SOS – I Can’t Read

        No, I’m not talking about Reader’s Block/Slump.

        This is the situation when you’re reading a book and suddenly you get stuck at a point and can’t seem to progress with your reading.

        I’m not any expert to tell you exactly why this happens, but I can shed some light on this crisis.

        On May 17^th I started reading গোরা by রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর. The following day was May BOTM Meetup¹ , so I was kinda busy. And the days after that now seem like a blurrrrrrrr.

        In short: I couldn’t continue reading গোরা. But why?

        I had been looking forward to reading গোরা, esp. because this would be my first Tagore novel. (I tried reading this book when I was much, much younger, but obviously failed.)

        I liked the book right from the beginning. The simple description that sets off the novel is too good not to mention. Then why couldn’t I continue reading this gem?

        In this particular case, it’s not the book. It’s the situation I’d been going through. I am not going to get into details, but I think one can guess.

        Currently, that situation is over and I am again able to dive into a book. Still I am unable to continue গোরা. Why, still?

        It is because, during this strenuous period, I took up গোরা and tried (and failed) reading it from time to time. This ruined my peace with the book, and now I feel disconnected. I tried still, but to no effect. Starting a book over and over kills the mood of reading. At least, that happens in my case. So I decided to lay it off for some time and take it up again later, with a fresh mind.

        I know that this works because I have done this before. Now I am reading 4321 by Paul Auster. It is a long book, 1070 pages. This is going to be the longest book I have read until now.

Kudos to the Mother of Dragons for making this stockphoto. 

        So, if this happens with you, what should you do? First try to find out:

• ·        Is it the book?
• ·        Or something else?
• ·        If something else, what is it?

        If it’s the book, you simply need to put it down and take up another one. Make sure this other book feels interesting to you, otherwise it will also bore you out. And it could be disastrous.

        If it’s something else, you still need to put the book down. You need to find the “something else” and sort it out. You can only read the book again, with peace, after that thing has been dealt with.

        It is true, books can give you peace when you are going through shit. But it doesn’t always work like that. And in that case, wait till the shit has been dealt with. Otherwise, like me, trying to read the book from time to time, without result, would kill the mood of the book.

        Happy reading!

1. Litmosphere is a Facebook-based book-club that has now spread its wings into the real world with monthly Meetups, Membership Cards and yearly get-togethers. It is a heaven for all readers. :’)