, etc.)?
Anna: Much like Emily, I hit a reading slump HARD. Or at least, it sincerely feels that way, and I feel a lot of discomfort over it. I’m the kind of person who is always reading something—I fall asleep with my Kindle in my hand on the reg. So not feeling excited about reading, well, that’s just a terrible blow to my overall disposition.
I should also probably define what a reading slump looks like to me. On average, I feel like I’m in a solid reading groove when I finish any book in two to three days. I’m a pretty fast reader, and when I’m into something, I am into it. No TV, no movies, no outside activities will yank me from that fictional world. But, a slump is when a book just isn’t hitting in that way either in subject matter, writing style, or theme. I’ll pay a little more attention to the dinosaur documentary my husband is watching or find myself reciting another Seinfeld rerun (all to answer Aigner’s question, plus I would LOVE to play through some of my favorite old Pokemon games, but that’s a whole other rabbit hole to fall down). These distractions are hardly ever the author’s fault—just the way things go when reading so much, so often. Over the last three years, I’ve averaged over 100 books read for the year. It’s a fast paced literary world we’re living in; no time for slumps!
But it happens! Especially given I read on a schedule for the podcast, mostly advanced copies with approaching pub days. I sincerely want nothing more than to stay on schedule (actually, ahead of schedule), but sometimes, life just happens. What I’m interested in reading may be Interview with the Vampire or rereading a comfort read or doing a deep dive into something new, like horror graphic novels.
And honestly, the way to pull myself out of a slump sometimes is indulgence. To pick up the thing I’m craving, enjoy it, and then revisit what I left. Or, sometimes it’s trying something new in a genre I don’t normally read. And novellas, oh, novellas! Such a slump buster!
But, Emily, what about you? What do your slumps look like, where else do you find story, and how do you handle a slump?
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Emily: First of all, Aigner, I only hate you a little for not having reading slumps. Only a little!
A slump, for me, usually looks a lot like executive function burnout. I think it comes partially from having to make too many decisions and expend too much energy, and then when I get to what should be leisure time (even if it’s work-related leisure!), my brain just goes “ugh, I can’t.” And what that looks like in practice is an inability to make myself pick up a book, whether it’s a new one or even one I’ve already started and am enjoying. Instead, I spend that time doomscrolling or playing solitaire on my phone, which makes me feel even worse—and the cycle goes on. In those phases, I do get my fair share of fiction—it just usually takes place on film or TV.
What usually gets me out of it is either the arrival of a new book I’m especially excited about (it has to be, like, a top tier anticipated title from a must-buy author) or having to read something for a review—an external deadline is always a great motivator for me. Aside from that, it’s a matter of mustering up the energy to trick my own brain into reading again. (I love having ADHD and having to manage the goo inside my skull like it’s an unruly toddler! I love it! It’s great!)
So, Aigner, what reenergizes you when it comes to reading?
Aigner: After reading through what y’all have said about your slumps, I totally hope I never have one. When I was in my early twenties, though, before I really set out to be a writer, I did go through reading slumps or lulls when the idea of reading a book wasn’t as exciting as literally everything else in my life. The way I got out of that was by remembering how much I love story and reading, and how detrimental I feel like reading is to my growth as a person and a writer. Since then, I think I have steadily been reading without falling into slumps for over a decade now.
I feel like a part of why I don’t feel like I fall into reading slumps has a lot to do with the fact that I feel like I can’t escape story or reading or not be excited by it. I am that person who will read the labels on bottles, who gets way too into billboards or commercials or even random signage outside of churches.
What keeps me energized or going and out of a slump is envisioning that moment when everything absolutely fades away and it’s just me, a book, and maybe some music or background noise on. Oh! And a hot cup of tea.
Another energizer are reading groups and clubs. I just joined my local silent reading club that meets two times a month to quietly read together in pretty large groups. Also having people to talk to about what you’re reading or just about reading is such a nice experience.
Since y’all are both professional readers, do slumps ever make you worry that you’ll never read again or that you’ve lost your love of reading? I think that would be sorta kinda my fear if I had this happen to me.
Anna: In terms of the slump to end all slumps, I used to kind of panic about it, especially in the early days of podcasting. It’s hard to turn a hobby into something even remotely close to a job, but the good news is that I have always come out of these slumps. And even before I knew that, I knew I have always been a reader. There have been peaks and valleys of my reading activity over my life, but pretty consistently, books have always been there for me.
I think a really reassuring thing for me to remember now is that great stories come in all shapes and sizes. When I feel not as optimistic regarding the workload for the podcast, I remember there are books outside of advanced copies. The perfect example of this is the recent release of Leigh Bardugo’s Dead Beat, the conclusion of her Ninth House Trilogy. I’ve been waiting THREE YEARS for this book! And I cannot wait to get lost in those pages, no pressure of a schedule to be found!
Leigh Bardugo
Plus, like Emily, I take a lot of comfort in picking up stories from voices I know and love. There’s something that feels like a homecoming when those stories find their way to me, and I am so thankful for that treasured time.
Emily, what about you? Do you think there’s a great big slump coming for us?
Emily: It doesn’t hit me like that every time, but I’ve definitely had those “oh god, what if I can never get back to reading?” panics a few times. The big one was in the first half of 2020 (gee, I wonder why?), but what got me out of that was actually getting my hands on a way-early digital review copy of Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop. Romance has proven to be a reliable slump-killer for me because it’s like a pure dopamine injection (I’ll also read a romance novel as a palate cleanser after a particularly brutal or disturbing horror novel.) As it turns out, if I can manage to get my brain invested in something that’s designed to make me feel good, it does in fact make me feel good! News at 11! Aside from McQuiston, I’ve had reliably good experiences with Alisha Rai, Olivia Waite, Alyssa Cole, Kit Rocha, and Sarah MacLean.
Casey McQuiston
Sometimes I’ll also pick up a nonfiction book, usually a history of some kind of natural disaster or manmade calamity (there’s a reason I picked Svetlana Alexievich’s Voices from Chernobyl when we did our “get to know me in three books” introductions around the launch of the site). I think the answer can be as simple as reading something outside your usual scope or genre, but that may be the ADHD talking again. What about you two? What specific books or authors would you recommend for slump-breaking?
Aigner: During my one-time slump, I remember I got back into reading by doing what Anna does, essentially, and remembering that I am a reader. I started getting back into reading then by starting with favorites from my youth like Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang by Joyce Carol Oates, Like the Red Panda by Andrea Seigel, The Neverending Story by Michael Ende, and books like that. Around that time I was trying to pull myself back into reading, I worked at Goodwill in the book department, so I started just buying a lot of random discount books that seemed interesting. Allowing myself that freedom to just follow whatever interest grabbed me from the piles and piles of hundreds of books that came in was really freeing.
For people out there experiencing a reading slump—and this is coming from someone who doesn’t often experience them—I would recommend returning to books from when you were younger that you loved. Read them with new eyes or the ability to get whisked away by story like you used to as a child. I’d also suggest reading outside book genres you typically read and try to quiet that, maybe, gatekeeping voice that says you must read XYZ type of book.
Authorwise? I don’t think I have a particular author that would be a really good slumpbuster, though I know old Stephen King books, for me, tend to ignite a fire.
Anna: I think the advice to return to books you have loved previously is huge. That’s exactly how I got out of a really big slump at the beginning of 2025. I reread Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison and picked up Anna Meyer’s Saint Catherine, a graphic novel. Both really met me where I was at and reminded me why I love to read so much, giving me the motivation to reach for new titles. What’s exciting is that any new book can be the next comfort read!
I believe everyone’s mileage will vary on returning to certain authors in this type of scenario. What I think is important is discerning what is most important to you as a reader and knowing how to find the way home again. For me, it’s anything by Liz Kerin, CJ Leede, Gemma Amor, Rebekah Faubion, Nat Cassidy, Madison Tyler Nelson, Jennifer Thorne, Tanya Pell, Chris Panatier, and Gwendolyn Kiste. Those are the voices that feel realest to me, like sitting down with an old friend.
I’ll also advocate for novellas/shorter novels here again! Some of my best slump busters have been Muñeca by Cynthia Gomez, Crossroads by Laurel Hightower, Spread Me by Sarah Gailey, and Guillotine by Delilah Dawson.
Aigner: This was so fun to talk about and see how you are each hit with a slump and your methods to beat it. I'm curious what y'all are reading now and excited about reading over the next month?
For me, I'm currently reading The Immaculate Void by Brian Hodge for my local horror book club, and I'm excited to read next month's Darker Times book club pick, [redacted], because I haven't read it before.
Anna: Totally agreed! It’s always helpful to chat about these things since they can feel a little solitary. Currently, I’m reading Dead Beat by Leigh Bardugo and revisiting Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones for book club! I’ve got some really exciting ARCs on the horizon like The Need by Megan Mostyn-Brown, Your Beloved Remains by Quinn Connor, and Monstrous Bitch: A History of Terrifying Women by Eleanor Johnson! Also really excited to revisit [redacted book club pick], I adore that book.
What about you, Emily?
Emily: I’m also excited about rereading [redacted book club pick], which so impressed me the first time around—it’s rare for a debut novel to be that confident and polished. In terms of new-to-me books, I’m looking forward to Donyae Coles’ The Sunken, the Adored, and I’m hoping to carve out some time this fall for China Miéville’s newest, the 1200 page epic The Rouse. Now to go forth and bust some slumps!
Do you experience reading slumps like Emily or Anna, or do you fall into the same camp as Aigner? What are some of your go-to slump busters? We’d love to know how you stay reading.
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