My YALC Reading Slump

With YALC this month, I should probably be reading my YALC tbr…but I hate the word ‘should’ and I’m really not feeling it! I still want to read all of the books on it, just not right now. To be honest, I’ve not read loads the past few months anyway, partially because I haven’t had chance as well as being in a bit of a slump. I wanted to get my feelings out about all this because I feel kind of bad about it even though there’s no reason to!So, I have read mainly YA recently but I haven’t been as into it. Earlier this week I finished Oh My Gods by Alexandra Sheppard which was such a fun little read! I’ve also read The Million Pieces of Neena Gill by Emma Smith-Barton and Birthday by Meredith Russo. I’ve enjoyed both of these too! Picking up a new book just feels like a lot though especially when I have no motivation for it. I also try not to read something if I’m really not feeling it, simply because I don’t want to begin it on a negative.

I’m unsure what I want to read next. I think I’m going to go for a poetry book or non-fiction of some kind. I need something quite a bit different I think! That’s how I normally get out of slumps and I’m also really feeling jumping into something I don’t read much of (poetry) or reading something non-fiction.

I keep seeing everyone’s blog and social media posts about YALC and what they are reading and I like seeing this but I also feel quite out of it because I’m not into it right now. That’s my problem but also, as I keep telling my brain, it isn’t a problem. I still love YA but I just don’t want to read it right now. I also can’t afford to be buying books at the moment so I think that’s another aspect of this. The past few months I’ve been pretty strict about book buying; it sounds weird but I’ve genuinely enjoyed having strict limits and not buying a lot! I’ve cut down my list a lot of what to take with me. I mainly just enjoy chatting with the authors. Yeah I like getting books signed but mainly just the ones that mean a lot to me or that I’ve enjoyed.

I love YALC and I’m so excited to be going for the full weekend! I am going to have to be pretty strict about what I buy but that’s less of an issue for me now as it would have been last year. It’s not going to ruin my enjoyment – at the end of the day, I’ll note down any books that look great that I can’t pick up whilst there and save them for later.

Will I enjoy YALC just as much without reading most of the books as I would if I had read them? Yes. Did not reading some of the books affect me last year? No. I’m mainly just excited to hang out with friends, meet and chat with authors and just have fun and escape ‘regular life’ for a little while.

I hope this doesn’t come across as a rant! I’m super looking forward to YALC, I think I’ve just become hyper aware that the things I enjoy most about it are mainly to do with the people, not the books.

How do you get out of a slump? Do you have any non-YA book recommendations? Let me know in the comments!