Reader's Block

 

The Urban Dictionary definition of 'Reader's Block' is: when you cannot, for the life of you, pick up a book and read it.

And this is exactly what I'm dealing with right now.

I have a huge stack of books that I want to get through throughout the year, and I have pre-ordered an additional four, which will be arriving individually between April and November - but I just can't find the will to read.

I've found that I go through starts and stops with reading. It can take me months to finish a book, or it could take me less than a week. Though usually that depends on how engaging the book is.

But recently I've found it really hard to just pick up a book and read it. Even when I have a book in my hand, I find my mind wandering to all the ways that my time could be better spent, or all the things that I would enjoy doing more.

And because of that, it creates a cycle. I don't read, so I feel guilty about not reading. So I pick up a book, read a few pages, and then find something else to do, and the cycle repeats.  

I'm literally staring at the book that I'm currently reading, and there is no motivation within me whatsoever to pick the book up and continue reading it. And while the book isn't the most exciting, I am interested in seeing how the story plays out.

I was also planning to do a post on Writer's Block, and I've started to think that the two issues may be connected - and therefore could be caused by a lack of motivation. Or maybe I just need to find more interesting reading material?

Have you ever experienced Reader's Block? What did you do to overcome it?