I was stuck in the worst reading slump of my adult life when Witcher 3 changed everything. Just months later, I’d read every book in the series and rediscovered my love for reading. Yes, you read that right: a video game ultimately got me back into reading!
When I was a kid, I read a lot of books. My parents brought me everything they could find – fantasy, historical fiction, whatever caught my eye. Even YA hits like Hunger Games – I was obsessed. But over time, other media offered easier escapism. Like many, I got sucked into Game of Thrones, and started playing roleplaying video games, leaving books behind me, seemingly forever.
I know this story will sound familiar to many of you. We live in the age of short attention spans, and a book requires quite a bit of focus to work through. Even worse, when searching online about how to get out of a reading slump, you always discover all the same generic points: “just try audiobooks,” or “stop putting pressure on yourself,” or “just switch genres.” Sure, but all of those are merely treating symptoms – they are not addressing the real issue. What you need are actual strategies to escape from your current Netflix or video game obsession, not just generic inspiration about “finding your passion.”
With this article, I offer precisely that: six clear bridge strategies that will help you move from these other media forms like television shows, movies, and video games, to get back into reading books! I know you want to get back to reading books; you’re not here on accident! This practical advice will make sure your reading slump recovery goes both smoothly and swiftly, so let’s discover which one fits best with your specific situation.
Why the Same 5 Reading Slump Tips Keep Failing
The Generic Advice Everyone’s Copying
“Try audiobooks” – While audiobooks are great at letting you consume stories in a more passive manner, they are certainly not the same as reading a physical book. Yes, you consume the story, but a good reader is much quicker than any audiobook could ever be. Plus, they never offer a transition strategy to go back to physical books eventually.
“Don’t pressure yourself” – While this is true, it’s not good, practical advice. This does offer some vague comfort, yes, but it lacks actionable steps you should take to actually get back into reading! It’s like telling a person experiencing a panic attack to “just calm down” – not helpful at all.
“Switch genres” – This advice assumes you already know what genres you like. This might help with short slumps, but if you haven’t read for years, this is useless. Switching genres is not really even a strategy if you don’t have a genre to switch from.
“Reread favorites” – Like switching genres, this advice seems specifically targeted at people who were still reading a lot quite recently. What if you don’t have any recent favorites? What if your only ‘favorites’ are middle-grade books from years ago?
“Join book clubs” – Book clubs are intimidating even for avid readers, let alone when you’re already struggling. This advice is also woefully incompatible with not pressuring yourself, even though these tips appear together in many other lists of reading slump tips.
The Real Problem: Missing the Bridge
Most advice on the internet treats reading slumps like a problem of motivation. Throughout my personal journey, however, I have discovered that they should usually be treated as system problems: you need clear entry points and transitions to gradually get back into reading. This way, it’s actually realistic to fix a reading slump after gaming too much, or even go back from Netflix to books.
The ultimate goal, then, is to bridge the gap between “I want to read again” and “I’m actually reading consistently.”
The 6 Bridge Strategies That Actually Work
To bridge that gap, I’ve laid out six different strategies you can apply to your own situation, in order to go from binge-watching Netflix, or obsessively playing video games, back to reading books. I can confirm that these work, since I am living proof of it – each strategy forms a part of my journey of rediscovering my love for reading. I sincerely hope they can do the same for you!
Strategy 1 – The Adaptation Entry Point
So, what does it mean when I say that Witcher 3 is what got me back into reading books? After leaving books behind for a long while, I ended up playing lots of roleplaying video games, like the Witcher 3. What was different about that game, though, was that for the first time, it was the narrative that kept pulling me back in. After sinking more than 200 hours of my life into the game, and even playing the earlier entries in the series, I discovered it was all based on a book series. I discovered the books were supposed to be very different from the games, providing more story and valuable context – exactly what I wanted.
Desperate to consume more of the world of the Witcher, I dove in. First through audiobooks, but eventually by reading physical books again, as this method was just faster! The trick here is to find something you already love in a media form you’re already used to consuming, and check if it’s an adaptation of a book (series) – quite often, you’ll find that it is!
Is there a Netflix show you binge-watched? Read the source material! Do you have a game you’ve been obsessing over, now or in the past? Find the books that inspired it! That movie you rewatched ten times over? Check if it’s based on a book! Even if it’s just video essays on YouTube about fictional worlds you find interesting: go to the original source!
By doing this, you skip the whole “what should I read?” paralysis. You will connect to things you already know and love, and you’ll find that often the book adds multiple layers to the story you didn’t even know were there!
Strategy 2 – The Audiobook Bridge Method
I shortly touched on this in the previous strategy: when I decided I needed more of the world of the Witcher, I didn’t immediately pick up the physical book set. To be honest, I was quite intimidated by the length of the series, and didn’t want to invest too much money into something I didn’t have faith in finishing. Lucky for me, audiobooks were already quite prevalent back then, so I started listening to the first audiobook in the series.
Audiobooks are perfect for commuting, exercising, or doing chores. They’re more passive than physical books – if you lose focus, the story continues. A good narrator (Peter Kenny did an excellent job with the Witcher!) makes stories more engaging than struggling with text. They rebuild your story-following muscle without intimidation. Just treat each chapter like a podcast episode!
Here’s why this method is different from generic audiobook advice: when you get truly hooked, physical books feel manageable! Like I mentioned earlier, a good reader is faster than any audiobook could ever be. In my situation, I started cranking up the speed of the audiobook higher and higher to hear what would happen next, to the point of not even being able to appreciate Peter Kenny’s performance anymore. When I got to the final book of the main saga, and found out there was no English audiobook yet, it was a no-brainer: I had to get the physical book. No intimidation, no doubts, just a need to finish the story.
Strategy 3 – Remove the Intimidation Factor
Coming out of the Witcher, I arose with some fresh confidence. If I could manage that final Witcher book (the longest one in the series), surely, I could tackle some other series I’d been hearing about. I tackled bigger series next, and the internet was full of helpful resources.
From fan wikis to reading guides (like the ones I publish on my blog!), basically every story you can think of has extensive sources, created and maintained by a dedicated fanbase. There were multiple web pages I kept track of as I made my way throughout the books, from schematics detailing the distribution of point-of-views to summary websites to help me remember important bits. Read-along podcasts are also excellent, as there’s usually so many to choose from that you’ll always find someone who has a similar view on things as you do.
If you don’t know where to start with a specific series, just looking up ‘x reading order’ often returns a detailed plan for you to follow, removing quite a bit of intimidation and anxiety. If you’re not crazy like me and want to read ‘easier’ books, don’t feel embarrassed! Reading is a hobby, and you should pursue books that you like. The length of a book series doesn’t even really say anything about its true difficulty – there’s tons of short books that are way more complex than longer series.
In short, don’t be afraid to browse the internet for help, removing the intimidation factor. Many, many other people were in the exact same boat as you, and precisely for that reason there’s tons of fan-made content to help new people enter their respective fanbases. I promise you: every book series has helpful content on the internet to guide along new people like you – don’t be afraid to use it!
Strategy 4 – The Interest Crossover Method
I assume that once you start reading again, you’ll still have the same interests as before; I know I did! If you’ve finally read that series your favorite Netflix show was based on, the barrier to reading more is definitely lower than before. But how do you go about finding other things to read? It’s not interesting to only read the same thing, of course. Luckily, your existing interests can still inform you about your potential book interests.
Perhaps you like Marvel movies. You could get into the superhero comics that they’re based on, and voilà! Urban fantasy novels – a subgenre of fantasy, taking place in our world – often read quite a bit like superhero stories. Or maybe you’re into fantasy roleplaying games, like me. In that case, you should try fantasy novels with “hard” magic systems, with clear rules on how the magic works. You can even go beyond fantasy: do you listen to true crime podcasts? Well, nowadays, there’s more thrillers than you could ever read in a lifetime! These usually aren’t even a big series commitment. Maybe you’re a bit of a history nerd, watching history YouTube like me? Like thrillers, there’s a ton of historical fiction on the market; just pick a time period you like (perhaps the Roman Empire?) and dive into something recent.
All you need is an open mind and a clear picture of what interests you – beyond books – and I assure you that there’ll always be a book that lines up with your interests. Hopefully one of the previous strategies has helped you to lower that barrier to read, allowing you to gather enough self-confidence to go this route and give a new book a try. By leveraging your existing emotional investment in a certain topic, you make sure you actually care about the story you’re picking up from the get-go!
Strategy 5 – Systematic Habit Building
I said before that we need to bridge from “I want to read again” to “I’m actually reading consistently.” This means that merely finding the right book will not be enough. Yes, it will make the whole “actually reading” part a lot easier, but the trick is to get yourself to want to do it consistently. For this, you’re gonna need to build some new habits.
You have to start small. Small sessions, small chapters; find out what works for you! I was lucky enough that the Witcher book series starts with two short story collections, which are loosely connected but definitely don’t need to be read one right after the other. Don’t immediately burn yourself out – keep it to 15-20 minutes daily at first and don’t force anything else. Keep that as a baseline and only go further if you actually want to. The habit needs to be built up first.
Another recommendation is to create a reading ritual or environment. This can be a cozy place in the house where you sit down the same moment every day. Or, if you’re still bridging using audiobooks, make it a ritual to listen a chapter while working out or going for a bike ride. I read a lot of Wheel of Time as physical books, but I also listened to more than 100 hours while just cycling around. While reading Malazan, my go-to ritual was the classic bedtime reading tactic, made even easier by using an e-reader that powers down after me not flipping a page for 5 minutes.
What also worked for me was tracking progress – not to put pressure on myself, but more as a “number goes up” kind of dopamine hit. I put book tabs in the various sections of physical books, so I’d have that feeling of completion and success more often (you know the kind, if you’ve ever finished a book). For audiobooks and e-readers this is almost always built into the app or device you’re using. For me, hacking my brain with these types of things helped motivate me to continue!
In short, build these kinds of systems that work with your current schedule, not against it. If you set realistic goals and expectations, these small wins will translate to motivation to achieve more of them. Ultimately, you’ll find yourself not even thinking about “having to read” anymore, you’ll just want to read.
Strategy 6 – Smart Community Connection
Instead of intimidating book clubs, I recommend online communities. You might think this sounds similar to the book club advice, but online spaces let you ‘lurk’ – reading thoughts and advice without putting yourself out there. And if you do want some advice, recommendations, or even external accountability, there’s always some very opinionated people waiting on the other side for you to interact with. Don’t be afraid to ask them ‘stupid’ questions; people on the internet can’t (physically) hurt you! You might even find people going on the same journey as you. Especially with large book series, it might be helpful to connect with some kindred souls.
Also, like I mentioned before, there’s tons of helpful content on the internet to help new readers like you – use it! From fan wikis for almost every book series, to reading guides like the ones on this blog, grab whatever you can to help you get through those books more easily. Reading should only be difficult if you enjoy it that way. Ultimately, it’s a hobby, and using tools to get better at it is totally fine.
Putting It All Together – Your Reading Comeback Plan
Alright, you’ve got six bridge strategies to choose from, but how do you put this into practice? Here’s a realistic timeline that’ll get you from “I want to read again” to “I’m actually reading consistently” without burning yourself out:
Week 1-2: Choose Your Reading Slump Solution
- Pick one bridge strategy that fits your situation (adaptation point entry, audiobook bridge method, or interest crossover method).
- Set up your reading ritual: same time, same place, or even same activity if you’re going the audiobook route.
- Start with just 15-20 minutes daily and don’t feel guilty about stopping there!
Week 3-4: Build Momentum
- Join one online community for recommendations and, if you want, some accountability (the r/fantasy subreddit is great for beginners).
- Track your progress somehow: page numbers, book tabs, whatever gives you that “number goes up” dopamine hit.
- Adjust your approach based on what’s actually working, not what you think should work.
Beyond the First Month
- Gradually expand to new genres using your existing interests as bridges.
- Don’t be afraid to use reading guides when you want to tackle those intimidating big series.
- Trust the system: once the habit’s built, you won’t even think about “having to read” anymore!
Conclusion – Why These Strategies Beat Generic Advice
In this article, I’ve laid out six practical bridge strategies that will help you beat your reading slump and make your reading comeback a reality:
- Use adaptations as entry points – Netflix show you binged? Game you obsessed over? Read the source material instead of wondering “what should I read?”
- Start with audiobooks, transition to physical – Rebuild your story-following muscle passively, then switch to books when you’re hooked and want to read faster.
- Remove the intimidation factor – Use reading guides, fan wikis, and don’t be embarrassed about “easier” books. Every series has helpful content to guide newcomers.
- Leverage your existing interests – Marvel fan? Urban fantasy. Gaming nerd? Fantasy with magic systems. True crime listener? Thrillers. Connect what you already love!
- Build systematic habits – Start with 15-20 minutes daily, create reading rituals, track progress for dopamine hits. Work with your schedule, not against it.
- Join online communities, not book clubs – Lurk in Reddit or Discord for recommendations and help. Ask “stupid” questions online, to avoid social anxiety.
These six strategies beat generic reading slump advice because these are actual bridge strategies that say more than “don’t pressure yourself.” Pick one that fits your situation and start there!