Goodbye Reader’s Block!

Every writer experiences writer’s block. The inability to find the right words, or to proceed with one’s writing, even if for short time frame is, no fun at all.

I have admittedly suffered from this on many occasions and as with all writers, managed to get through it, finished writing the articles just as deadlines beckoned. After going through it countless times, I knew that despite these stumbling blocks, I would get out of the zone, sooner or later.

Never once did it cross my mind that the same thing would happen to me when it came to reading. Yes, reader’s block is real!

I’ve always been an ardent reader. A self-confessed bookworm, I’ve loved reading books since I started reading at age 5. As a child, I used to prefer reading books than playing games. I used to read while I having dinner, much to my mom’s annoyance. Books were my best friend and gave me much comfort, when times were difficult.

Fast forward to over 30 years later, it all began innocently. I started reading a book but just couldn’t get past page 5. I attributed it to the book not being “my type”. A little later I began reading A Strangeness In My Mind by Orhan Pamuk, one of my favourite authors, but at page 28, it was difficult to carry on reading about about the protagonist Mevlut and his life in Istanbul.

This continued for months and before I knew it, the year flew by and I went from reading 5-8 books to a measly 2 books. Elif Shafak’s Three Daughters Of Eve and Paulo Coelho’s Hippie were the last two books I read.

I admit there were several times when I wondered if I would ever read (a book) again.

But two weeks ago, during a visit to the Kuala Lumpur City Library, I discovered a book hiding in between others on the fiction shelf. The synopsis intrigued me. it was a story about Eva and Jim who met one fateful afternoon – followed by three versions of their possible futures.

The prospect of two people meant to be together, despite making different choices in life,appealed to me. So thanks to The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett, I’ve started reading again and I’m happy to say, I finished it within two weeks. And thanks to the KL City Libary, I no longer suffer from Reader’s Block.

Has anyone else had to overcome Reader’s Block? For tips on how to get back to reading again, check this out.