15 Books to Help You Escape Your Reading Slump

As a child I was a HUGE reader. When I traded paperbacks for heavy textbooks and too much assigned classroom reading in university, I stopped reading for fun.

It wasn’t until I was five years out of university that I began to fall back in love with reading. I picked up a Kobo (an e-reader similar to a Kindle), downloaded a few books and suddenly found myself reunited with an old friend.

Of course, my adult reading life hasn’t been linear. Some months I read 10 books and some I don’t read any at all. I’ve taken months off of reading and fallen into my fair share of reading slumps.

So when life gets me down, when I’m trapped in a reading slump, when my motivation is near nil, I’m looking for books that will help me escape.

The 15 books I’m sharing below totally transported me – by either taking me to faraway places or just letting me get lost in their pages for a while. They pulled me out of my reading slumps and reignited my love for books.

I hope these stories inspire you and that you find a book to help you escape!

A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout & Sara Corbett

So this book is not necessarily a nice escape. And the word “escape” is pretty apt here as this book is all about a journalist who gets kidnapped and the story of her captivity.

It’s a true story and the subject matter is very heavy. But it will definitely make you feel like you’ve left your daily troubles!

I stayed up until 5am to finish this one because I needed to know what happened next.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

If you’ve got the blues and you’re just looking for a book that’s sweet and lovely, you’ll find it with beloved LGBTQ+ romance novel Red, White & Royal Blue.

It’s the world we’re all dreaming of: a female BIPOC President of the United States whose son falls in love with a British prince.

This rom com is sweet and silly, so perfect if you’re looking for a read that’s not too serious. You can also watch the movie version once you’re done with the book!

At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider

I you’re as travel-obsessed as me, I recommend you pick up this travel book by Tsh Oxenreider.

Tsh says that travel doesn’t have to stop just because you get married or have a family, and proves it by taking her family of five on a year-long trip around the world. It’s a dream of mine to do something like that in the future!

Other great reads for travel dreaming families include How to Be a Family by Dan Kois and Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr.

Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl

This is one of my favourite memoirs and is a great book to pick up when you’re feeling a little gloomy – or hungry!

Save Me the Plums is like The Devil Wears Prada but with more heart, more food and less fashion. You’ll love rooting for Ruth as she shakes things up at Gourmet Magazine and tackles the New York food scene, from her home kitchen to fancy dinner parties.

I first read this book as a teenager and instantly fell in love with it. I reread it probably a decade later and it still holds up!

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman

I found this novel to be so engaging and immersive. I actually stayed up until 4am to finish it because I just needed to know what was going to happen to the cursed Fontana family.

This book has relationships, family drama, great food and is mostly set in Italy, which I loved.

Other novels I found really engaging include Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple and Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.

Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi

Notes from a Young Black Chef is another favourite memoir of mine, telling the underdog story of Chef Kwame Onwuachi.

Throughout the book you follow Kwame as a kid selling candy on the subway to working at some of the best restaurants in New York City, and his mistakes along the way.

Plus, the book is full of recipes, which one day I swear I will actually try out in the kitchen!

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

I will say that I’m not a big romance reader and so this isn’t a personal favourite of mine. But it did pull me out of a reading slump and gets so much praise everywhere else that I had to include it.

Talia Hibbert has published three books in the Brown sisters series, so get started with Chloe Brown and then meet her sisters, Dani and Eve.

This is the escapist book for you if you want love, steamy romance and representation that is often missed in romance novels!

Here For It by R. Eric Thomas

If the best way for you to escape is by laughing away your troubles, you need to grab R. Eric Thomas’ book Here For It.

This was one of my favourite books of 2020 and I can’t recommend it enough. The essays will have you laughing, crying and nodding along.

Another great humour collection is Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby.

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Sometimes the best way to pull yourself out of a funk is with a book that’s completely out of your usual genre. So what could be a bigger departure than a middle grade book?

I, too, was skeptical when a friend recommended this book, aimed at 8-12 year olds, to me but I finally read it and absolutely loved it.

Front Desk was one of my stand out books from 2020 and a beautiful story I highly recommend. I only wish I could go back in time and read it as a kid.

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

This was another example of completely switching up genres in order to get out of my reading slump. After all, I can’t write a list of escapist books and not include a fantasy book, right?

The Year of the Witching is an awesome book for those who, like me, don’t read a ton of fantasy but want to dip their toes in.

The story is great and there aren’t too many mystical elements to keep track of. Plus, who doesn’t want to read about some powerful witches?

From Scratch by Tembi Locke

When I listened to this audiobook, I had to pause it at one point because I was so emotional I couldn’t hear the audiobook over my own sobs. It’s that good.

This emotional true story takes you through a journey of falling in love, adoption, death, finding yourself, parenthood, family, Italian food and the land of Sicily.

From Scratch is a great read for travel and food lovers who are in need of a good cry. I haven’t brought myself to watch the Netflix adaptation yet, probably because I don’t have a big enough box of tissues!

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

My favourite kind of fiction is the kind you totally lose yourself in – staying up late to finish or planning to read 20 pages and accidentally reading 50.

Rebecca Serle writes that kind of fiction. I loved her 2020 book, In Five Years, all about relationships, friendships and what happens when life doesn’t go according to plan. It was emotional but in the best way.

If you haven’t read Rebecca Serle’s other books like The Dinner List, One Italian Summer and Expiration Dates, I recommend them all

Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie & Carolyn Durand

Maybe you prefer to escape into a little bit of pop culture? If you are interested in the British royal family, this in-depth story of Harry and Meghan is for you.

Get lost in all of the royal details! You can check out my full review of this book in my January reading wrap up. Of course you can also read Spare if you’re looking for Prince Harry’s take.

Another great pop culture escape book is I’ll Be There For You by Kelsey Miller, all about the TV show Friends.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

This novel about a secret book club on the British island of Guernsey is told completely in letters, which immediately transports you right into the characters’ lives in post-WWII England.

It’s a sweet and charming book, and one of the only historical fiction books I’ve read and enjoyed. The movie adaptation is also a lovely watch!

For more WWII history, consider planning a visit to Camp des Milles in Provence.

The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger

This novel is all about a suburban neighbourhood where a new gifted school is opening up, and the lives of the parents and children who are trying to get in.

It’s very clique-y and you feel instantly transported into this WASP-y world of parents trying to one up each other through their kids.

It’s a world very different from my own, which is why I consider it a great escapist read!

Wrapping up: How to escape any reading slump

I hope one of the titles above piqued your interest and you’re well on your way to escaping your reading slump or whatever else has got you in a funk.

If you’re a regular reader, slumps are just a part of life. Here are some of my tips to beat yours:

1. Try a book that’s out of genre. I usually read non-fiction travel books and a select few novels, true crime or essay collections. To mix it up, I’ve grabbed fantasy, middle grade and historical books.
2. Reread an old favourite. If you’ve hit a slump where every new book you pick up sucks, go for an old standby. I started 2024 by rereading The Hunger Games series and I stand by it!
3. Take part in a reading challenge. While I believe reading should be for fun and that you don’t have to prove your reading to anyone, a reading challenge can help jumpstart your reading mojo. You could try to read every book by a specific author, a book from every country you’ve travelled to or a certain number of pages in a month.
4. Join a bookclub! Reading doesn’t have to be a solitary activity. Surrounding yourself with other readers could be just what you need to get through a slump. Don’t have an in-person bookclub you can join? Try a virtual one.
5. Lean into your reading slump. Like I said, slumps are just a part of any reader’s life. Sometimes the best thing you can do is lean in, take some time off of reading and trust that your love for books will come back.

I’d love to know: What book would you recommend for an escape from a reading slump? If you need help deciding, scroll through my book lists below.