I’ve been in a real reading rut lately. Last week, while traveling with my family in Arizona, I read for a grand total of 20 minutes. Our days were busy, and by the time I crawled into bed each night, I was ready to crash. (It didn’t help that we were sharing a hotel room with our 9-year-old, who was surprisingly bossy about lights out!)
But it’s also been a long time since I’ve found a book that will hold my attention. I love to read, but I definitely go through phases when my brain feels too busy, and focusing on reading seems impossible. I started 2026 with a nice little to-be-read pile on my bedside table, and four months into the year, I haven’t made a dent in it. I’ve been half-heartedly reading My Antonia since January, and while I enjoy it every time I pick it up, I don’t feel a lot of motivation at the end of the day to read. Most nights I end up doodling around with a New York Times crossword instead.
Before vacation, I stopped by a bookstore to grab a few books for Freddy, and I thought I’d treat myself to a novel, too. First, I tried to buy one of Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie mysteries. (Big Sky, but they didn’t have a copy.) And then I thought maybe I’d splurge on Rainbow Rowell’s newest novel—she always pulls me out of a reading rut—but it doesn’t come out until tomorrow. I left the store empty-handed.
I know I just need a good book that will kickstart my desire to read again. Years ago, when Freddy was little, I was talking to Alisha Ramos (when Downtime was Girls Night In!) about my struggle to find a book that held my attention, and she recommended Educated by Tara Westover. I remember I couldn’t put it down. I need a book like that!
My other favorite writers include Laurie Colwin (Happy All The Time is my number-one favorite book, and I’ve reread it several times), Jenny Offill, Ann Patchett, Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove is an incredible book), Sophie Kinsella, Madeline Miller (I wish she would write another Greek-myth-inspired novel), Octavia Butler (her Dawn series is amazing), Lauren Groff, Ruth Ozeki, Emma Straub, and Louise Erdrich, just to name a few. And I think Margo’s Got Money Troubles was one of the last books I really enjoyed—and that was more than a year ago!
I also can be a bit picky. Recently, there’s been a wave of popular novels that it seemed like everyone loved but me, including Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (I really didn’t like the second half); Wedding People (I hated how it was written); The God of the Woods (I just thought it was fine not unputdownable); and Hello Beautiful (I didn’t think it should have been compared to Little Women—one of the best books ever written, IMHO—and I disliked it so much I didn’t finish it). (Sorry if I yucked anyone’s yum! Just trying to explain my reading tastes!) Also, I really don’t want to read anything sad! I read Hamnet last year, and it was beautiful but devastating.
Have you read anything you loved lately? Or do you have a favorite book or author you go back to all the time? I’d love to find something really fun to pull me out of my slump!
This post includes affiliate links. The Purse may receive compensation if you click the link and make a purchase. It comes at no cost to you.
