It’s happened to us all: You finish a book—maybe not your favorite book, but it was okay—and you can’t summon the excitement to pick another one. Your TBR shelf stares back at you mockingly. You leave it untouched.

There’s nothing wrong with giving your mind a break—especially when it rebels against you so devastatingly—but for those times when you’re on a deadline, or simply determined to trick your brain into complying, here are Bas Bleu’s tips and tricks for overcoming reading road blocks.

Sometimes you just need to look at your books with fresh eyes. Reset your brain by eliminating normalcy: Rearrange your bookshelves, test a new strategy for selecting your next read (e.g., draw titles out of a hat, assign different genres to specific moods, put your TBR books in a preset sequence…), or go out to your favorite book store (or online at basbleu.com!) and pick a book from a genre you don’t normally read.

If that doesn’t work, read the first fifteen pages of every book on your TBR shelf. You don’t have to commit to picking your next read that way, but without the daunting task of actually finishing the book, you might find it easier to be enchanted. Lose yourself in the differences: How does each author choose to unravel their plot? How do the characters reveal themselves and relate to one another? How does the prose roll itself around in your brain? What do you remember of the fifteen pages when you close the book, and did it make you curious for more? Where do you want the story to go? Engaging with the text, even briefly, will reenergize your capacity for stimulation.

Whether or not resetting helped you select a book, consider drawing inspiration from literary online forums. Browse Goodreads, Bookstagram, BookTok, or Bas Bleu’s Literary Musings page to see what other people are reading. One person’s excitement about a little-known book they treasured can often be contagious. (It would be embarrassing for this editor to reveal how many books she’s bought due to ten-second videos.)

Again, you don’t have to pick a book from an Instagram photo, but immersing yourself in the world of reading will spur your own excitement…and will also serve as a useful reminder that all avid readers endure periods of stagnation.

It’s healthy to take a break from any treasured habit and exercise your mind in new ways! If you’re still having trouble, step away from your bookshelves for a week or two and test a few new hobbies. Try knitting or felting, assemble a puzzle or two, attempt cooking or plan a road trip, or simply try a different format: if you normally page through physical books, see how you do with an audiobook instead. Soon, you’ll be itching to get back to your routine reading…and maybe you’ll pick up some new skills along the way.

The best way to conquer reading obstacles, though? Read anyway. Set aside half an hour on a lazy Saturday and make it count. Settle into your favorite cozy chair, prepare a steaming cup of coffee, pick up a book you’ve been eyeing for awhile, and set a timer. If you’re still not interested when your timer goes off, walk away with the assurance that you tried. But chances are, you’ve broken the barriers that prevented you from reading in the first place. Read on, bluestockings!

Looking for crafts to keep you busy during a reading hiatus? Check out a few of Bas Bleu’s favorites.