Have you ever spent an entire day just reading? You find that, somehow, the whole day just slipped by – it opened with the first page and closed with the last. You remained stationary but, really, you went on a Grand Adventure.

When people discover you’re a reader there tends to be an onslaught of suggestions. This is not a bad thing! I often give book recommendations, but when you are in a season of life where it is work to read, the more recommendations you are given the more frustrating it can be. I have had seasons – long, long seasons – in life when I just could not pick up another book. I always had an excuse: I was too tired, there was too much going on, nothing held my interest, reading was not as relaxing as it had been.

If you are in the same situation in which I have been, and doubtless will be in again, may I offer you some advice? Go back to the stories that made you feel happy and content. Did you enjoy reading the picture book Tiki Tiki Tembo that was retold by Arlene Mosel and illustrated by Blair Lent? Grab it from your bookshelf, or borrow it from the library, and see it with new eyes! What about the junior fiction book from American Girl entitled Meet Addy written by Connie Porter? Pull it out of your box of memories and open it once again!

How about reading aloud – even to an empty room? There is something wonderfully entertaining about giving voice to stories – it excites the imagination. Sometimes, the easiest way to start reading again is to read a book aloud – or listen to a book being read.

Below are a few of my go-to books when I am in a reading slump:

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis – Kings, queens, magic, Christian allegory – these, and the great Lion Aslan, make up the tales of Narnia. I suggest reading these books in publication order, not chronological order.

The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien – Magic, adventure, poetry, dwarfs – this first book written by Tolkien about Middle Earth follows a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who is suddenly swept up into his own Grand Adventure with a wizard and dwarfs.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J. K. Rowling – This is a collection of fairy tales from the wizarding world. You do not have to have read any of the Harry Potter books to appreciate them, but I guarantee that if you have you will appreciate them all the more.