In what feels like the eleventy-fifth month of the pandemic, it’s been really hard to stay focused long enough to finish a book. Books that I wanted to love just aren’t doing it for me and I’ve noticed a steep drop-off in my attention span and the number of books I’ve read in the past few weeks.
If you’re feeling like it’s hard to focus and nothing is grabbing your attention, I’ve got some tips for you:
Re-read an old favorite. Last spring I had so much anxiety that all I wanted was a comfort read. I wanted to escape into a story that would make me feel like I was hanging out with old friends. I decided to reread Shantaram, which was one of my favorite books in college. Reading it a second time felt so cozy and friendly. What book did you love in high school or college and when’s the last time you read it?
Read a short story, novella, or longform article instead. This is especially great if you feel like you just can’t seem to put your phone down. Might I suggest These Precious Days by Ann Patchett, Mr. Salary by Sally Rooney, or Between the World and Me by Ta-Nahesi Coates. They are all available to read for free! on your phone! right now! No excuses.
Read something fun. We are all in desperate need of a beach read, no matter how stupid it is. Take yourself on vacation with the entire Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy by Kevin Kwan, Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, or The High Season by Judy Blundell.
Read something thrilling. The best way to finish a book is to start something you just can’t put down: All of Gillian Flynn’s books, Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn, Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll, or The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz.
Read something serious. Maybe your problem with reading right now is that it’s hard to focus on fictional stories about frivolous people when the planet is basically falling apart. Why not read something that will teach you about yourself or the world? I admit I’m not a huge non-fiction reader (besides memoirs) but I found Koa Beck’s White Feminism to be enlightening and smart while totally accessible. Another non-fiction book that I couldn’t put down and still think about all the time is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Some non-fiction books I personally have not read yet but people seem to be totally obsessed with: Bad Blood by John Carreyrou, We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Harper, and Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (which has been sitting on my bedside table waiting to be read for about 3 years now).
Read something everyone is talking about. I definitely have basic taste when it comes to books, but if the critics loved it, I probably did too. If you just don’t know what to read, look at Lithub’s annual Ultimate Best Books List, where they compile all the “best of” lists to see which book really is the best. From the 2020 list, some of the ones I couldn’t put down were The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (guaranteed to get you out of a reading rut, I promise!), Memorial by Brian Washington, and Writers & Lovers by Lily King. And if you do read these books and end up hating them, at least you can feel smug when you waltz into your post-pandemic book club to shit on everyone else’s favorite book of 2020.
Ask an expert! I think everyone already knows this trick but if you’re bored of everything and feel like you haven’t read a good book in ages and don’t know where to start, go to your nearest bookstore, find the “staff picks” section, and find the shelf of the person who loves the same books you do. Buy all the books on their shelf that you haven’t read yet.
Ask a friend (me)! Leave a comment with 3-5 books you loved, and I’ll recommend a book just for you.
Have definitely been in a rut! Here are three books I really enjoyed, though.
Rural Diaries by Hilarie Burton (honestly perfect for post-pandemic carpe diem)
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Great read, Teddy. Okay, 3 books I love :)
1. One Day in the Afternoon of the World by William Saroyan
2. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
3. The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy