What I do when I'm in a book funk

I'm in a book funk, and I tend not to get into book funks, but I'm in one now. I DNF'ed a highly recommended book, which made me cranky as all get out. I was angry at myself for reading it. So I read a favorite author to reset, which put me in a better frame of mind. After that, I decided to read a book that sounded cute, again, another highly recommended author. This one was bland, and I lost interest. Not one to let failure put me down, I decided to dive into another book. The problem? I can't get into this book even though it's cute and well written. And I know it's not the book. Well, at least I don't think it's the book. It's me. I'm all out of sorts, and I'm not in the right frame of mind to enjoy the book. What to do?

I'm not sure what to do right now because I really want to read. I'm IN THE MOOD to read. But my reading mojo is gone. I know that reading is not going to bring it back for me and might even set me back further if I can't shake off the funk. And I don't want to have a whole string of DNFs behind me simply because I was in a bad mood, and it was not the fault of the book. The other two previous DNFs, though? Totally the fault of the book. I read the reviews after DNFing the books, and a lot of other readers felt the same way as I did about those two particular books.

So what do I talk about if I'm in the mood to read but can't, and I don't want book recommendations, and I have time on my hands. The reason I have time on my hands? It's the weekend, and I've not been sleeping well (maybe that's the problem?), so I'm waking up earlier and getting things done and through my day earlier, so I have extra time on my hands to do as I please. I usually read when I have extra time on my hands, which I grab onto gleefully. What's a girl to do?

Well, usually, if I'm in between books, I watch YouTube videos. I love cooking videos. Not only do I learn new recipes, but I also learn new cooking techniques. I've never cooked Asian food in my life because whenever I've wanted Chinese food, I'd go home to mum's and eat her cooking. What with covid and lockdown, I haven't seen my parents in over five months. I haven't had my mummy's cooking in ages. I had to suck it up and learn how to cook Asian food myself if I wanted to eat it. So I watched a heap of cooking videos and taught myself how to cook it. There are some great cooking shows on YouTube, and I've learned to cook some delicious Asian meals at home.

I also enjoy makeup and beauty videos, learning new techniques, keeping up with new trends, seeing what's new on the market. What with covid and lockdown again, I've hardly gone out, so I haven't been watching as many beauty videos. They don't seem to hold as much interest to me as they used to. And today, I decluttered a whole bunch of old makeup. That felt cathartic. At the rate I'm going, by the time this lockdown is over, I'd have to chuck out most of my makeup collection since most of it would have expired. Then I get to look at new shiny makeup again. That's always fun. I do love a good red lip. :-)

I supposed I could watch some TV and catch up on some shows, but Steve and I like to watch our shows together since we both like most of the same things. There aren't many shows or movies we don't watch together. We are a bit joined at the hip like that. That said, I do have one more episode of season one of A Discovery of Witches to watch that I've been saving. Maybe I'd crack into that on my iPad while lying in bed tonight. I'm rationing it since I have no idea when the next season is being released.

Speaking of other forms of entertainment, we've watched Hamilton recently, and I even wrote a review for it. That was fantastic. Might consider watching that again but not sure if I'm wanting to go through the emotional upheaval of that show quite so soon again. Andrew Lloyd Webber is streaming musicals on YouTube, and this weekend is Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I missed the first streaming of it a couple of months ago, so I'll definitely try to catch it this weekend.

As diversions go, we do have friends visiting for a day, and we are heading out to lunch with them, followed by them coming back to our house for drinks. Steve and Patrick are planning some major whisky tasting for the afternoon. I am not expecting much out of Steve for the rest of the day after that. Patrick's wife likes gin, so she and I will enjoy one or two while the guys bond over whisky. That would be a full day of not reading since we are entertaining friends.

With all this going on, perhaps by the time the weekend is over and Monday rocks around, I'd be feeling better and more back into the swing of things, and I can pick up that book I'm partway though now and give it a fair shot. I do have a few favorite authors I read to reset, but I'm afraid right now, I don't think that's going to help. I'm being a moody git. I admit to being a very moody reader. I pick up a book to read, depending on what kind of mood I'm in. And right now, I don't know what kind of mood I'm in besides a funk. And I'm wallowing in it, which is not pretty. I want to slap myself upside the head.

The one thing that I've enjoyed the last couple of nights is reading over Steve's shoulder. Usually, in the evenings, before bed, Steve will read to relax and fall asleep. I'm always cuddled into his shoulder in his arms, and we cuddle while he reads. I tend to fall asleep like this pretty quickly, but the last couple of nights, I haven't fallen asleep quite as quickly (it's that trouble sleeping thing), and I've been reading what he's reading. The book he's reading now really sucked me in. I don't normally read anything that's not romance, and Steve's reading a thriller right now. It's beautifully written, and the author has a very unique writing style. I've been getting sucked into the hero's story, and I'm wondering if maybe I switch to something that's not a romance to reset. Steve has tons of thrillers I could read, and we share a Kindle library, so I have access to those books. Hmmm... something to consider.

Anyway, rather than moan about it any further, I'm going to toddle off and maybe indulge in a few cooking videos from some of my favorite channels. There's bound to be some videos I haven't watched yet.

Tell me, do you ever get into a book funk? And if you do, what do you do to get out of it?


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