#problemsofabooknerd

Discussing and reviewing the 11 books I read at the end of 2024, including a truly bizarre mix of horror and queer holiday romance, please settle in with a snack and check out my winter wrap-up! And by sure to follow my channel if you're always looking for new LGBTQIA+ books to fall in love with 💛🩷

I was just watching Cece Ewing’s vlog about making reading a habit again after a period of struggling with mental health. It’s a very common symptom for depression to cause a lack of interest in activities you used to enjoy and/or to sap your motivation to do the things you can still muster interest in yet which you just simply cannot force yourself to do.

It. Sucks.

I have experienced this myself and I know people who are currently in the midst of it. Something that has come up several times over my years of thinking and talking about this- and which Cece mentioned in passing in her video,which sparked me to write this out- is that if you are a reader whose mental health makes enjoying reading difficult, sometimes that mental block does not include fan fiction. 

Sometimes it feels impossible to pick up a book and make it past a few pages, but more than once you’ve found yourself at 2am, deep into a 135,000 word fan fiction, no problem.

I can think of several reasons why this may be, but the main point I want to put out there is that it’s important to recognize and value what you can do and what you do enjoy and that finding creative and non-traditional ways to express and experience your interests makes complete sense when common and traditional ways just aren’t working. 

Me, yelling at the ton of my books: I NEED MY LIFE BACK NOW, PRETTY PLEASE...?

Books: nah, you’re good, wanna read some?