u/Critical_Peach_3597

I’m in a HORRIBLE reading slump and need a book that will completely consume me.

The last books that really, really hooked me were The Song of Kali by Dan Simmons, and Jaffa Road by Daniel Speck. I’m currently reading A Thousand Splendid Suns and I like it, but it’s not quite giving me that “I need to keep reading at 3am” feeling.

I don’t necessarily need something similar plot-wise — I’m looking for that same feeling of being completely absorbed: strong atmosphere, compelling characters, emotional intensity, maybe a bit dark or unsettling.

Please give me your best “I couldn’t put this down” books. I desperately need one 😭

I’m trying to get into shadow work, but I keep running into the same problem.

I’ll see questions like “What parts of yourself do you hide from others?” or “What aspects of yourself are you ashamed of?” and my immediate reaction is… I don’t know. I genuinely can’t think of anything.

It’s not that I consciously think I’m perfect or that I have nothing to work on. It’s more like I can’t seem to access those deeper parts of myself. I’ll think about the question, but my mind just gives me a very surface-level answer, and I don’t know how to go beyond that and actually uncover what’s underneath.

So for people who have been doing shadow work for a while: how do you actually get yourself to look deeply enough? How do you move past the “I don’t know” and start writing honestly about things you might not even realise you’re hiding from yourself?

Are there any techniques, questions, exercises, or ways of approaching journaling that helped you get past that barrier?