Recovering from Reader's Block

I think I have finally recovered from six months (or more) of reader's block. For non-readers out there, "Reader's Block" may not sound like a serious condition, but in fact it can be an excruciating ordeal. Even having recovered, we who have suffered continue to live in fear of a recurrence of Reader's Block.

Here's what I did:

• If the book wasn't interesting, I put it down and later gave it away. I have long ago gotten over the guilt of starting a book and not finishing it - life is far to short to spend time plodding through some book, even if all critics love it.
• I read magazines instead - short articles were better suited to my shortened attention span.
• I branched out and tried reading things in different genres, including some frivolous novels by Terry Pratchett!
• I gave up reading altogether for a brief period of time.
• I did crossword puzzles.
• I rode my bike.
• I read online help sources, such as this article found in the archives of Bookslut.
• Sometimes, you just have to find the magic book: I broke reader's block completely when I became engrossed in and enchanted by the 1995 Pulitzer Prize winning The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields.

And now I am back in my usual reading frenzy. Life is good.