Reading used to be your happy place. Then something happened. Maybe you went to college and had to slog through so many textbooks that reading in your free time felt like a chore. Maybe you had a baby and suddenly free time was nonexistent. Or you started a new job that sucked all your energy until it became a feat of strength to crack open your eyelids in the morning, much less crack open a novel.
When you came out on the other side of the big life change that stopped you from reading, your attention span had shrunk to “the attention span of a fruit fly” as one person experiencing this conundrum mentioned recently. Or you stopped reading as a teen and it feels silly to go back to YA, so you’re left wandering the aisles of the bookstore with no idea where to begin.
Many people have told me they’re going through some version of this story lately, and it reflects my journey as a reader, too.
From early childhood through high school, I was a voracious bookworm. But then college hit, and my novel reading slumped off as textbooks and academic papers filled my reading time. Then I got a new job that left me too exhausted to read at night, and soon after that I had my first baby and the very concept of personal time disappeared from my life for the next 5+ years.
Before I knew it, this former bookworm had passed a decade without reading a single novel!
When I came out of the fog of parenting toddlers, I was ready to do something for myself again. I turned to my family for book recs. I tried my brother’s favourite series, The Wheel of Time, and lost interest when, after two prologues and counting, the main story hadn’t even begun. Then I tried my mom’s fave series, Outlander, and again I lost interest when the main character spent the first several thousand words antiquing and visiting old people.
Both of these novels are high quality works of fiction! But my attention span wasn’t what it used to be. I wasn’t ready to dive straight in to fat SFF novels. I needed to ease back in, slowly building my attention span and reading stamina.
After some trial and error, I found strategies that worked.
If you’re in the same boat and want to build back your love of reading, consider easing back into the reading world with the following strategies that worked for me:
1. Start With Comics
If you’ve been through a long reading slump, chances are your entertainment has largely come in the form of visual media–TV, movies, Instagram reels and memes.
If that’s where you’re at, comics may be the perfect bridge back into reading, since they combine visual imagery with small, easily digestible chunks of dialogue.
These days, comics aren’t just for kids and nerdy middle aged white guys. When I decided to try comics, I asked my local comic book store employee for recommendations of comics that would appeal to a woman in her 30’s.
That’s how I found Saga, now one of my favourite science fiction series of all time.
If you’re coming out of a reading slump after having a baby, you will adore this sci-fantasy series about fugitive parents raising a toddler in space.
It’s out of this world and yet so damn relatable.
Saga is definitely R-rated, though. Be aware that this series contains full-page spreads depicting graphic images of sex and violence that are definitely NSFW.
If you’re looking for something you can read in public, try the Hawkeye omnibus, instead.
You don’t have to like superheroes or know anything about their lore to enjoy this comic. It’s really not about the superhero missions. It’s about the grumpy/sunshine master/apprentice relationship between the two main characters.
If you like “science fiction with heart,” you’ll adore this series.
Whatever you choose, I suggest picking a series that is finished or has been going long enough to have had the first few issues compiled into an omnibus (a collection of comics bound like a book) so you can start at the beginning and get a full story arc rather than picking up in the middle of an ongoing series.
Tackling something you know you have the attention span to get through is key. That feeling of success will spur you on to read longer books as you build back your attention span and love of stories.
2. Next, Read a Play
The first non-visual work of fiction I was able to finish after my reading slump was a play.
I had given up on brick-sized sci-fi and fantasy novels, and when I came across my husband’s weathered old copy of Amadeus, the razor-thin spine appealed.
The play was hilarious and touching. I laughed and cried and I finished it one sitting! It felt so good to finish something after my failures with those big fat fantasy novels.
The thing about plays is that they’re written to be performed over the course of just a couple of hours, so you can easily read them in one or two sittings. They’re quick reading because, like comics, they’re almost entirely dialogue with little to no description.
And when you blast through a play and reach “the end”, you get the dopamine hit of success that will build a positive association with reading in your brain, and help you develop an “I can do it” attitude!
3. Third, Tackle a Novella or Short Story Collection
Once you’ve picked up steam with plays and comics, you’re ready to tackle something a little more wordy. Whereas plays and comics contain mostly dialogue, novellas will contain description and action beats. But by now, you’re ready for this, maybe even itching for something more substantial.
Novellas are just like novels, but shorter. Whereas shorter full-length novels like romances and women’s fiction usually contain a minimum of 50 or 60 thousand words, novellas range from around 15 to 40 thousand. Because they’re so short, they tend to be fast-paced. And finishing a novella will give you that sense of success that builds positive connections in your brain while also building your stamina for longer reads.
I highly recommend the Murderbot Diaries, starting with the first novella, All Systems Red. The Murderbot stories are hilarious, action-packed, and relatable, and if you’re looking to work your attention span up to something longer, going through the Murderbot series is perfect because after the first three novellas, the fourth book in the series is a full-length novel.
If you want something sexier, I recommend Ilona Andrews’ Silver Shark or Fated Blades.
4. Next, Read a Short, Fluffy Romance
My next step in building back my reading attention span was to tackle what I like to call a “potato chip novel.” It’s an addictive snack in book form. You can devour a “potato chip novel” quickly in one sitting, and while it may not be very nutritious, it’s extremely delicious, and it’ll sustain you until you have the time and energy to sit down for a more nutritious read.
Now, I adore sci-fi and fantasy romance. But if you’re at this stage in your reading journey, I DON’T advise sitting down with a hefty high fantasy romance or a complex space opera. No Sarah J. Maas for you yet!
I’m talking something around the 50K or 60K word mark, with a reeeeally simple plotline. Think “girl bangs alien, an obstacle keeps them apart, they overcome it and live happily ever after,” NOT a complex romance tied in with a political plotline that’s going to unfold over the course of a 100K-word-per-novel trilogy.
You’re trying to set yourself up for success, so give yourself permission to read something truly fluffy. Remember, experiencing that sense of success when you complete your first full-length novel in years will spur you on to greater heights!
For something really steamy, try Ice Planet Barbarians. For something in the mid-range steam level, consider Wicked Games by M.J Scott.
Part of this stage of tricking your brain into reading is the shorter word count, and part of it is that sex sells. For most people, sex scenes will motivate your brain into finishing the book, and give you that dopamine hit that will make your brain associate positive feelings with reading.
But if you’re looking for something clean, the heart-flutters you’ll get from a sweet romantic comedy will do the trick, too.
My first read in this category was Mister Malcolm’s List. My sister-in-law recommended it, saying it had “all the good parts of Pride and Prejudice without the long boring descriptions of scenery.” It was indeed cute and hilarious and fit her description perfectly!
5. Read a YA Sci-Fi or Fantasy Novel
You might be wondering why this step comes after reading a fluffy romance for adults. Believe it or not, many YA fantasy and sci-fi novels are nearly as complex as adult fantasy and sci-fi.
These novels contain more world building and backstory than your average romance novel, so they tend to be longer and slightly slower-paced than a simple romance. But they’re still shorter and faster-moving than an adult high fantasy or space opera. This makes them the perfect final step toward getting back into adult sci-fi and fantasy.
If you’re liking the romance thing, I suggest Marissa Meyers’ Cinder as a fun YA sci-fi with elements of romance. And, bonus, it’s a fairy tale retelling, so you can further trick your brain by challenging yourself to pick out the ways the novel resembles the original Cinderella story.
Brains get a kick from successfully completing little puzzles like that, too.
6. Tackle a Longer Adult Novel Via Audio Book /Ebook Combo
The final step in my journey to getting back into reading adult science ficiton and fantasy was to ease myself into my first complex adult sci-fi novel by purchasing both the audio book and Ebook versions of the same novel.
It’s an investment, but by switching back and forth between E-book and audio, you can get your brain used to reading adult-level prose while keeping the pace at a decent clip by interspersing the audio during walks, commutes, and chores.
A great place to start is A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. It’s an award winning adult novel, but focuses on the perspective of one young female main character, so it’s not a huge leap from where you’ve already been with YA and romance.
After a decade of sleep deprivation and reading nothing but parenting books, these are the steps I took to rekindle my love of reading. Now I’m not only reading a book a week and blogging about it, I’m also writing books, too! My first novel A Symphony of Starlight comes out in January.
It takes perseverance and baby steps, but the joy you’ll get from reigniting your passion for reading is so worth it! I hope my journey inspires you to give these steps a try.
