Although I consider myself a reader, I haven’t finished a book in nearly three months. For whatever reason, no book has been able to hold my attention more than a couple chapters or a few pages.

This reading drought has been genuinely bad for me. Reading used to occupy my time before going to bed, but now that time is spent on my phone or laptop and I spend a lot of time doomscrolling. Also, writing feels more difficult and strained, because I have more trouble finding the words to develop my thoughts.

It’s safe to say that my phone can be blamed for this slump. My screen time is higher than ever. I’ve become so dependent on the short form content of TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube that I forget what it feels like to read a book. Some part of me was looking forward to the potential TikTok ban, because maybe just then I would spend the spare minutes I have here and there by picking up a book rather than my phone.

I really just miss the act of reading a book. Sitting down to read used to feel like an escape rather than a burden. I long for the time when I was reading two or three books in a week.

I hope to get out of this slump by starting with something short and easy. I’m eager to return to my days of consistently reading.