Sonia M. Rompoti, MSc, Bsc

Because scrolling for 47 minutes and then claiming we had no time to read is getting suspicious.

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Can we have a tiny intervention?

September arrives, everybody gets back into routines, and somehow reading is the first thing quietly sacrificed to the scheduling gods.

School starts. Work gets serious again. Activities restart. The calendar suddenly looks like it has developed a personal vendetta against you.

Then you finally get into bed, pick up your phone “for five minutes” and emerge 47 minutes later knowing far too much about a stranger’s kitchen renovation.

The book remains untouched.

Again.

If this is you, you’re not suddenly “not a reader.” Your routine changed.

So let’s get our books back without adding READ MORE to the enormous list of things we’re apparently failing to optimise.

Stop Waiting for Proper Reading Time

This is the first thing I’m throwing out.

What exactly is “proper” reading time?

An uninterrupted hour? Tea? Blanket? Silence? Somebody playing gentle rain sounds while your family respectfully disappears?

Beautiful.

Also hilarious.

If you have fifteen minutes waiting outside school, you have reading time.

Ten minutes before an appointment? Reading time.

Twenty minutes while your child is at an activity and you have nowhere useful to go? Absolutely reading time.

Five pages before bed?

Counts.

Books do not require a minimum attendance policy.

Put the Book Where Your Life Actually Happens

I love the idea of a beautiful reading corner. Unfortunately, I spend a suspicious amount of my life elsewhere. So put books where you actually get stuck. Keep your Kindle in your bag. Leave a paperback in the car. Download your current book onto your phone. Have an audiobook ready for errands.

Remove the step where you have to remember to bring something. This sounds ridiculously simple because it is. The easier a behaviour is to start, the more likely we are to actually do it.

We are not trying to become Better Readers.

We’re trying to make opening a book easier than opening Instagram.

A surprisingly competitive sport…. indeed.

Read Something Delicious, Not Something Impressive

September is not the month to prove yourself.

If you’ve been struggling through a Serious Important Book for six weeks and mysteriously never feel like reading anymore, I have a radical psychological intervention:

Put it down. Pick up something you actually want. Read the ridiculous romance. Read the witches. Read the morally grey fae. Read the murder mystery with the ludicrous premise. Read the book you bought purely because the cover seduced you. Reading momentum often comes back when reading starts feeling like pleasure again.

This is one reason romance works beautifully when I’m in a slump. Give me chemistry, tension and characters making questionable decisions and suddenly I’ve found twenty minutes I apparently didn’t possess yesterday.

If that’s your prescription too, my Curves to Own romances are waiting for you at SoniaMRompoti.com.

No twelve-page world-building glossary required.

Audiobooks Absolutely Count

I will defend this one forever. Listening to a book is reading. The story has entered your brain. Nobody needs to administer an exam on delivery method.

September is actually perfect for audiobooks because we’re suddenly driving everywhere again.

School run? Audiobook.

Supermarket? Audiobook.

Walking the dog? Audiobook.

Cleaning the kitchen for the seventeenth time despite having no memory of inviting seventeen people to eat there? Audiobook.

You don’t need to manufacture more free time. Sometimes you can simply make existing boring time considerably better.

Give Yourself Permission to DNF

This may be the most important part.

If you don’t want to pick up your book, consider the possibility that the problem is the book. Not every popular book is your book. Not every recommendation deserves 400 pages of your life.

DNF it.

Your TBR contains approximately six hundred alternatives anyway. She’s been training for this moment.

Make Reading Yours Again

September has a way of making everything feel scheduled. That’s precisely why I don’t want reading to become another obligation.

Ten pages counts.

Audiobooks count.

Romance counts.

Rereading your favourite book counts.

Reading something completely unserious because your brain has done enough serious things today absolutely counts.

The goal isn’t to read fifty books before Christmas. It’s to remember why you liked disappearing into one in the first place.

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FAQ: Getting Out of a Reading Slump

How do I get out of a reading slump?

Start with something genuinely easy and exciting to you, lower your expectations around how long you need to read, and consider abandoning the book you’re currently struggling through.

Is reading for ten minutes actually worthwhile?

Absolutely. Short reading sessions add up, and they’re often much easier to maintain during busy periods than waiting for large uninterrupted blocks of time.

Do audiobooks count as reading?

Yes. Audiobooks allow you to engage with the same story, characters and ideas through listening rather than visual reading.

What genre is good for a reading slump?

Choose something highly engaging and easy for you to enter. Romance, thrillers, cozy fantasy and familiar favourite authors can be particularly useful because they often create strong reading momentum.

Where can I find something fun to read next?

If romance, witches, magic or seasonal witchcraft sound considerably better than the book you’ve been avoiding, browse my books at SoniaMRompoti.com.

Now close this tab.

Yes, I’m aware of the irony.

Go read five pages.

We’ll work up to ten once we’ve successfully escaped the reels.

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Love my writing? You can grab my books directly from my website or through my Amazon author page. When you purchase from my website, a larger portion of the sale goes directly to supporting my writing, allowing me to create more stories, mental health resources, and magical guides without relying on algorithms or advertising. You’ll also find exclusive bonuses, free reader gifts, and occasional special offers that aren’t always available elsewhere. If Amazon is your preferred bookstore, that’s perfectly fine too. Either way, thank you for supporting an independent author who spends an unreasonable amount of time talking to fictional people and turning it into books.

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