Salutations Chapterlings! I’m bringing a different article for you today. Not a review or a playlist, although those are in the works, I was inspired by these past two weeks to bring something different to the table. The past two weeks I have been sick, fighting off terrible allergies, and now I’m recovering from a surgery I just had. To say reading right now is a struggle would be an understatement, but all of this got me to thinking about how I’ve been reading in these challenging times. Lucky for you because I have a list right here of some of the things I’ve been doing for the past two weeks and a little more recently. So get ready because I’m dishing out all my dirty little secrets!
Tip One: Listening to Audiobooks
Okay, okay, I know this is a bit of a hit or miss. Believe me, I’m feeling the struggle myself right now trying to push through the audiobook of Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. However, there are some really amazing audiobook out there that you can listen to and it’s a lot easier than trying to force yourself to focus on reading page after page. I would recommend Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This is a audiobook that’s been getting rave reviews that has listeners falling out of love with the physical book and diving head first into the audiobook. I would also like to recommend a personal favorite that is a bit of a nerdy read, but this audiobook was so well done that it deserves a mention. Thrawn by Timothy Zahn absolutely stole my heart. The physical book was nice, but the audiobook captures Thrawn’s character so brilliantly that I couldn’t help myself from listening to it. Now I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for not only a Star Wars read, but just something to push others into falling in love with.
Tip Two: Don’t Count Out Graphic Novels or Manga
Yes I’m going there! If you follow me on bookstagram, you happen to be the first in the know that I recently did a haul of graphic novels and manga to read while recovering from surgery. And of course, you also know this ended up breaking my book buying band for the month of April. So I kinda went full ham of my purchases. Not only myself, but my spouse was kind enough to order a graphic novel that I really wanted since I’ve been feeling so poorly. Bottom-line, I broke my rule for April and it was so worth it. Graphic novels and manga are super easy to read, they don’t require a lot of thought, and even when you do want to go back and review those books it won’t be such a struggle to remember the contents due to the images. Honestly, I didn’t even think of graphic novels and manga until my partner in crime mentioned something to me. So a big thank you to them for helping with this little part and taking into the fact that anyone feels like they got hit by a train whether from being sick or going through surgery!
Tip Three: Find Your Perfect Reading While Prone Position
It’s taken me a good hot minute to figure this out, but I’ve finally found the perfect position that works best for me that allows me to slipping right into napping. There’s even a really great article out on the perfect position to read. For me, I personally I like to either be laying flat on my stomach curled up in a cozy blanket or I like to prop myself up at an angle with lots of pillows behind my back with a weighted blanket to help keep me snuggly. The real trick is you keep your bookmark in a crack of the book so that way if you do end up falling asleep, your spot will be marked and you can come back to it at a later time.
Tip Four: Revisit Childhood Favorites
I get criticism all the time for this one, but I don’t care because I’m proud of reading kid books and middle grade reads! Sometimes the best way to find comfort lies within the pages of a book that holds sweet memories from your childhood. Remember all those times when you would get sick as a child and your parent/s or sibling would come and read you to sleep? Those were the best of times (can we go back to these simpler times?!). For me, re-reading some of my favorite when I was a kid, such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (the illustrated version because there’s stunning pictures!) by J.K. Rowling or Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak or even If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff. Think of it like the chicken noodle soup of your reading life (but actual chicken noodle soup is also a good idea!).
Tip Five: Be Prepared with a Kleenex Catcher
I can’t even to describe how distracted I get when I have mountains of kleenexes scattered all over my area. Whether I’m in my bedroom, the living room, dining room, or any other place I may want to read; something about having a clean area makes it easier to focus on wanting to read. So to solve this problem I have designated buckets in every location so that way if I either have a mountain of kleenexes compiling or if I have to empty the contents of last night’s chicken noodle soup, I have easy access to cleaning up my mess or disposing of food that isn’t sitting well with my stomach.
Tip Six: Goodbye Fever, Hello Ice Packs!
I have rarely, if ever, heard anyone talk about using ice packs when being sick! Let me tell you, you’re missing out. When those fevers get out of control and you’re starting to feel that vertigo hit in full force, nothing puts it to a stop quicker than whipping out an ice pack. Now don’t just use any ice pack. I personally prefer ice packs that can be frozen or left out/heated. These packs/masks make it easier to tackle each situation as it presents itself. In fact, I’m using one right now and it’s working wonders! Plus, having one that’s infused with lavender or vanilla will make it easier for your body to rest or relax during your time reading or when you’re just trying to settle down for the day.
Tip Seven: Give Up. Watch a Movie Based on a Book Instead
I have never been a quitter in my whole life, but sometimes you have to pick your battles and that means knowing when to allow your body to rest. This is probably the most challenging thing you will have to do especially if you find yourself desperate to read a book. You have to listen to your body though. I know what it means to try and push myself that extra mile and trust me, it never works out in the end. If anything, pushing yourself (even if it’s just a little bit) is bound to make things worse. So take this time to do some movie binge watching. I usually do a Harry Potter movie marathon anytime I’m sick or sometimes I’ll binge watch the Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit movies. You just have to pick something you feel like watching and this isn’t limited to movies. You can chose to watch a favorite t.v. series you’ve now watched for the millionth time! The limit doesn’t exist!
Honorable Mention!
While I didn’t find it absolutely necessary to have listed in with my tips, I did want to take this moment to say I binge drink A LOT of tea when I’m sick. If you’ve been around on my social media, you’re probably familiar with my two biggest brands I use, Harney & Sons Peppermint Tea (although I do drink various other teas from this brand) and then I use the Celestial Seasonings Wellness SleepyTime Tea. These are just my top two go-to brands for whenever I’m sick or starting to become sick. I use plenty of other brands, but these two I find help the most and they’re perfect for drinking when sick and trying to hash out some reading.
There you have it chapterlings! My little secrets for how I’m able to push through so much reading when I technically should be resting, but who doesn’t like being a little naughty and push those limits sometimes! I hope these tips help you as you battle the changing of the seasons wherever you may be located in the world and may these tips bring you down some paths you haven’t tried before! Now tell me, what are your tips for reading while sick?
Chapter Malliumpkin 