"Book Funks, and how I get out of them" by Debbie
- Debbie
- Dec 15, 2025
- 3 min read
There comes a time, in every reviewer’s reading life, when nothing, and I mean
NOTHING, will hold your attention. Not your current book. Not your favourite author, not even your favourite series. So, whaddaya do??
Some time ago, when Kindle Unlimited first came out, I swore I would never touch it. Lots of authors I follow were hating it, so I followed their lead and decided against it.
THEN I got 6 months free. I cannot remember how, but maybe it was a trial or some other thing, but I grabbed it to give it a try.
Now? That is my lifeline. I use KU to find my “get out of funk” books. But what are they?
I hit what I call my defunk books: vampires, shifters, aliens, sex, violence, and anything so sweet, it could rot your teeth!
Now, let me be clear. These topics are perfectly interchangeable and can be any combination, and they are not a requirement for my get-out-of-funk books; they are just what I look for the most on KU. I use books that are easy reads, not too taxing on the old brain matter, with uncomplicated plot lines, without too many twists and turns and spanners in the works. Short books, mostly under 150 pages.
So, I suppose you’ll want some examples, huh?
Ok, here are some books that helped me. I took some off my Goodreads shelf labelled “hangover cures” which will typically have had a review written about them and some off my KU spreadsheet which will not (don’t judge, I’m loving the fact that I just realised how much easier my book life is with a spreadsheet!😁)
Perilous Cuties and Sticky for You - both these books are the start of a series. Both are cute and a bit silly. Perilous Cuties are odd pairings, and Sticky For You is about rhubarb shifters, of all things!
These are MM books (I read any and all colours of the rainbow!)
Perilous Cuties (Bucket List Buddies #1) by J.P. Sayle & Lisa Oliver - books2read.com/u/385aQ7
Sticky For You (The Rhubarb Effect #1) by J.P. Sayle & Sue Brown - books2read.com/u/3Rjxlv
Some other shifter books. These are short, but steamy! These are MF books.
Gray Back Bears (7 book series) by T. S. Joyce - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CDCYN3
Some alien books: So I Accidentally became an Alien Outlaw's Mate. This book was actually the first added to my hangover-cure shelf!
So I Accidentally became an Alien Outlaw's Mate by Sophia Sebell - https://books2read.com/u/4XPEVa
Other favourite alien authors: Eryn Ivers, Anna Adler, and a firm favourite, Celeste Prater (although these are a bit longer and have a bit more bite to them!)
Some vampires: ML Briers is a solid vampire violence/shifter sex book favourite! There are a lot on my Goodreads shelf that are no longer available, but there are still a LOT of Briers books on Amazon -
I asked my sister, who is also an avid reader, what she did. We are very different in our reading habits, but we do like a lot of the same things. This is what she said. I should point out, I do NOT reread, like she does. I mean, she read Harry Potter and Twilight about 20 million times! I will, however, LISTEN to a book I have previously read. I get a different experience by listening after I’ve read. She does not do audiobooks.
"When I am in a book funk, it's usually because an author has destroyed me: a book hasn't ended how I saw it ending, or it ended badly, or they throw me so far for a curve ball, I feel like I have left the UK and ended up in Australia. When I get like this, I HAVE to and NEED to read something different: something light and easy to read, something by an author I haven't tried usually. Or I reread a series I love and can get lost in. I fall in love with my favourite characters and places again.
But not by the same author who wrecked me in the first place.
It’s never the same author because in a book funk, I am usually pissed or upset with the author who put me there. Only temporarily, but pissed or upset all the same.
Because if I don’t, for me, the book funk can become a real funk. A real funk is not a good place for anyone."
So, there you go. Merissa asked for a blog post, and this was the first topic that
popped into my head!
If you’ve read this far, thank you for reading, and comment on how YOU get yourself out of a book funk! I’m curious!
Debbie Reads Books
@debbiereadsbooks
@debbiereadsbook
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