Breaking Out of Your Reading/Watching Rut
/Hello, friends. As we’re all headed into another week of possibly not leaving the house much, if you’re like me, you’ve probably burned through a bunch of your entertainment. Show of hands for people who are watching way more TV/movies. No judgement. This is our new normal. So what can you do when things start to feel a bit same-old-same-old?
Might I recommend branching out from your usual entertainment type? Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying eschew that which is bringing you comfort. Goodness knows this girl 👍👍 cannot handle anything remotely dark at the moment. I’m just saying expanding your experience types. It’s like instead of always going to the same restaurant with the same yummy food, going to new restaurants with different yummy food. Not my best example given how many of our favorite restaurants have been closed lately, but I’m doing my best here. Also, never underestimate takeaway options, but I digress.
Okay, Dana, it’s all well and good to suggest shaking up one’s entertainment options, but where to even begin? Have you seen all the entertainment options out there? Where does someone even start? I’m glad you asked, imaginary reader who lives in my head. Let’s hit it.
Read for a Friend ~ If you’re an author, you probably have a lot of author friends, and they all have books they’d love for you to read (and they’d love it even more if you left a review for said books). So you could always start there.
“But, Dana,” I hear you saying, “what if I… ahem… don’t like their book? What will I say on social media or in the review? Especially after that post I made about how I was starting it? They’re my friend, and I know how authors feel about their books. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.” I hear you. I’ve been there. So how about this: don’t tell anyone you’re reading it? Here’s the thing.
You don’t owe anything anything on social media.
Even if you’re deeply entrenched in the deepest trenches of the Bookstagram community, you don’t have to publicize everything you’re reading. You don’t have to click that little “Currently Reading” button when you start a new book in Kindle—I honestly haven’t clicked it in over a year. Then, if you don’t like it, no one needs to be the wiser. If you do like it, though, go ahead and tell the world! Only if you want to, though, because, again, you don’t have to if you don’t want.
But maybe you don’t know any authors. No problem. What books do your friends recommend? If for some reason, you can’t remember or don’t want to ask them, you can always creep on their Goodreads page and check out the books they’ve rated as five stars.
Talk to People Who Know the Genre ~ Maybe you’ve always wanted to jump into a certain genre, but, gosh, there are so many options. And not all [enter certain genre here] books/shows are created equal. Like the paragraph heading says, talk to people who know the genre. They’re easy to find on Goodreads and Bookstagram—just skim through their profiles and look at what they’re rating and posting the most—and people love talking about what they’re passionate about. So just ask.
Case in point, I’m not much for horror. It’s just not generally my cuppa tea. I watched the movie Velvet Buzzsaw on Netflix without any issue, though. So then I thought I’d give the film Hereditary a go.
Miiiiiistaaaaaaake!
Hereditary messed me up so bad. For months afterward, I couldn’t drive down a road at night without thinking of that horrific film. I got to chatting to a friend of mine about it. A friend who happens to be a connoisseur of horror films. She immediately explained to me the subgenre differences between the two films. Long story short, I vett any horror films I’m curious about with her first. And, as we’re on the subject of subgenres and nuances…
Find the Commonalities ~ Okay, let’s say, like me, you’re a fan of fantasy. Awesome, but anyone who’s spent even a little time in that section at a bookstore knows there are a lot of different types of fantasy—High fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal, dark fantasy, and everything in between (because we all know genres bleed into one another). And that doesn’t even touch on moods. Is it funny? Romantic? Serious and epic? Yeah, I can see we’re already getting deep the in weeds, so let’s back up. Look at your bookshelf/movie shelf/Netflix list/whatever.
What are the common threads between your favorite things? I think of this like looking over a menu and picking out the dishes that have ingredients you know you like. Or avoiding those with stuff you know you don’t. I’m looking at you, every sushi roll with cucumber. 🥒👀 I told you the restaurant analogy would come back 😉. For me, whatever I read or watch, it’s gotta make me laugh. But without punching down.
PG Wodehouse, Gail Carriger, and Mackenzi Lee are all really different writers in different genres, but they have humor throughout their books. So what’s the thing that makes you love a thing. Identify that, and you can find all kinds of things that will entertain you.
Just a Dab’ll Do Ya ~ If you’re reticent to jump into a whole… long… new series, I feel you. Sometimes looking at a huge possible time investment is enough to make us give up before we even get going. If that’s your issue—and a totally legit one it is—in the case of books, try short stories. And in the case of shows, try limited series. Think of it like—yup, I’m going back to the restaurant example—a sample! I can do this all day 😁. Movies are… well, movies are just movies, so we’ll skip over them.
My example for this is NK Jemisin. Everyone I know talks about what an amazing writer she is (and she totally is), but have you seen the size of her books? I’m referring specifically to a time when I had serious series fatigue and I just. Could. Not. So I got myself a copy of her short story collection: How Long ‘til Black Future Month? ) One book, fifteen or twenty minutes per story. Done and done. Most authors will have any anthologies they’ve got stories in right on their Amazon author or Goodreads page too, so finding them couldn’t be easier.
Hopefully, this has helped you navigate to new sources of entertainment as we continue to wait out these challenging times and wait for the day when it’s safe for all of us to return to what used to be normal. Do you have other tips? Feel free to drop them in the comments below 👇. And, if you’d like some more specific recommendation lists, why not check out my blog posts on Positive, Positively Binge-Worthy Series and Indie Creators To Entertain You.
Thanks for reading and stay safe!
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Dana Fraedrich / www.wordsbydana.com participates in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, Audible.com, and others. This page contains affiliate links.
