Reading Slump Woes, Apologies and Catch Ups

If you've ever suffered through a reading slump, you know how horrible it can be. As an avid reader, I've been through a few slumps myself. My most recent one spanned throughout the end of January and most of February and, to be honest, this was the worst one yet. I have never had such a long slump before. Generally, they last about a week or maybe two and then I'm back in the game but this time it was an entire month! I started so many books that eventually put down after just a few pages in because I just wasn't feeling it. I actually listened to my first audiobook ever because I picked up Eon which started out strong and then just sort of plateaued and I was being stubborn and I thought "there is no way I'm giving up on yet another book!" so I borrowed the audiobook from the library and listened to the second half (or maybe it was the last two thirds). I played it on double speed for most of it thought because it turns out that I didn't particularly like the book that much anyway.

I don't know why reading slumps happen. Maybe it's because you read too many bad or "meh" books in a row that you can't motivate yourself into picking up another one because you risk it being another "meh" book, which is never ever fun. Or maybe it's because you read a book that is so so so very good that you can't get yourself to read something else right away because you know it won't be able to compare. Maybe you need a little grace period to get over the amazing-ness of the previous book before you can start a new book.

Anyway, this is why my blog hasn't really been active in the last few weeks. I was having a major reading slump crisis. It was bad. It was real bad! At least, that's my official excuse for not having any new posts recently. Though, if you look at my Goodreads, you'll find that I did read a few books in the last couple weeks that I did apparently enjoy but never talked about on this blog... I don't have an excuse for that. My bad, I guess?

I'm going to play catch up to try and make up for my lackings. Here goes:

I Was Here by Gayle Forman
★★★
The entirety of my love for Gayle Forman is based on If I Stay and Where She Went. Those are two of my favorites and I will love them forever but I haven't been able to find the same level of emotion and connection in her other books. Just One Day is one of those books that I've picked up a couple times now and had to put down both times because I couldn't get into it. I was excited about I Was Here because I felt it had more potential to do what If I Stay and Where She Went were able to do but, sadly, this book didn't live up to those expectations. It was okay. It was a decent read but, I don't know, I guess I just wanted more out of it and I wasn't able to get that.

Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater
★★★★★
First of all, Maggie Stiefvater is now officially one of my favorite authors. Her writing is just AMAZING! I am in love. About Sinner. Whenever an author releases a book in a series that wasn't originally part of the plan but decides to add it in years later after the series is complete, I approach the book with caution. I'd rather get a good story that is full and complete than a hasty one written to please the fans. I approached Sinner the same way and I am more than happy to tell you that my worry was completely unfounded. Cole and Isabelle were my favorite characters from the Wolves of Mercy Falls series and I am so happy that they got a book all to themselves and I'm happy that we got to see more of them and get to know what ultimately happens with their relationship. As a fan, I am 100% satisfied. 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
★★★★
I read this because of how much I'd heard others talking about it and because of the really high rating this book has gotten and the numerous awards and honors (there's give just listed on the cover of my copy) and the beautiful cover definitely helped and, mostly, because it has one of the greatest book titles ever! Right!?!? Despite so much hype, the book lived up to its expectations. I loved the story and I loved the writing and I loved the themes that were explored and they way they were explored. I did have a bone to pick with the very ending but the other 98% of the book was amazing! I love Dante! (Ari's cool too, but... Dante!) This is the kind of book that might end up as assigned reading in school but its one of the few, rare assigned reading that you actually enjoy. 

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
★★★★
I'd been putting off this book for so long because it's a YA Contemporary Romance and I'd had a bit of an overdose of that genre (plus I was way more interested in reading YA Fantasy). For whatever reason I decided to read it, finally, and I liked it! When you pick up a contemporary romance novel, you know exactly how it's going to end before you even open the book. Actually, even before you read the blurb on he inside cover or on the back. You just know. But, for whatever reason, you read it anyway. This was just like that. You know the general structure of the book but you read it for the details and it's the details that make you love it or hate it (there is no in between in this genre). Well, I loved it. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a nice contemporary romance every now and then. After all, YA Contemporary was my first love.

The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski
★★★★½
Second books in series are make or break moments for me. If the second book isn't particularly good, I might give up on the series entirely. There is also a bit of a precedent for second books for me because both my favorites series had phenomenal second books that completely blew me away and claimed a spot on my favorites list (see: Days of Blood and Starlight and Crown of Midnight). While The Winner's Crime, didn't quite secure a spot on that list, it still very much lived up to (high) expectations. There were no disappointments. I'm pretty sure I liked this installment better that the previous one and I am so excited about The Winner's Kiss and so bummed that I have to wait another year. Seriously, there were so many feels in this book and if you're an Arin-Kestrel shipper, be warned that you are basically walking into a field scattered with land mines. Yup.