"Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything." - Plato

There are a lot of moments in our lives that we can point to and say, "that was one of the times where I've just felt so good." In our culture, we need those in order to, hopefully, drown out the bad days and turmoil this world can bring. We need those moments to bring us back to an optimistic outlook on life, and remind us that even having breath in our lungs is a blessing.

Within these "best moments," we remember what we were doing at the time, how it made us feel, where we were, and/or who we were with. Many of my "best moments," or the times I've felt like my best self, occurred when I was doing something that I loved.

Sometimes it's dancing. Sometimes it's loudly belting out worship songs in my car with the windows down on a warm day. And sometimes it's when I'm curled up on the couch or outside with a good book.

As an English Education major, I have to read A LOT of books for class (obvious, I know). However, that reading list is completely separate from my personal list of books I want to read in my free time. During first semester, most of my reading involved a textbook of some sort, but this semester, I have added plenty of novels and short stories.

Everyone knows the WORST feeling for a reader is when a book slump ensues, meaning that you just can't get yourself to pick up a book. I remember the last time this happened; somewhere during my senior year in high school. Yet another book slump enveloped me in its clutches.

UGH.

Going into college as an English nerd who doesn't particularly want to read, is truly one of the most unfortunate things.

Then, I signed up to take a Young Adult Literature class this semester...

Can you hear the hallelujah chorus?

Needless to say, this YA Literature class definitely kicked my reading slump to the curb, because we'll have read 11 books by the time summer rolls around and the semester is over. It sounds crazy to read one book a week, but it's actually my favorite class, especially now that my book slump is over.

Other book lovers can relate when I say that I honestly think ending a book slump is one of the best feelings in the world. There's such a relief when we can finally read books just to read and actually enjoy them; rather than constantly updating our Goodreads account to see that we're still progressing; or flipping to see when the current chapter ends, secretly hoping it's in less than 10 pages.

Trust me, I know the feeling.

It's also super satisfying to see, smell, read, and discuss books again. Yes, I said smell. To book lovers, the smell of a book is another one of the best things in the world. After a book slump ends, all you want to do is be around a bunch of books. You make a Barnes & Noble trip any chance you get, just to stroll through the aisles and appreciate all the works of art contained on the shelves.

Unfortunately, there's no cure for book slumps, except inhaling as many books as possible when another stint ends. But that's enough of a cure for me!

So read that book that you wanted to dive into forever ago. Binge a whole trilogy or quartet in a weekend. And have no shame. After all, the end of a book slump invites the continuation of your love of reading, and opens all those fictional and non-fictional worlds back up for your enjoyment.